Kandy Conference

   (1945)

   Meeting held September 6-7, 1945, at the headquarters of Lord Louis Mountbatten, Supreme Allied Commander, South East Asia, in Kandy, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), attended by himself, General William Slim, other top-ranking British military and civilian officials, and leaders of the Patriotic Burmese Forces (PBF) and Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League, including Aung San and Thakin Than Tun. The purpose of the conference was to decide the future of the PBF and its integration into a new Burma Army under British command. According to the agreement between Aung San and Mountbatten published on September 7, the PBF contingent was to consist of at least 5,200 men and 200 officers, amalgamated with Karen (Kayin), Kachin, and Chin troops who had fought with the British during the war. Infantry forces were to be "class battalions" (ethnically defined), while other units were to be "mixed." Colonial officials close to the governor, Reginald DormanSmith, opposed establishment of the army before the prewar civilian government reassumed authority, but Mountbatten overruled them after hearing the views of the Burmese delegation. The Supreme Commander offered Aung San a commission in the new army, but he refused, citing his determination to enter political life.

   See also Tatmadaw, History of.