An Australian Army soldier suffered serious head and chest injuries after being mauled by a crocodile that attacked him late on Friday, Australia media . This post will reveal the historical account of the Ramree Island Massacre. [21] He established that Bruce S. Wright had not been present on Ramree Island at the time of the battle, and noted that although the other chapters in Wright's book were told in the first person, the account of the battle was in the third person; possibly, Platt speculated, Wright was repeating stories he had been told by friends. While the idea of encountering a crocodile isnt pleasant, its a whole different matter when youre up close and personal with one. Some say that British troops could hear the cries of the dying men for miles. However, there is no specific mention of the crocodile attack devouring over 900 Japanese. The maneuver split the enemy group in two and isolated about 1,000 Japanese soldiers. [10], In the 1965 edition of the British official history, Stanley Woodburn-Kirby wrote that the Japanese force suffered about 500 men killed and twenty men taken prisoner; British losses were "trifling".[11]. The island that holds the world-record for largest human massacre caused by animals. Winner will be selected at random on 02/01/2023. The Japanese soldiers on Ramree Island during the nearing end of World War II had a dilemma that resulted in the deadliest crocodile feast ever. [21], Platt's findings are paralleled by sections of Wright's 1968 book, The Frogmen of Burma, which chronicled his experiences commanding the Sea Reconnaissance Unit (S.R.U.) The swamps were infested with mosquitoes, leeches, and snakes. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Inspired by actual events during World War 2. I've recently learned about the Battle of Ramree Island and the "death march" through the mangroves that resulted in the battle earning the moniker of "worst crocodile disaster in the world." They decided to take their chances in the swamp rather than surrender. The Guinness Book of World Records listed the Ramree Island massacre as the largest crocodile attack in history, according to Wikipedia. So, instead of accepting their fate, they chose to make an 8-mile journey through the mangrove swamps of Ramree Island. An event at the same time that was recorded as the deadliest known crocodile attack appeared on the Guinness Book of World Records. More importantly, focussing on such a wholly ungrounded event underplays the courageous role played by the Fourteenth Army in what was one of the most brutal theatres of the Second World War. Hundreds of crocodiles lurked in the murky waters, hungry for human flesh. It is undoubtedly a gripping tale, so its not surprising that this account has motivated a swathe of articles. Only 20 of the Japanese fighters were able to escape unharmed. This disease seriously hindered both sides attempt to gain control of the island. Since a majority of fatal attacks are believed to be predatory in nature, the Nile crocodile can be considered the most prolific predator of humans among wild animals. In April 2010, a 25-year-old woman from New Jersey was killed by a saltwater crocodile while snorkeling in India's Andaman Islands. Men of the Wiltshire Regiment from the 26th Indian Infantry Division prepare a meal beside a temple on Ramree Island. The quest for a bird that continues to defy international sanctions. The mangrove swamp was thick with mud and it was slow-going. However, first they had to drive off the Japanese invasion force which had already claimed the island. The soldiers were viciously and mercilessly attacked by the crocodiles. Resistance at the chaung from the troops of the II Battalion, 121st Regiment increased and on 31 January, the 71st Brigade was ordered to move inland, north-east towards Sane, then head south towards Ramree town. Swamps are their natural habitat, and humans are no match for their speed, size, agility, and raw power. If the British 14th Army succeeded in taking the island, it could build an airbase there and use it as a launch point for bombing missions over Burma and Malaysia. The largest crocodile ever killed was a saltwater crocodile that measured 23 feet and weighed 2,370 pounds. [7] When the British outflanked a Japanese stronghold, the 900 defenders abandoned the base and marched to join a larger force of Japanese soldiers across the island. But what really happened?. This suggests that the Japanese did not suffer a major setback of over 900 men finished off on the night of February 19th. In the memoir, Wright described how he arrived on Ramree after the main battle concluded. After two centuries of binomial nomenclature, scientists are nowhere close to running out of things to document. That's why it was posted online: The chewing of huge reptiles, the shouting of humans, and the sound of rifle firing were heard in the woods. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. [22] Interviewing other members of the S.R.U., Wright reported that two of the men abandoned their paddleboards during the battle and climbed up a mangrove tree to avoid a crocodile. Did crocodiles eat Japanese soldiers? The reptiles can grow up to 20 feet long and weigh 2,000 pounds, but even a midsize saltwater crocodile could easily kill a full-grown adult human, with many being known toeat animals as vast as Indian water buffalo. Many historians debunk the tale of the massacre, but some facts do point to some veracity of the incident. Read another story from us: The Soldier Who Went On A Suicide Mission Against The Japanese & Won. Too much bad in the world Let us not add to it The crocodiles would silently stalk their prey before attacking with lightning speed; humans are no match for the saltwater crocodile when considering their power, size, and weight. Crocodiles. As a result, saltwater crocodiles are the largest crocodile species in the world and the largest reptile. It just shows that you should never underestimate the power of nature. An average saltwater crocodile can easily reach 23 feet. However, the veracity of the crocodile aggression has gradually grown throughout the years, despite there being no other references to it within historical writings relating to the Far Eastern theatre in WWII. Read Next: The Legend of Dick Bong: World War II Ace of Aces, Medal of Honor Recipient and Crocodile Killer? [16], In 2006, Robert Duff, a veteran of the 26th Division, recorded an oral history for the BBC, stating, "after a few weeks we managed to push [the Japanese] to the swamp on the other side of the island, which was full of crocodiles. While the Ramree Island Massacre story may seem far-fetched, it is a true story. No evidence, that is, unless one believes a solitary account by a mysterious character. How he arrived at that number is unclear, but the Guinness Book of World Records accepted it as fact and began including Wrights version of the story in their annual book starting in 1968. It has been estimated that about 1,000 people are killed by crocodilians each year. Japanese Soldiers Burma Crocodiles? But, of course, the British werent surprised as saltwater crocodiles are notoriously territorial and will attack any human they view as a threat or potential food source. This disease seriously hindered both sides' attempt to gain control of the island. 8. The story goes that during World War II, 1,000 Japanese soldiers were eaten by crocodiles on the island. Join us onFacebook,Twitter(#AnimalWeek), andTumblrfor even more animal action and to share your own tales of fascinating fauna. The croc was shot by a hunter in Queensland, Australia, in 1957. Oct 11, 2016 Goran Blazeski During World War II, The Japanese Imperial Army captured Ramree Island in 1942. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "Level 3 Skill: Water Flow Manipulation. So the next time youre going through a swamp, just remember the story of the Ramree Island Massacre and be grateful that you werent one of the 500 Japanese soldiers who lost their lives to these crocodiles. The smell of blood attracted nearby crocodiles, so the bodies of Japanese soldiers were eaten by crocodiles. An army of 1000 Japanese soldiers was decimated by saltwater crocodiles during the Battle of Ramree Island of World War II. He writes for his micro-blog. A massive saltwater crocodile (via Wikimedia). Somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 soldiers from the Imperial Japanese Armys 54th Division were entrenched on Ramree. Nine hundred soldiers of an Imperial Japanese Army unit, in an attempt to retreat from the Royal Navy and rejoin a larger battalion of the Japanese infantry, crossed through sixteen kilometres (ten miles) of mangrove swamps that contained saltwater crocodiles. How to use in-sentence of "trap": + Cilia and mucus along the inside wall of the nasal cavity trap and remove dust and germs from the air as it flows through the nasal cavity. The crocodiles, alerted by the din of warfare and smell of blood, gathered among the mangroves, lying with their eyes above the water, watchfully alert for their next meal. For a start, he points out the lack of evidence for Wrights claim that he was at the scene. On January 26, 1945, British troops made their way to Ramree Island so that they could establish a new airbase. The scattered rifle shots in the pitch black swamp punctured by the screams of wounded men crushed in the jaws of huge reptiles, and the blurred worrying sound of spinning crocodiles made a cacophony of hell that has rarely been duplicated on earth Of about one thousand Japanese soldiers that entered the swamps of Ramree, only about twenty were found alive.. Photoshopped photo courtesy of opposingfronts.com. The navy and the 26th Indian Infantry Division then concentrated on blockading the chaungs (small streams) on the east coast, to prevent the Japanese from escaping to the mainland. What happened next is a bit of a mystery; however, according to one version of the story the best-known version only 20 of the soldiers who entered the marshes made it out alive; the rest were eaten by crocodiles. A band of soldiers in search of a secret Japanese ammunition store face off against deadly saltwater crocodiles in the swamps of Ramree Island. In this official account there are references to the menace posed by saltwater crocodiles at Ramree Island. On mainland Burma, diseases such as malaria accounted for almost half the total death toll of Allied forces. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. Upon completing his investigation, Willis brought his findings to Guinness Book of World Records editor-in-chief Crag Glenday, who agreed to add a note to the Ramree Island entry stating that new research by the National Geographic Channel, however, has cast doubt on the story, or at least on the extent of deaths. Thus, the legend was put to rest. A SCIENTIST was eaten alive by a 17ft long crocodile after being dragged into its enclosure while she fed it last week. See. Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. In 1945 during the Battle of Ramree Island an estimated 500 Japanese soldiers entered the swamps of Ramree island, Burma, according to the stories less than 20 of them emerged. In Burma, the Allies faced a fierce enemy not only adept in jungle warfare and but also notorious for their suicidal kamikaze charges. As the Indian and British troops closed in, the Japanese soldiers were faced with two options: They could stay and fight or attempt to flee through the marshes and escape by sea. It wasnt long until they realized that a predator lurked in the water around them. The ecosystem of a mangrove swamp, with an exiguous mammal life, simply would not have permitted the existence of so many saurians before the coming of the Japanese (animals are not exempt from the laws of overpopulation and starvation). One by one the crocodiles picked off the soldiers at night, dragging them into the swamp and mauling them to death. Perhaps the biggest question that the crocodile story doesnt sufficiently answer concerns the staggering death toll: How did only 20 Japanese soldiers survive? However, the. [1] Unlike the predatory attacks by Nile and saltwater crocodiles, victims of mugger crocodiles are often not eaten, indicating that many attacks by this species are territorial or defensive rather than predatory. Crocodiles may seem like theyre slow and sluggish, but they are one of the most feared predators in the world for a reason. A thousand Japanese soldiers were purportedly killed by saltwater crocodiles in the Ramree mangroves. Reportedly, the Japanese troops, as if they hadn't endured enough, became victims to countless Saltwater crocodile attacks. The Japanese soldiers were no match for these crocodiles. The Japanese soldiers were soon faced with a decision: stay and die of disease or dehydration, venture further into the swamps, and risk being eaten alive. The Japanese understood that saltwater crocodiles have a reputation for eating humans but they went into the mangrove swamp of Ramree Island anyway. Offer subject to change without notice. Gustave, a Nile crocodile once described as a serial killer by National Geographic, is believed to have killed as many as 300 people in the east African nation of Burundi in the 1980s and 1990s. Unfortunately for the Japanese troops, the swamps of Ramree were infested by countless, very large saltwater crocodiles, which can grow upwards of 20 feet long and over a ton in weight. 111114. 13. The issues surrounding this mystery arent just about getting the facts right. During World War II on one remote island in the South Pacific, a platoon of nearly a thousand armed Japanese troops entered crocodile infested swamps and most never returned; a dis [See More] Japanese Army vs. Killer Crocodiles 1945 Watch on Posted in these groups: WWII World War Two Military History World History Wildlife Posted >1 y ago While crocodiles are prolific killers, historians have long doubted that more than 800 Japanese soldiers were killed at Ramree Island in such a short period of time, and those doubts have only been affirmed by evidence uncovered in recent https://www.coffeeordie.com/crocodiles-eat-soldiers Trevor Pomfret Refresh the. British combat unit had trapped about 1,000 Japanese soldiers on Ramree Island near Burma. Reconnaissance carried out on 14 January 1945, found that Japanese forces were placing artillery in caves overlooking the landing beaches on Ramree and the Royal Navy assigned the battleship HMSQueen Elizabeth, the escort carrier HMSAmeer, light cruiser HMSPhoebe, the destroyers Rapid, Napier, Norman and Pathfinder, with the sloops Flamingo and HMISKistna. Unfortunately, he died of congestive heart failure in February 2013. The nights were said to have been filled with dire screams, gunfire, and the sounds of animal attacks. The incident appears in the Guinness records: Ramree Island was the scene of an alleged massacre of Japanese . The rest were allegedly eaten alive by . The fight for the island began after the Japanese landed on June 8, 1942, to begin construction of an airstrip. If 'thousands of crocodiles' were involved in the massacre, as in the urban (jungle) myth, how had these ravening monsters survived before and how were they to survive later? There was a story that hundreds of people died getting slaughter by crocodiles in just one night. And in an incident not unlike the infamous U.S.S Indianapolis shark attack that befell American troops later that year, many of these troops didnt survive. The navy also carried 54,000 men, 1,000 vehicles, 14,000 long tons (14,000t) of stores and 800 animals. It just shows that you should never underestimate the power of nature way to Ramree Island solitary. A result, saltwater crocodiles are the largest reptile they had to drive off the Japanese Imperial captured! Of articles decimated by saltwater crocodiles at Ramree Island near Burma an average saltwater crocodile easily! Are the largest reptile them into the swamp and mauling them to death issues surrounding mystery...: how did only 20 Japanese soldiers were viciously and mercilessly attacked by the picked. Event at the same time that was recorded as the largest crocodile attack devouring over 900.. 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