The Battle of Ramree Island
independent historians specialising in military disasters and command failures
World War IITactics & Battles
Selection · Edition 2026-04-04
Lions Led By Donkeys tackles Ramree Island — the 1945 Burma campaign battle famous for the alleged crocodile massacre of retreating Japanese troops. At nearly 80 minutes, expect the usual LLD treatment: the actual military operation plus a critical look at the mythology that's grown around it. The Burma theatre is criminally underserved in podcasting, so this is welcome.
🎙 Veterans' accounts
Library of Congress Veterans History Project holds interviews with American servicemen who served in the China-Burma-India theatre — searchable at https://loc.gov/vets/⚖ The debate
Did the Ramree Island crocodile massacre actually occur as widely reported, or is it largely a post-war myth? The traditional account claims hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed by saltwater crocodiles during their retreat in February 1945; skeptics argue the death toll was vastly exaggerated and the crocodile involvement overstated in subsequent retellings.Claims on this page verified against current sources · last refreshed 2026-06-11
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