Campaign in Burma 1942: The Fall of Rangoon to The End in 42 - Episode 543

The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War

Captain William Toti, USN

Naval History And Heritage Command, History, Imperial Japanese Navy, Sam Cox, Admiral King, Cruisers, Spruance, Fargo, Seth Paridon, Fighters, Pacific War, Stavridis, Cactus Air Force, December 7, Station Hypo, William Toti, Bombers, Bill Toti, Navy, Halsey, Submarines, Society & Culture, Education, Us Navy, Mush Morton, Cincpoa, Documentary, Guadalcanal, Imperial Japan, World War Ii, Midway, Aircraft Carriers, Cryptology, Wake Island, Nimitz, Cincpac, Macarthur, Pearl Harbor, Wahoo, Courses, Battleships, New Guinea

4.9 • 872 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 86 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week Seth Paridon and Jon Parshall wrap up the campaign in Burma with the fall of Rangoon, and the subsequent Japanese advance north into central Burma. British General Harold Alexander takes over for the fired Thomas Hutton and we also see the introduction of two of the more famous allied characters of the war, British General William Slim and American General Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell. The Japanese literally walk into Rangoon and then spin north and launch an offensive that smacks Stilwell and Slim right in the mouth. The remaining actions in the oil fields and Stilwell’s destruction of two Chinese armies highlights the low light that is the remainder of the 1942 campaign for Burma. #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #essex #halsey #taskforce38 #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #mastersoftheair #8thairforce #mightyeighth #100thbombgroup #bloodyhundredth #b17 #boeing #airforce wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #usnavy #usa #usarmy #medalofhonor #enterprise #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #cv6 #midway #wwii #wwiihistory #ww2 #worldwar2 #usnavy #usnavyseals #usmc #usmarines #saipan #usa #usarmy #aircraft #aircraftcarrier #battleship #battleships #ussenterprise #aircraftcarriers #museum #hollywood #movie #movies #books #oldbreed #1stMarineDivision #thepacific #Peleliu #army #marines #marinecorps #worldwar2 #worldwar #worldwarii #leytegulf #battleofleytegulf #rodserling #twilightzone #liberation #blacksheep #power #prisoner #prisonerofwar #typhoon #hurricane #weather #iwojima#bullhalsey #ace #p47 #p38 #fighter #fighterpilot #b29 #strategicstudying #tokyo #boeing #incendiary #usa #franklin #okinawa #yamato #kamikaze #Q&A #questions #questionsandanswers #history #jaws #atomicbomb #nuclear #nationalarchives #nara #johnford #hollywood #fdr #president #roosevelt #doolittle #doolittleraid #pearlharborattack #salvaged #medalofhonor #tarawa #malayalam #singapore #guadalcanal #china #burma

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	The
0:07.0	The Hello and welcome to episode 543 of the unauthorized history of the Pacific War podcast.
0:45.1	My name is Seth Paredam, historian and deputy director of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum.
0:49.3	And with me, as always, is my esteemed co-host, historian, author, and good buddy and good buddy john bartrell how are you this 20th of
0:57.8	january you want the real answer well you know anybody anybody who's following the news knows
1:05.3	that things up here in the twin seas are extremely tense and i'm pleasant at this point um so yeah i'm
1:10.6	like um crumpy.
1:13.0	There, there we put it.
1:15.2	But funny story.
1:17.0	So I was out in Missoula this weekend, unfortunately, for a funeral.
1:21.2	And it was coming back through TSA and got through the metal detector. And this guy was like, I was making jokes with people because I got this silly sweatshirt that I wear and they were like, what hell does that mean? Yada yada. And then this TSA guy is like, you have seen that sweatshirt by the way. You have seen that sweatshirt. Stop plate technonics. And the TSA guy was like, why do I know you? Why do I know your face and your voice?
1:47.5	And I was like, do you like World War II history? And he's like, yeah. And turns out he's an
1:52.9	unauthorized watch. There you go. Shout out to anonymous TSA guy in Missoula. Didn't have a
2:00.1	chance to talk because he had to go back and do TSA things. But, you know, anyway, thanks for watching. And yeah. So here we are. How are you, man? I'm doing okay. I'm doing okay. Well, you know. It's like we had, like we just said, you know how I'm doing, but that's it. There you go. That's it. Missoula, if I remember correctly to, Missoula, that is where Jim Murray lived. I think it was Miss. He was in Billings. Billings. Billings. Billings. David Thatcher, top turret engineer for crew number five of the Doolittle Raid lived in Missoula. That's what I was. Oh, really?
2:34.9	It's gorgeous.
2:35.6	Oh, yeah.
2:36.8	Beautiful spot. Yeah. Beautiful place. That airport when you come in and just. Yeah. Super nice. We're not here to talk about Missoula. No, we are here to talk about a place that is about as far away from Missoula as you can imagine. which is why I'm rocking my
2:51.3	jungle fighting green today
2:53.2	you know
2:53.8	and it's from Missoula, as you can imagine. Which is why I'm rocking my jungle fighting green today, you know.
2:54.3	And it's quite appropriate.
2:57.4	Thank you.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Captain William Toti, USN, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Captain William Toti, USN and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.