Bridge Over the River Kwai

(One of the) Bridge(s) Over the River Kwai, Kanchanaburi, Thailand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_over_the_river_Kwai_Sept_2009.jpg
©Kurun


Bridge Over the River Kwai refers to a bridge over the river Khwae Yai in Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand. It was made famous by the 1957 British war movie Bridge on the River Kwai, which was a fictitious account based on the forced labour on the Death Railway during the Second World War.

The "River Kwai" in the story refers to Khwae Yai, which during the Second World War, was known as the Mae Klong. In 1960, the two main tributaries of the Mae Klong were named Khwae Yai and Khwae Noi.

The bridge over Khwae Yai in fact refers to two bridges. One was built of wood and another of concrete and steel. Both were constructed using prisoner-of-war labour in 1943. The two bridges were bombed by the Royal Air Force in February 1945. The prisoners-of-war were put to rebuilt the bridge, but in April the same year a second raid by U.S. Army Air Froces damaged it once again. The prisoners were again put to repair the bridges, only to have the Royal Air Force destroy it in June. The Japanese surrender after that stopped any further repair work on the bridge. The British Army dismantled close to 4 kilometers of track that was built on the Thai-Burma railroad.

After the war, the Thai government began work to repair the bridge and the railroad. Some replacement of the truss spans of the bridge were supplied by Japan as part of war reparations.

Bridge on the River Kwai
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bridge_over_River_Kwai.jpg
Mjanich

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