Death Railway Bridge | Kanchanaburi | Thailand 2021
Back in December 1941, the Pacific War began. The Japanese Forces attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and invaded Malaysia in mid-1942. Then, the Japanese Forces fought with the British Army in Burma. However, the main target was to invade India. Japan realized that if it used the maritime route to transport the weapons, it would be risky to air attack. It decided to build a railway through Thailand, which at the time was an alliance with Japan. The railway started from Ban Nong Pla Dook, Ban Pong District, Ratchaburi, through Kanchanaburi to the Thailand and Burma border, the “Three Pagodas” until Thanbyuzayat in Burma. During the initial construction, the laborers were Burmese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Chinese, and Thai; however, they encountered many problems, such as torrential rain causing the bridge collapse, diseases, lack of food, and bombs. Many laborers died and the railway was also destroyed. The Japanese Forces changed its minds by forcing about 50,000 British, Australian, American, Dutch and Irish prisoners of war, with more than 275,000 workers to construct the strategic railway crossing through Burma. The railway had to be built cross the Kwae Yai River. This construction was full of hardships. The construct was carried out until the step of the bridge over the Kwae Yai River; a temporary wooden bridge, therefore, was built. The construction process was non-stop. The prisoners of war took turns throughout 24 hours a day with the close control of the soldiers
One of the most difficult obstacles was Tham Kra-Sae Bridge. The construction of the railway in this phase encountered steep mountains adjoining the Kwae Yai River. Japanese engineers needed to build a railway along the river with the 400-meter long mountains, where about 1,000 prisoners died. It was the longest crossing-abyss bridge of the railway. It was completed in a very short period of time. Prisoners of war worked crazily under the orders of the Japanese prison guards. This was known in the term “speedo” or “keep going”. From April 1943, the construction was carried out very fast because the Japanese Forces wanted it to be completed in August, which was set to a deadline for construction. This period mentioned above was known as Speedo. The prisoners of war and Asian workers were punished and forced to work until nighttime. In the area of Hellfire Pass, the light from the fire shined through the skinny bodies of the workers. It was the source of the name “Hellfire Pass” or “Chongkhao
