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Masters Autobiography Trilogy #2
The Road Past Mandalay
This is the second part of John Masters' how he fought with his Gurkha regiment during World War II until his promotion to command one of the Chindit columns behind enemy lines in Burma. Written by a bestselling novelist at the height of his powers, it is an exceptionally moving story that culminates in him having to personally shoot a number of wounded British soldiers who cannot be evacuated before their position is overrun by the Japanese. It is an uncomfortable reminder that Churchill's obsession with 'special forces' squandered thousands of Allied lives in operations that owed more to public relations than strategic calculation. This military and moral odyssey is one of the greatest of World War II frontline memoirs.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 24, 1961
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515 people want to read
About the author
John Masters
147 books52 followersMasters was the son of a lieutenant-colonel whose family had a long tradition of service in the Indian Army. He was educated at Wellington and Sandhurst. On graduating from Sandhurst in 1933, he was seconded to the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry (DCLI) for a year before applying to serve with the 4th Prince of Wales's Own Gurkha Rifles. He saw service on the North-West Frontier with the 2nd battalion of the regiment, and was rapidly given a variety of appointments within the battalion and the regimental depot, becoming the Adjutant of the 2nd battalion in early 1939.
During World War II his battalion was sent to Basra in Iraq, during the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Masters subsequently served in Iraq, Syria and Persia. In early 1942, he attended the Indian Army Staff College at Quetta. Here he met the wife of a fellow officer and began an affair. They were later to marry. This caused a small scandal at the time.
After Staff College he first served as Brigade Major in 114th Indian Infantry Brigade before being "poached" by "Joe" Lentaigne, another officer from 4th Gurkhas, to be Brigade Major in 111th Indian Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation. From March, 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in Burma. On the death of General Orde Wingate on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindits' overall commander and Masters commanded the main body of 111 Brigade.
In May, the brigade was ordered to hold a position code-named ‘Blackpool’ near Mogaung in northern Burma. The isolated position was attacked with great intensity for seventeen days and eventually the brigade was forced to withdraw. Masters had to order the medical orderlies to shoot 19 of his own men, casualties who had no hope of recovery or rescue. Masters later wrote about these events in the second volume of his autobiography, The Road Past Mandalay.
After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the Chief of Staff) of Indian 19th Infantry Division, which was heavily involved in the later stages of the Burma Campaign, until the end of the war. After a spell as a staff officer in GHQ India in Delhi, he then served as an instructor at the British Army Staff College, Camberley. He left the army after this posting, and moved to the United States, where he attempted to set up a business promoting walking tours in the Himalayas, one of his hobbies. The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.
In later life, Masters and his wife Barbara moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. He died in 1983 from complications following heart surgery. His family and friends scattered his ashes from an aeroplane over the mountain trails he loved to hike. General Sir Michael Rose, the former UN commander in Bosnia, is a stepson of Masters.
During World War II his battalion was sent to Basra in Iraq, during the brief Anglo-Iraqi War. Masters subsequently served in Iraq, Syria and Persia. In early 1942, he attended the Indian Army Staff College at Quetta. Here he met the wife of a fellow officer and began an affair. They were later to marry. This caused a small scandal at the time.
After Staff College he first served as Brigade Major in 114th Indian Infantry Brigade before being "poached" by "Joe" Lentaigne, another officer from 4th Gurkhas, to be Brigade Major in 111th Indian Infantry Brigade, a Chindit formation. From March, 1944, the brigade served behind the Japanese lines in Burma. On the death of General Orde Wingate on 24 April, Lentaigne became the Chindits' overall commander and Masters commanded the main body of 111 Brigade.
In May, the brigade was ordered to hold a position code-named ‘Blackpool’ near Mogaung in northern Burma. The isolated position was attacked with great intensity for seventeen days and eventually the brigade was forced to withdraw. Masters had to order the medical orderlies to shoot 19 of his own men, casualties who had no hope of recovery or rescue. Masters later wrote about these events in the second volume of his autobiography, The Road Past Mandalay.
After briefly commanding the 3rd battalion of his regiment, Masters subsequently became GSO1 (the Chief of Staff) of Indian 19th Infantry Division, which was heavily involved in the later stages of the Burma Campaign, until the end of the war. After a spell as a staff officer in GHQ India in Delhi, he then served as an instructor at the British Army Staff College, Camberley. He left the army after this posting, and moved to the United States, where he attempted to set up a business promoting walking tours in the Himalayas, one of his hobbies. The business was not a success and, to make ends meet, he decided to write of his experiences in the army. When his novels proved popular, he became a full-time writer.
In later life, Masters and his wife Barbara moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. He died in 1983 from complications following heart surgery. His family and friends scattered his ashes from an aeroplane over the mountain trails he loved to hike. General Sir Michael Rose, the former UN commander in Bosnia, is a stepson of Masters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
March 8, 2015
If you're looking for rip-roaring-blazing-WWII-action, look elsewhere.
This is John Master's second installment of his three-part memoir about his military career and what came after. This volume details his time as an entry-to-mid level Staff officer during WWII in the Iraq and Burma campaigns. Naturally, given the duties of his rank, much of this book reflects the tedium of planning and commanding troops from a battlefield headquarters.
However, that doesn't make it a tedious book. Masters was an incredibly gifted writer, and much of the book was compelling reading. I will concede however, that one longish stretch was not as interesting as the rest of it- however, I couldn't put down (roughly) the first and last hundred-and-fifty some-odd pages.
Masters gives an inside look at the poorly conceived, managed and grueling Chindits campaign behind the lines in Burma. If WWII personalities interest you, Masters gives a fascinating personal take on Orde Wingate and Joseph Stilwell. This is the meat of the book.
But this is more than just a fighting memoir. Masters' personal life and time at Staff College are equally compelling as his experiences with the Chindits, and the final push to dislodge the Japanese from Burma. His writing illustrates very well the Herculean effort of the many nations at a global war- something which we haven't seen the likes of since.
His perspective is also interesting because he was a professional soldier. WWII was not an indignant shock or surprise to him. In "Bugles and a Tiger" he writes about his observations on the slow slide into war. The majority of the other first-person accounts of WWII I've read have been from men catapulted into service. Masters was ready. In addition, though British, Master's is not really "of Great Britain". As a person who spent part of his childhood and practically all of his adulthood in India, he provides a vision of the world that is more expansive than those who grew up and lived in "the West".
Caveat: Masters does reflect a paternalistic-Kipling-esque-"White Man's Burden" attitude about India. But that attitude is tempered with genuine respect and care for the people, and the country. Believe me, I've read memoirs from colonialists and occupiers that express nothing but disdain and disgusting racist condescension. Masters is not any of the aforementioned, and actually is a bit of a humanist- but the fact remains, he was the descendent of a family that had lived in India for generations. He considered himself more attached to India than England.
The third part of his memoir which covers Indian independence and Partition should be interesting to read. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, so I'm going to start Khushwant Singh's "Train to Pakistan" while I wait.
All in all, his memoirs (combined) have been a fascinating odyssey. If I had the third installment, I would have picked it up moments after finishing "Road".
This is John Master's second installment of his three-part memoir about his military career and what came after. This volume details his time as an entry-to-mid level Staff officer during WWII in the Iraq and Burma campaigns. Naturally, given the duties of his rank, much of this book reflects the tedium of planning and commanding troops from a battlefield headquarters.
However, that doesn't make it a tedious book. Masters was an incredibly gifted writer, and much of the book was compelling reading. I will concede however, that one longish stretch was not as interesting as the rest of it- however, I couldn't put down (roughly) the first and last hundred-and-fifty some-odd pages.
Masters gives an inside look at the poorly conceived, managed and grueling Chindits campaign behind the lines in Burma. If WWII personalities interest you, Masters gives a fascinating personal take on Orde Wingate and Joseph Stilwell. This is the meat of the book.
But this is more than just a fighting memoir. Masters' personal life and time at Staff College are equally compelling as his experiences with the Chindits, and the final push to dislodge the Japanese from Burma. His writing illustrates very well the Herculean effort of the many nations at a global war- something which we haven't seen the likes of since.
His perspective is also interesting because he was a professional soldier. WWII was not an indignant shock or surprise to him. In "Bugles and a Tiger" he writes about his observations on the slow slide into war. The majority of the other first-person accounts of WWII I've read have been from men catapulted into service. Masters was ready. In addition, though British, Master's is not really "of Great Britain". As a person who spent part of his childhood and practically all of his adulthood in India, he provides a vision of the world that is more expansive than those who grew up and lived in "the West".
Caveat: Masters does reflect a paternalistic-Kipling-esque-"White Man's Burden" attitude about India. But that attitude is tempered with genuine respect and care for the people, and the country. Believe me, I've read memoirs from colonialists and occupiers that express nothing but disdain and disgusting racist condescension. Masters is not any of the aforementioned, and actually is a bit of a humanist- but the fact remains, he was the descendent of a family that had lived in India for generations. He considered himself more attached to India than England.
The third part of his memoir which covers Indian independence and Partition should be interesting to read. I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, so I'm going to start Khushwant Singh's "Train to Pakistan" while I wait.
All in all, his memoirs (combined) have been a fascinating odyssey. If I had the third installment, I would have picked it up moments after finishing "Road".
March 30, 2019
This was a re-read for me. My father had a 1960s edition of this book which I inherited and read some years ago, but it is the second part of an autobiographical trilogy and having recently read the first in the series, I thought it made sense to re-read this part.
This second part covers WWII. Initially the setting is a series of relatively low level campaigns in the Middle East. The author forms part of Indian and British forces who overthrow the Vichy regime in French controlled Syria, as well as pro-German governments in Iraq and Iran. It was odd in a way to read of Falluja, Mosul and Raqqa in a different context, (though still one that involved warfare). These campaigns were though just a prelude to the author’s experiences as commander of one the “Chindit” Brigades that operated behind Japanese lines in Burma in 1944. In between we have the author’s personal story, centred around his involvement with a married woman, whom he later marries himself. In a sign of how different this era was, the Indian Army of the period had a rule that any officer who was named in a divorce case had to explain why he should not resign his commission. In Masters’ case pragmatism won through. It was wartime and his senior commanders advised their HQ he was too valuable an officer to lose over a divorce case.
The book provides a vivid description of Masters’ time with the Chindits. Normally combat troops would be rotated between the front line and being pulled back for rest periods. Being a Chindit meant almost continuous combat and unrelenting strain for months on end. After exhausting combat at locations codenamed “Blackpool” and “2171”, Masters eventually returns to India to meet his new fiancée and new baby. He records that on meeting his baby daughter for the first time “I hugged her tight, but could not release any emotion. After Blackpool and 2171 and the succeeding sixty days, I have never been able to.” I suppose this is what we now call PTSD.
Masters’ had great respect for General Slim, the commander of the 14th Army, an opinion that seemed to be shared by all of Slim’s colleagues, but he is more critical of the eccentric Orde Wingate, overall commander of the Chindits. His main criticism though, is aimed at the misanthropic Stilwell (“unlike any other American I have ever met”), a man whose chief pleasure in life was schadenfreude.
Of course, the book has some dated social attitudes, but Masters was quite a reflective man. I’ll finish with one example, which follows a fantastic two-page description of the ethnic diversity of the British Empire’s forces in Burma and ends:
“No one who saw the 14th Army in action, above all, no-one who saw its dead on the field of battle, the black and the white and the brown and the yellow lying together in their indistinguishable blood on the rich soil of Burma, can ever doubt that there is a brotherhood of man, or fail to cry, What is Man, that he can give so much for war, so little for peace?”
This second part covers WWII. Initially the setting is a series of relatively low level campaigns in the Middle East. The author forms part of Indian and British forces who overthrow the Vichy regime in French controlled Syria, as well as pro-German governments in Iraq and Iran. It was odd in a way to read of Falluja, Mosul and Raqqa in a different context, (though still one that involved warfare). These campaigns were though just a prelude to the author’s experiences as commander of one the “Chindit” Brigades that operated behind Japanese lines in Burma in 1944. In between we have the author’s personal story, centred around his involvement with a married woman, whom he later marries himself. In a sign of how different this era was, the Indian Army of the period had a rule that any officer who was named in a divorce case had to explain why he should not resign his commission. In Masters’ case pragmatism won through. It was wartime and his senior commanders advised their HQ he was too valuable an officer to lose over a divorce case.
The book provides a vivid description of Masters’ time with the Chindits. Normally combat troops would be rotated between the front line and being pulled back for rest periods. Being a Chindit meant almost continuous combat and unrelenting strain for months on end. After exhausting combat at locations codenamed “Blackpool” and “2171”, Masters eventually returns to India to meet his new fiancée and new baby. He records that on meeting his baby daughter for the first time “I hugged her tight, but could not release any emotion. After Blackpool and 2171 and the succeeding sixty days, I have never been able to.” I suppose this is what we now call PTSD.
Masters’ had great respect for General Slim, the commander of the 14th Army, an opinion that seemed to be shared by all of Slim’s colleagues, but he is more critical of the eccentric Orde Wingate, overall commander of the Chindits. His main criticism though, is aimed at the misanthropic Stilwell (“unlike any other American I have ever met”), a man whose chief pleasure in life was schadenfreude.
Of course, the book has some dated social attitudes, but Masters was quite a reflective man. I’ll finish with one example, which follows a fantastic two-page description of the ethnic diversity of the British Empire’s forces in Burma and ends:
“No one who saw the 14th Army in action, above all, no-one who saw its dead on the field of battle, the black and the white and the brown and the yellow lying together in their indistinguishable blood on the rich soil of Burma, can ever doubt that there is a brotherhood of man, or fail to cry, What is Man, that he can give so much for war, so little for peace?”
October 20, 2014
copied and pasted KIRKUS REVIEW
A personal record of far more general interest than might be expected from the statement of its content: ""the story of how a professional officer of the old Indian Army reached some sort of maturity both as a soldier and a man"". Masters has a rare gift for story telling, and even the facts of his professional training, of the details of strategy and tactics in jungle warfare, behind enemy lines in Malaya, come alive and make absorbingly interesting reading was the first volume of his autobiography: this is his second. The strange and unfamiliar life depicted in the earlier book provided for many an extra llip; the story of a soldier and a war has been done repeatedly. In fact and fiction and yet John Masters gives it that extra dimension that lifts his book out of the ordinary. His sharp criticism of is more than sustained by recorded facts. There is romance here and adventure; there is honest exploration of motives and goals, of responses to situations, that give it an overall recognizable quality with which many will find identification. It can be recommended on all levels.
A personal record of far more general interest than might be expected from the statement of its content: ""the story of how a professional officer of the old Indian Army reached some sort of maturity both as a soldier and a man"". Masters has a rare gift for story telling, and even the facts of his professional training, of the details of strategy and tactics in jungle warfare, behind enemy lines in Malaya, come alive and make absorbingly interesting reading was the first volume of his autobiography: this is his second. The strange and unfamiliar life depicted in the earlier book provided for many an extra llip; the story of a soldier and a war has been done repeatedly. In fact and fiction and yet John Masters gives it that extra dimension that lifts his book out of the ordinary. His sharp criticism of is more than sustained by recorded facts. There is romance here and adventure; there is honest exploration of motives and goals, of responses to situations, that give it an overall recognizable quality with which many will find identification. It can be recommended on all levels.
August 31, 2025
Tight text. Gripping life.
November 1, 2014
Somehow, the higher ranking a soldier is, the less impactful an account of war and battles he is able to write. Perhaps because high level strategy and planning do not make for as exciting reading as the foot soldier going at it hand to hand with the enemy in the trenches. Not unless the reader is also well acquainted with technical jargon of military planning. Try as he did to describe the hardships and atrocities of the war in Burma, I just could not empathize with the author's retelling of the difficulties and complexities of commanding thousands of fighting men. In fact, he even came across as callous at times while mentioning the gruesome wounds inflicted on casualties, how he had to conduct triage on his own wounded, or how he summarily ordered the execution of local Burmese criminals.
Though I could understand the attitude of the imperialist towards his colonized subjects, akin to the paternal love between father and child, I still found it distasteful that so few could lord over so many people of another country. Simply saying that if it wasn't the British it would've been another Western country is just an excuse to justify colonial conquest.
I was attracted to this book for its coverage of the war in Burma, from someone who had fought in it, but turned out disappointed. The action does not really pick up till the final third of the book, the front portions being about the author's experience in the middle east theatre and learning the ropes of a commander at military staff college, not exactly riveting stuff. I would recommend 'Quartered Safe Out Here' as a much superior account of the same campaign, written by a foot soldier, naturally.
Though I could understand the attitude of the imperialist towards his colonized subjects, akin to the paternal love between father and child, I still found it distasteful that so few could lord over so many people of another country. Simply saying that if it wasn't the British it would've been another Western country is just an excuse to justify colonial conquest.
I was attracted to this book for its coverage of the war in Burma, from someone who had fought in it, but turned out disappointed. The action does not really pick up till the final third of the book, the front portions being about the author's experience in the middle east theatre and learning the ropes of a commander at military staff college, not exactly riveting stuff. I would recommend 'Quartered Safe Out Here' as a much superior account of the same campaign, written by a foot soldier, naturally.
January 16, 2013
If " Bugles and a Tiger" spoke of Master's early career in British India, this the second part of his autobiography covers the period of the Second World War. Masters was an officer in the Guorkha Rifles and saw action on the Burmese front against the Japanese. Towards the end of the fighting in Burma, Masters was the commander of one of the Chindit columns organised by Brig Orde Wingate. The book covers what it took to be a staff officer on the war front and how difficult it was to balance the requirements of his men and his superiors. Like his works of fiction, Masters is the master of spinning a yarn and his writing style is eminently readable.
Masters' story is a great source for material about the fearless Gurkhas. He was commissioned into the Prince of Wales Own Gurkha Rifles an spent all his professional life with the Gurkha regiments in India and Burma.
I must confess that I was influenced by his writing style and perhaps the 5 star rating reflects this. You must read this book and decide for yourself.
Masters' story is a great source for material about the fearless Gurkhas. He was commissioned into the Prince of Wales Own Gurkha Rifles an spent all his professional life with the Gurkha regiments in India and Burma.
I must confess that I was influenced by his writing style and perhaps the 5 star rating reflects this. You must read this book and decide for yourself.
August 25, 2013
Absorbing and beautifully written - as battle narrative it is excellent, but it is far more than that. Nostalgia for a world that was passing (British India), admiration for allies and enemies alike (except for Vinegar Joe Stillwell, who gets enjoyably skewered) and fascinating insights into some key players of WW2 such as Slim and Wingate. I'm only sorry this book was sitting on my shelves for years before I finally got round to reading it.
November 28, 2015
One of the few war memoirs that could grasp the readers from the beginning to the end. It's a personal narrative and, of course, full of personal reflection. I believe most of the readers would like the part about 111th Brigade -- especially his command and the feats he went through with it. Oh, readers would like the mountain trekking as well -- some gems of fluent nature writing that should not be skimmed through.
June 23, 2009
One of the better autobiographical accounts of the Second World War, from the point of view of a British officer who served in some little known campaigns in Iraq and Syria as well as more well known operations in India and Burma (the once and future Myanmar).
January 20, 2015
Dark , with dark humour in abundance, Masters gives out the stuff soldiers see and experience in war with enough simplicity to make you feel the pain and anguish and triumph of human spirit at one go. Go read.
August 25, 2018
Excellent and well written book on Masters’ personal experiences in WWII. Gives great insight on staff work and the deficiencies of the Chindit campaign. Could hardly put it down.
August 15, 2017
Honest and riveting.....
March 7, 2019
4.4 out of 5. As a fan of military history, I loved this book. It’s a first hand account of the Burma campaign and the exploits of the Chindits. The army in India and Burma were known as the forgotten army, and I hadn’t read much about them. It’s well written, and the style of writing varies between the more descriptive passages around his training, and travels in the East, to fast moving, short, frenetic sentences during the brutal and relentless battle sequences. I couldn’t comprehend how men survived such horror and hardship. Indeed many didn’t, and the survivors all seemed to carry physical or mental scars.
The book is of its time - Masters comes across as caring deeply for his Indian and Gurkha soldiers, but his colonial outlook is quite pronounced. I also felt there was a bit too much emphasis on his romantic conquests with the “native girls”, but they’re minor complaints in a great book.
This book seemed to seek me out, rather than the other way round. It was a best-seller in the 1950s. I first found it in the library of an old country house in Laois in Ireland. I read the first few chapters, and enjoyed them, but then our stay came to an end and I had to leave it. Two years later a colleague who was emigrating, to be closer to his grandchildren, gave me a box of books, and I was delighted to find this classic again.
The book is of its time - Masters comes across as caring deeply for his Indian and Gurkha soldiers, but his colonial outlook is quite pronounced. I also felt there was a bit too much emphasis on his romantic conquests with the “native girls”, but they’re minor complaints in a great book.
This book seemed to seek me out, rather than the other way round. It was a best-seller in the 1950s. I first found it in the library of an old country house in Laois in Ireland. I read the first few chapters, and enjoyed them, but then our stay came to an end and I had to leave it. Two years later a colleague who was emigrating, to be closer to his grandchildren, gave me a box of books, and I was delighted to find this classic again.
September 18, 2018
This book contains the best descriptions of battle I've ever come across. While most of it is taken up with the Burma campaign, there is also a fascinating beginning describing Masters's time in Iraq and Syria. However it is the Burmese material particularly the Chindit campaign which are its true strength. The description of the battle for the block at "Blackpool"in Burma is a tour de force, capturing the heroic endurance shown there and the draining of emotions that it entailed in a magnificent way. Masters is a generous author and shows a clear love for India and its peoples, along with a wistful nostalgia for what is passing away. In someways the book could be read as a celebration of all that was good with the Raj. The only character who comes out of the book (very) badly is Stilwell and Masters is also somewhat ambivalent about Wingate. Quite apart from the military history, Masters's musings on life are also thoughtful and worth engaging with. In short a magnificent military memoir - if it had been about the western desert it would be known by everyone, sadly Burma is the forgotten war. Read this and you'll really ask yourself why.
May 24, 2022
Great read. Nothing better than reading a memoir written by an English novelist about their life and adventures. Anecdotes are alive, characters are skillfully drawn and descriptions are like illustrations. This is the third excellent memoir I have been blessed with reading this year. The other two are First Light by Geoffrey Wellum (not written by a novelist but outstanding nonetheless) and Quartered Safe Out Here by George MacDonald Fraser. A brilliant book full of humanity, insight and drama played out in the exotic Mideast and Burma during a forgotten campaign in World War II.
April 4, 2012
This was the sequel to Masters' Bugles and a Tiger.
The glimpses of Second World War-era Iraq and Iran were fascinating if brief.
The material on the Burma Campaign of the Second World War was quite interesting. This book would have probably been better read after the reading of a more formal history of the Burma Campaign as Masters was writing at a time when his references were fresher in the memories of his readers.
The glimpses of Second World War-era Iraq and Iran were fascinating if brief.
The material on the Burma Campaign of the Second World War was quite interesting. This book would have probably been better read after the reading of a more formal history of the Burma Campaign as Masters was writing at a time when his references were fresher in the memories of his readers.
November 14, 2015
A first person narrative into the world of warfare set in the Asian continent prior a lot of modern borders in World War 2. Great insight into the protocols and strategy planning of an officer versus the general foot soldier live action you usually get with WWII memoirs. I'd say the pace is humdrum slow but consistent.
December 13, 2009
Masters takes us through his experiences fighting first in Syria, Iraq, and Iran then (after a stint at General Staff school) in the brutal Burma campaign leading Chindits behind Japanese lines. Superbly told.
(1961 Harper edition.)
(1961 Harper edition.)
June 15, 2017
Second volume of Masters' autobiography; it is brilliant in every way. It is well researched, beautifully written and honestly evocative of a lost world. It would have been an honor to know the man. It is a must read for anyone interested in the Burma campaign of the Second World War.
April 6, 2024
John Masters' 1961 The Road to Mandalay: A Personal Narrative, the second of a 3-volume memoir, continues a bit after where Bugles and a Tiger left off, with the author's entry into combat in the Second World War.
As Masters tells us in the Foreword, which appears just before the book's first numbered page, his "purpose is to tell the story of how a professional officer of the old Indian Army reached some sort of maturity both as a soldier and a man" (1961 Harper hardcover). He admits that whereas probably "most people read Bugles and a Tiger for its depiction of a strange and rather romantic kind of life led by a very few," here he "tells of experiences shared with scores of millions, not yet middle-aged, who have fought in war, have loved, have known separation and discomfort and danger." His tale indeed does show great courage and determination, and great suffering as well, but he is careful to remind us, "My story is not unique and I am not a hero, but an ordinary man, and I have written this narrative because I believe that many of you will recognize in it parts of your own life, and know that in writing of myself I have written, also, of you and for you."
The work is comprised of three Books. "Action, West" concerns action against Vichy-French-controlled Iraq and Syria to anticipate and forestall potential German advances into the Middle East. "Changing Course" describes his time in the Staff College in Quetta back what is now Pakistan in what then was still British India, where he "could...learn to be a better soldier" (page 62) and eventually advance to his own command. It is in this period, by the way, that Masters meets his wife-to-be. "Action, East," which is somewhat larger than the other two combined, covers his work in the Chindits against the Japanese in occupied Burma.
Rather than giving much detail here, I simply will comment that, as usual, Masters gives a well-written and entertaining read. Some of it is drily witty, some agonizing and terrifying and brutal, some even quietly uplifting. "War was rather a lark" (page 35), the young man observes after a visit to an RAF club that concludes with him and three friends escorting all four "real female nurses" (page 34) available to the swimming pool for sandwiches and and drinks and singing and a final goodnight kiss. Perhaps it is not, though, for as their new General reminds the officers, "The dominant feeling of the battlefield is loneliness" (page 37), and not long afterward, one of the Gurkhas who was Masters' "'grandfather' when [he] was training the recruits in 1938, who was quite and shy and brave," is hit in an air raid, just "a tiny hole in his right side, high up under the armpit," and even admits to pain; "We told him he'd feel better tomorrow; then they put him out and operated, and he died during the night" (page 38).
There will be much more death before August of 1945, of course, when Masters, on a long leave before what might be the final push toward the enemy Home Islands, is hiking the Himalayas with his wife and a group of porters, oblivious, until they meet a man with a two-week-old newspaper with the headline "ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON JAPAN" (page 330). In the long years there will be struggle and suffering, and heroism and indecision, and even beauty and love as well.
There is love for the unhappily married young mother to whom he commits himself, love for the high crisp lands of northern India, love for his fellow soldiers of different colors and religions and nationalities and even sexual orientations. Masters is no blithely swaggering imperialist, or sneering classist, or prude; for his time, he is quite broad-minded indeed, and, although perhaps at this point the man does not yet realize it, he is an artist at heart as well.
By the end, the author "ha[s] been at war, with intervals, since March, 1937," first against various tribesmen in the North West Frontier Province of British India, and now "ha[s] fought from Aleppo to Mandalay, from the Tigris to the Irrawaddy. In deserts and mountains, in jungles and villages and ancient cities" (page 324). With a tale both sweeping and yet at times also "almost painfully personal" (Foreword), John Masters' The Road Past Mandalay even a lifetime after the events and emotions it chronicles will remain a 5-star read to anyone interested in the Second World War or the British Empire, and certainly anyone who has read the preceding Bugles and a Tiger.
As Masters tells us in the Foreword, which appears just before the book's first numbered page, his "purpose is to tell the story of how a professional officer of the old Indian Army reached some sort of maturity both as a soldier and a man" (1961 Harper hardcover). He admits that whereas probably "most people read Bugles and a Tiger for its depiction of a strange and rather romantic kind of life led by a very few," here he "tells of experiences shared with scores of millions, not yet middle-aged, who have fought in war, have loved, have known separation and discomfort and danger." His tale indeed does show great courage and determination, and great suffering as well, but he is careful to remind us, "My story is not unique and I am not a hero, but an ordinary man, and I have written this narrative because I believe that many of you will recognize in it parts of your own life, and know that in writing of myself I have written, also, of you and for you."
The work is comprised of three Books. "Action, West" concerns action against Vichy-French-controlled Iraq and Syria to anticipate and forestall potential German advances into the Middle East. "Changing Course" describes his time in the Staff College in Quetta back what is now Pakistan in what then was still British India, where he "could...learn to be a better soldier" (page 62) and eventually advance to his own command. It is in this period, by the way, that Masters meets his wife-to-be. "Action, East," which is somewhat larger than the other two combined, covers his work in the Chindits against the Japanese in occupied Burma.
Rather than giving much detail here, I simply will comment that, as usual, Masters gives a well-written and entertaining read. Some of it is drily witty, some agonizing and terrifying and brutal, some even quietly uplifting. "War was rather a lark" (page 35), the young man observes after a visit to an RAF club that concludes with him and three friends escorting all four "real female nurses" (page 34) available to the swimming pool for sandwiches and and drinks and singing and a final goodnight kiss. Perhaps it is not, though, for as their new General reminds the officers, "The dominant feeling of the battlefield is loneliness" (page 37), and not long afterward, one of the Gurkhas who was Masters' "'grandfather' when [he] was training the recruits in 1938, who was quite and shy and brave," is hit in an air raid, just "a tiny hole in his right side, high up under the armpit," and even admits to pain; "We told him he'd feel better tomorrow; then they put him out and operated, and he died during the night" (page 38).
There will be much more death before August of 1945, of course, when Masters, on a long leave before what might be the final push toward the enemy Home Islands, is hiking the Himalayas with his wife and a group of porters, oblivious, until they meet a man with a two-week-old newspaper with the headline "ATOMIC BOMB DROPPED ON JAPAN" (page 330). In the long years there will be struggle and suffering, and heroism and indecision, and even beauty and love as well.
There is love for the unhappily married young mother to whom he commits himself, love for the high crisp lands of northern India, love for his fellow soldiers of different colors and religions and nationalities and even sexual orientations. Masters is no blithely swaggering imperialist, or sneering classist, or prude; for his time, he is quite broad-minded indeed, and, although perhaps at this point the man does not yet realize it, he is an artist at heart as well.
By the end, the author "ha[s] been at war, with intervals, since March, 1937," first against various tribesmen in the North West Frontier Province of British India, and now "ha[s] fought from Aleppo to Mandalay, from the Tigris to the Irrawaddy. In deserts and mountains, in jungles and villages and ancient cities" (page 324). With a tale both sweeping and yet at times also "almost painfully personal" (Foreword), John Masters' The Road Past Mandalay even a lifetime after the events and emotions it chronicles will remain a 5-star read to anyone interested in the Second World War or the British Empire, and certainly anyone who has read the preceding Bugles and a Tiger.
August 29, 2025
This is a personal recollection of a soldier.
You will read about light skirmish in Iraq and Syria.
The author's tracks in Persia, Himalaya.
How British/ Indian army trained their staff officers.
His affair with his wife to be.
And most interesting of all, at least for me, his fights in Burma.
Masters started as a Brigade Major of 111 Indian Infantry Brigade in second Chindit expedition and later he commanded the column after Lentaigne was promoted out and he fought numerous battles and heart-renderingly had to order the mercy killing of 19 of his own badly wounded men at Blackpool.
Later he served as G1 of 19th Infantry Division and capture Mandalay, the ancient capital of Burma.
This book deserved five stars if it is only about Burma Campaign.
His depictions of the bloody fights, human misery, desperate courage are superb without sounding cliched.
However I am bored out of my mind while reading his frequent excursions, his love affair.
Hence 4.5 stars.
July 24, 2021
Inspired to read this (on my shelf for years) after listening to an audiobook about the second Chindit expedition, which made much mention of Brigade Major/commander Jack Masters. I've read a few of Masters' novels - attracted by their Indian settings/themes - but have never really got on with them, but I did enjoy the first volume of his memoirs some years back, 'Bugles & A Tiger'. Anyway, this second instalment didn't disappoint. It starts in the Middle East - in the much neglected actions against Vichy France and Iran - before moving to India and Burma. He's a lively and engaging storyteller and I found the mix of personal anecdotes (including how he met his wife) and technical soldiering (Staff College and the trials of command in the field) fascinating. Definitely one of the great war memoirs and an affectionate portrayal of the Gurkhas.
October 21, 2021
What a good book this is.A detailed account of war particularly in India and Burma in WW II as seen through the eyes of a soldier and later a famous novelist. It gives an excellent account of the Chindit campaign as experienced on the ground with a sympathetic but critical account of Orde Wingate, its inspirational leader.The campaign proved difficult to mount and costly in operation.The book then looks at the successful campaign to regain Burma and its capital,Rangoon, under Field Marshal Slim.It’s an evocative and emotional journey and well worth a thread to the general reader and war enthusiast.
November 20, 2020
I didn't think I'd like John Masters, but I was wrong to jump to conclusions from the first few pages... His honesty in this story of his war, and his passionfor the men and woman in his life during this time endeared him to me and by the end of the book I was left with a deep admiration... Not only his journey through the officer corps and the battlefields of the Middle East and Burma, but also his humanity which shines through his writing. Makes me want to read his other books, now I know they exist.
April 13, 2021
When a writer writes an autobiography that includes some of the most harrowing times, most incredible places, deepest emotional pits and high emotional peaks that a human can probably experience, this is the result.
Despite being largely concerned with conflict and some 60 years old, this resonated with me as few pieces of writing have.
Not for all.
Despite being largely concerned with conflict and some 60 years old, this resonated with me as few pieces of writing have.
Not for all.
August 2, 2022
Highly readable autobiography of the author’s experiences in the Middle East and then Burma in the Second World War. The battles of Imphal and Kohima were subsequently voted Britain’s greatest battle (in 2013). Intertwined with his Indian background and love affair. Sterling stuff; totally recommend.
May 11, 2021
Excellent- he shares the same high opinion of Gen. Slim that most men who served under him have. It was interesting to see the staff officer side in comparison to the enlisted man's side in George MacDonald Fraser's Quartered Safe Out Here.
April 18, 2022
A little terse! Too detailed description of the war in Burma. But glimpses of his mastery comes through once in a while like in the first of the trilogy ' Bugles and a Tiger'.
July 7, 2022
One of the best well written accounts of war, I have ever read. Extremely descriptive in detail. It open up my eyes regarding some of the personalities that played their part in the war.
January 1, 2024
Review to follow
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