Burma Road

Transport route running from Lashio in Burma to Kunming, China. In World War II it was the only route available for the Allies to send military supplies to the Chinese Army, as the Chinese coastline was inaccessible to Allied supply ships.

Cutting the route became a prime Japanese target, leading to their invasion of Burma. Once the Japanese occupied the area and blocked the road, the only method of supply open to the Allies was to fly equipment from India to China, over the Himalayas. The road was not reopened until a concerted effort by Chinese, US, and British forces January 1945.