The Art of War Joint Competency
Military Culture, Learning and Adaptation during the Burma Campaign 1942-1945
By
Mathew Shelley
This essay discusses how military culture and learning and adaptation on both sides affected the outcome of the Burma Campaign 1942–1945. The British 14th Army developed a military culture of learning and adaptation which led to their victory while the Imperial Japanese Army had an existing military culture based upon tenets of Bushido, which constrained their ability to learn and adapt and in turn led to their defeat.