Due to rains and lack of carrying capacity, the troops lost most of their tents and had to manage sleeping in open. Fatigue and insect bites resulted in many of the soldiers getting malaria. Although it was earlier estimated that their platoon would reach the British army camp in South Burma in about twelve days time, the hostile terrain, heavy rains and fatigued soldiers delayed the march. On the fifth day the radio operator reported that the radio receiver they had has battery drain out and their connection to the outside world is lost. Almost all the soldiers in that platoon of about two hundred were unfamiliar to the terrain and used maps and compass to understand the direction. Maps also became useless eventually as rains had changed the landscape of the area completely. New streams cutting across the thick jungle made the advance of soldiers very difficult. Over and above they carried a lot of weapons and equipments which had to be carried for their own safety. They knew that the Japanese had advanced a lot and they even might intercept them in this situation. Being without arms would mean sure shot captivity and death was almost sure. Their fear came out true on the eighth day when few Japanese fighter planes spotted the platoon in the jungle and dropped few bombs on them. They kept coming back and fired through machine guns. The causality was limited to only ten soldiers who were all suffering with malaria and their stretchers were left in open when the attack happened. The platoon commander knew that enemy too will not be far and they would come chasing on foot too.