I was writing a blog about Chinese Cemeteries in Kolkata since this is perhaps the only city in India with not one but two Chinatowns. So, it was obvious that there must be quite a few Chinese Cemeteries in Kolkata. While I was busy documenting and covering all the cemeteries in Kolkata, I remembered that a good friend of mine Somen Sengupta who is a heritage writer and enthusiast had written about a Chinese WWII Cemetery in Ramgarh dedicated to Chinese soldiers.
Now, this was a double bonus for me as I have written a few blogs about WWII and add the Chinese community for which I had done many works previously. Due to the pandemic, this trip was long due and Ramgarh was a place that I have crossed several times during my numerous trips to Jharkhand.
Last week the plan was finally done and I boarded a train to Bokaro Steel City from there I had a car waiting for me to take me to Ramgarh Cantonment. I had to return the same day to Kolkata thus this needed to be executed in a precise manner.
How to Reach Chinese WWII Cemetery in Ramgarh
This cemetery is located right next to the Ramgarh Military Cantonment. There is a specialized counter-insurgency unit that trains right next to the cemetery. From the main road when you turn left to cover the final one kilometer don’t be surprised to find potholes the size of a car. The road is so bad in this stretch that it took nearly 15 minutes to cover this part.
Keep in mind that you will see barbed wire fences all around which demarcate the prohibited zone as part of the cantonment so do not start clicking photographs or videos of these places. Drones are not allowed here and it’s also not allowed even while using them within the cemetery compound.
Once you reach you will for sure find the gates of the cemetery locked. The lone caretaker Chakradhari Yadav has the key to this place and you have to go to his village located within 500 meters of the cemetery and request him to either come himself with the key or send someone with the key.
There are high chances that he will refuse to come then you have to request. The next he will for sure demand a “Kharcha Pani” (Tip) which you have to pay. This can range between Rs. 100 to Rs. 200. He is so used to it that without this tip he won’t budge.
Location of Ramgarh Chinese WWII Cemetery on Map
History of Chinese and the Ramgarh Connection
Ramgarh was one of the first United States Army training centers outside of the USA. India back then was still under the British and World War II had been going on. During the war, there were many prisoners on both sides who are generally referred to as Prisoners of War (POW).
During the war, many Germans and Italians were captured especially from North Africa. They were transferred to India in Ramgarh, Bhopal, Dehradun, Bangalore, etc. for their imprisonment. Generally, these were civilians and not from the army thus they had restrictions but had their separate camps and to an extent some liberty within the boundary walls.
The Japanese troops were fast moving east and were already in control of much of mainland China. Burma was under British control which they lost at the hands of the advancing Japanese army. By May 1942 the allied forces had retreated out of Burma and moved west.
The troops fighting the Japanese primarily included Chinese soldiers. During their retreat, while most made it back to China some moved to Assam in India. These soldiers were mainly from the Chinese mainland. These soldiers who had retreated to India were designated at X Force.
With the Japanese fast advancing, it was need of the hour to regroup especially the Chinese soldiers. So, it was decided to vacate Ramgarh from all the POWs and transfer them to other camps. Ramgarh will then will be used to house these Chinese soldiers and also to train them for the next campaign.
Ramgarh had its strategic advantage, it had ready land for expansion and it had railway connectivity so moving men and equipment were easy. But here was the twist the training was to be provided by the United States Army. While the British provided the facility and the money in silver rupee.
Chiang Kai-shek approved the training camp in Ramgarh on 29th June 1942. This place was officially known by the Chinese as Chih Hui Pu or the Chinese Army in India. Chiang Kai-shek back then was the leader of the Republic of China and fronted the war against the Japanese.
General Stilwell was the commander of the China-Burma-India (CBI) theatre also he was the commander of the Chinese troops in India-Burma thus also making him report to Chiang Kai-shek. He was the one responsible for bringing back Chinese soldiers from Burma to India via Ledo in Assam. He was also instrumental in convincing both Eisenhour and Chiang Kai-shek for reforming the resistance with Chinese soldiers who would be given further training and assistance at Ramgarh.
By June 1942 American trainers had started arriving at the Ramgarh camp and by July 1942 the Chinese came in from Assam and Manipur. Next, a few years more and more Chinese soldiers were sent to Ramgarh for training this continued for the next two years till 1944.
Five divisions were created in this process New 30th, New 22nd, New 38th, 14th, and 50th Divisions. Each of these divisions had 15,000 men totaling up to 75,000.
Not only Chinese records show that a lot of Burmese nurses had also arrived at Ramgarh to assist the medics.
The Americans had a tough time teaching the Chinese soldiers since there was a major language barrier and also most of the men were conscripted who previously were mainly farmers. They had to be taught not only how to fight but in operate weapons and maintenance of these also. A part of the training also included tactical training in jungle and mountain warfare techniques.
This gamble paid off and the greatest example of this we see at the battle of Myitkyina wherein Chinese soldiers trained at Ramgarh completely overran the Japanese in the counter offense.
What To See At Chinese WWII Cemetery in Ramgarh
Sadly, there is no memorial plaque marking the Chinese training camp in Ramgarh anymore. Since this is an active army base so it’s logical that at a later stage this was upgraded and got transformed. If you compare the maps of the original training camp and then place it on online maps then you get a rough idea of where these training camps were. Refer to the video of Ramgarh Training Camp during WWII below and you can spot two hills in the backdrop it can be roughly pin-pointed on the map thus you get a rough idea of its placement.
Watch Carefully at Marker 0.22
The only thing that connects the Chinese soldiers to Ramgarh that you can still see is the WWII Chinese Cemetery which was built by General Zheng Dongguo in 1944. The cemetery now contains 667 tombs and amongst them only 40 have names, the rest are all unmarked. These are all the Chinese soldiers that fought on the Burma front against the Japanese between 1942 to 1945.
The south section contains the tombs belonging to the men from General Luo Zhuoying’s division and the west side contains the men from General Zheng Dongguo’s division. Only very few tombs have information written on them in Chinese while the majority of the tombs are sadly only marked as “Unknown Warrior”.
Once passed the massive gate you will find a big commemorative column built to honor the fallen Chinese soldiers of WWII. It has commemorative plaques on all four sides.
At the end of the cemetery, there is a temple that has been built in Buddhist style to honor the fallen Chinese soldiers. On the upper floor, you have a statue of Buddha made from black stone.
Sadly, this is what remains of perhaps the biggest training camp of foreign soldiers conducted by another foreign country on Indian soil. Hope that one-day things can be diplomatically agreed upon by both Taiwan and China and a name can be given to those “Unknown Warriors”. We only see movies and read stories about D-Day and the action in Europe and people have easily forgotten that India also played its part in WWII.
Vlog of Ramgarh WWII Chinese Cemetery
Resources
Burma, The Untold Story by Won-Loy Chan
Burma Surgeon Returns by Gordon S. Seagrave
NDTV
Jharkhand Tourism
Ibiblio
DNA India
Indian Express
Times of India
Other Blogs on WWII
Japanese Air Raids on Kolkata during WWII
Locating Baigachi RAF Airfield
Armistice Centenary Commemoration in Kolkata
Balloon Squadron That Protected Calcutta Against Japanese