The Burma Campaign of the Second World War is often described as ‘The Forgotten War’, and the soldiers that fought in it, ‘The Forgotten Army’. However the stories of courage, cruelty and audacity that come from it are as great and varied as in any of the other theatres of war.

In Sampan’s Forgotten War Tour, historian Dr Robert Lyman takes us through modern-day Manipur and Nagaland to the towns of Imphal and Kohima. It was here in 1944 that the Japanese attempted to knock out the Allied forces and potentially march on Delhi. Instead, General Bill Slim’s galvanized Fourteenth Army repelled the Japanese back across the Chindwin into Burma.

This is not your standard battlefield tour. Our itinerary has been meticulously created to help our guests both understand the context of the Burma Campaign in India and to dive deep into the stories of soldiers and civilians caught up in the tide of war: British, Indian and Japanese, yes, but also the Manipuris, the Nagas, the Kukis and others, too. We look at the struggles of these people post-WW2 and how the war is remembered by them today.

The number of people on this tour is capped to ensure that this remains an intimate and hands-on experience for our guests. We are happy to consider the specialist interest of our guests and see how we can tailor our itinerary to ensure that they find what they are looking for on this journey.

Unlike traditional battlefield tours, Sampan’s Forgotten War Tour is not a hop-on hop-off coach trip. We offer the chance to walk the routes of the soldiers, stay overnight in villages, scale the peaks and see the trenches and fox holes of both armies. This journey allows our guests to dive into the traditions and contemporary lives of the people that call these battlefields home: whiskey-tasting in Imphal and an evening with the Kohima Educational Society in Kohima.  

Since finishing a twenty–year career in the British Army in 2001, Rob has published widely on the Second World War in Europe, North Africa and Asia. He is Field Marshal Bill Slim’s military biographer. He is an elected fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a trustee of the Kohima Educational Trust since 2004.

In addition to Rob, this tour is led by expert, specialist guides in each location. Hotels full of character; superb, local food throughout. This tour is runs twice yearly. More details below.

8-21 November 2024: Kolkata, Nagaland, Manipur

Sampan’s Forgotten War Tour in November 2024 will start and end in Kolkata. The majority of the tour will be spent in Nagaland and Manipur including the highlights of Kohima and Imphal. Please contact us if you are interested in joining this tour.  

Unlike other battlefields tour in this region, Sampan will take you up into the Naga Hills to the towns of Jessami and Kharasom. It was here at the latter that 100 men of the 1st Assam Regiment fought a battalion of up to 600 Japanese soldiers. Here, Captain Jock Young led the defence of the small garrison for four days, before he gave the order for him mean to return to Kohima.  
 
In his book Japan’s Last Bid for Victory Rob picks up the story. Young remained “in his post […] while his men slipped out through gaps in the perimeter until his position was swamped the next morning by men of at least one Japanese battalion, this extraordinarily brave young officer firing Bren gun and throwing grenades to the last.”   
 
Fifty six men reached Kohima two days later. Captain Young was last seen stacking grenades and Tommy-gun magazine in his bunker. Later, the local Nagas told the British that the Japanese had been so moved by Young’s bravery that they had shaved his head in the tradition of fallen heroes and buried him with full military honours. 

With Sampan, you will both visit the site of Young’s heroic last stand, as well as stay overnight in Jessami. Spend time with the Naga people of Jessami, hear how they remember WW2 and what they are hoping for as their present government ‘looks East’ and they find themselves at the crossroads of Asia.  

This tour is bookended by Kolkata. With Sampan you will explore the first capital of the British Raj: the early exploits of the East India Company and the history surrounding sites such as Dalhousie Square, Writers Building and the Victoria Memorial. We will also take you into the north town – home of freedom fighters, century-old sweets shops and contemporary Bengali art.  

Please contact us if you are interested in joining this tour.  

4-17 February 2025: Kolkata, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam

Our tour in February 2024 includes Kolkata, Imphal and Kohima, as well as journeying further north into Assam. Here you will visit Digboi, Ledo and the start of the Stilwell Road. 

The Stilwell Road – also called the Ledo Road – was built with the intention of crossing through northern Myanmar and into China’s Yunnan Province. The incentive was to keep the nationalist forces under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek supplied in their fight against the Japanese. The opening of the Stilwell Road would ideally mean that American pilots would no longer have to fly supplies over the treacherous ‘hump’ – the eastern peaks of the Himalayas.

The Stilwell Road was also known as the ‘man-a-mile’ due to the high death toll amongst its constructors. If possible, on this journey Sampan will take you up to Jairampur in Arunachal Pradesh to see the Chinese cemetery for the workers who died building the Stilwell Road.

This tour will conclude with a couple of days in tea bungalows around Dibrugahr before returning to Kolkata.

Our Forgotten War Tours in India are in support of the Kohima Educational Trust & Society, which support the education of Naga youth in India. When it is feasible and appropriate to do so, we will extend our Forgotten War Tours to Myanmar, where Sampan’s office is. Those tours will be in support of Help for Forgotten Allies, supporting veterans from the Second World War in Burma and refugees from the conflicts since-WW2.

Find our more about our tour led by Rob Lyman in Myanmar below.

A few years ago Sampan teamed up with the film-makers Grammar Productions and the charity Help for Forgotten Allies as they created a documentary about the lost heroes of the Burma Campaign.  You can watch a trailer for Forgotten Allies here.

Sampan is also running tours led by Rob Lyman to Myanmar. Please find more info here.

Sampan creates handcrafted journeys through Myanmar and India. If you would prefer a private, tailor-made journey, please contact us.

See here practical information for travelling in Myanmar and here for India.