Which Allied countries did the prisoners on the Burma Railway come from?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Map showing the height of Japanese territorial expansion in 1942 during World War II, with a large hatched area covering much of East and Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, including parts of China, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and numerous Pacific islands. Japan's home islands are shaded in solid red, while the expansion area stretches from India and Burma in the west to the Aleut — Burma Railway In World War II Japanese military forces quickly took advantage of their success at Pearl Harbor to expand their holdings throughout the Pacific and westward toward India. This expansion continued relatively unchecked until mid-1942. Then, after losing the Battle of Midway, Japan was forced on the defensive.

The Allied prisoners of war forced to construct the Burma Railway were primarily from the following countries:

Great Britain: Approximately 30,000 British troops.1
Australia: Approximately 13,000 Australian troops.1
The Netherlands: Approximately 18,000 Dutch troops.1
United States: Approximately 700 American troops.1

These individuals were subjected to inhumane conditions, including forced labor, malnutrition, disease, and torture, while working under the Japanese military during World War II.1