Chindits
Encyclopedia
The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India
in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign
in World War II
. They were formed into long range penetration
groups trained to operate deep behind Japan
ese lines. The operations were marked by prolonged marches though extremely difficult terrain by underfed troops weakened by malaria and illnesses such as dysentery. The Chindits were the brainchild of the British army's most unconventional commander of WW2: Orde Wingate. A continuing controversy over the force has centered around the extremely high casualty rate which it suffered and the military value of its achievements.
when he was serving under Archibald Wavell, the Supreme Commander of the Far Eastern Theatre in India. The name was suggested by Captain Aung Thin (DSO) of the Burma Army. Chindit is a corrupted form of the suggested name of the Burmese mythical beast Chinthé
or Chinthay, statues of which guarded Buddhist temples.
In the East African Campaign
of 1940–41, Wingate had begun to explore the ideas that he later used with the Chindits, when he created and commanded a mixed group of regular Sudanese and Ethiopian units together with Abyssinian partisans. Known as Gideon Force
, they disrupted Italian supply lines and provided intelligence to British forces. As Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East in 1940, Wavell had given permission for the Gideon Force for political reasons, because he had thought Wingate's idea to be militarily too unorthodox. After the disbandment of Gideon Force, Wavell requested Wingate for service in Burma in 1942 where it was intended that he raise irregular forces to operate behind the Japanese lines similar to the manner in which Gideon Force had operated in Ethiopia. Rather than organize irregular forces in Burma, Wingate spent his time touring the country and developing his theory of long range penetration on paper. During the final stages of the British retreat from Burma, Wingate had himself specially flown back to India while the rest of the army walked out. Once in Delhi, he presented his proposals to Wavell.
during the summer months of 1942. Wingate took charge of the training of the troops in jungles of central India during the rainy season. Half of the Chindits were British infantry soldiers from the 13th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment (nominally a second-line battalion which contained a large number of older men), and men from the former Bush Warfare School in Burma who were formed into 142 Commando Company. The other portion of the force was made up of the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles
(a battalion which had only just been raised) and 2nd Battalion of the Burma Rifles
, a composite unit formed from several depleted battalions of Burmese troops which had retreated into India in 1942.
Wingate trained this force as Long-Range Penetration units that were to be supplied by stores parachuted or dropped from transport aircraft, and use close air support as a substitute for heavy artillery They would penetrate the jungle on foot, essentially relying on surprise through mobility to target enemy lines of communication (a tactic which the Japanese had previously been using to great effect in Singapore and in Burma in 1942 against British forces).
The standard brigade structure was abandoned. The force was formed instead into eight columns, each of which was organised as: an infantry rifle company; a support group with the heavy weapons; a reconnaissance platoon from the Burma Rifles; and a sabotage group from 142 Commando Company. Small detachments from the Royal Air Force (equipped with radios to call in air support), Royal Corps of Signals
and Royal Army Medical Corps
were attached to the Column headquarters. With 57 mule handlers, each British column numbered 306 men. (The Gurhka columns were slightly stronger, with 369 men.)
Shortly before the first operation, one column was broken up to bring the remaining seven up to full strength. Two or more columns were commanded by a group headquarters, which in turn was commanded by the brigade headquarters.
In addition to individual personal small arms such as SMLE rifles and Thompson submachine gun
s, each column carried its own complement of support weapons: three 2-inch mortars, four Boys anti-tank rifles, two medium Vickers machine gun
s, two light anti-aircraft guns and nine Bren light machine guns. These, along with radios, rations and other stores, would be carried on mules, which would also provide an emergency source of food once their loads had been depleted.
knife, personal weapon, ammunition, grenades, groundsheet, change of uniform, and other assorted items, that were carried in an Everest carrier, which was essentially a metal rucksack frame, without any pack.
On 8 February 1943 in Operation Longcloth, 3000 Chindits, Wingate with them, began their march into Burma. The original intent had been to use the Chindits as a part of a larger offensive but it was cancelled. Wingate convinced General Wavell to send the Chindits into Burma in spite of the cancellation of the larger offensive.
The Chindits crossed the Chindwin River
on 13 February and faced the first Japanese troops two days later. Two columns marched to the south and received their air supply drops in broad daylight to create an impression that they were the main attack. They even had a man impersonating a British general along with them. The RAF mounted air attacks on Japanese targets to support the deception. These columns were to swing east at the beginning of march and attack the main north-south in areas south of the main force. One column successfully carried out demolitions along the railway but the other column was ambushed. Half of the ambushed column returned to India.
Five other columns proceeded eastward. Two, those of Michael Calvert
and Bernard Fergusson, proceeded towards the main north-south railway in Burma. On 4 March, Calvert's column reached the valley and demolished the railway in 70 places. Fergusson arrived two days later to do the same. Despite these successes, however, the railway was only temporarily disabled, and resumed operation shortly after.
On many occasions, the Chindits could not take their wounded with them; some were left behind in villages. Wingate had in fact issued specific orders to leave behind all wounded, but these orders were not strictly followed. Since there were often no established paths in the jungle along their routes, many times they had to clear their own with machete
s and kukri
s (and on one occasion, a commandeered elephant). A single RAF
squadron of 6 planes supplied them by air.
Once in Burma, Wingate repeatedly changed his plans, sometimes without informing all the column commanders. The majority of two of the columns marched back to India after being ambushed by the Japanese in separate actions. After the railway attacks, he decided to cross his force over the Irrawaddy River
. However, the area on the other side of the river turned out to be inhospitable to operations. Water was difficult to obtain and the combination of rivers with a good system of roads in the area allowed the Japanese to force the Chindits into a progressively smaller "box".
In late March, Wingate made the decision to withdraw the majority of the force, but sent orders to one of the columns to continue eastward. The operations had reached the range limit of air supply and prospects for new successful operations were low, given the Japanese pressure. The columns were generally left to make their own way back to India. On the journey back, the most difficult actions involved crossing back over the Irrawaddy River. The Japanese had observers and patrols all along the river bank and could quickly concentrate once an attempt at a crossing was detected. Gradually, all the columns broke up into small groups. Wingate's headquarters returned to India on its own ahead of most of the columns. Through the spring and even into the autumn of 1943 individual groups of men from the Chindits made their way back to India. The army did what they could for the men. In one case, an aeroplane was landed in an open area and wounded men were evacuated by air. Part of one column made it to China. Another portion of the men escaped into the far north of Burma. Others were captured or died.
By the end of April, after the mission of three months, the majority of the surviving Chindits had crossed the Chindwin river, having marched between 750–1000 miles. Of the 3,000 men that had begun the operation, a third (818 men) had been killed, taken prisoner or died of disease, and of the 2,182 men who returned, about 600 were too debilitated from their wounds or disease to return to active service. Of the remaining men, Wingate practically hand picked those few he would retain, while the rest were put back under the normal army command structure as part of their original battalions.
Wingate wrote an operation report on returning to India, which was controversial for many reasons, including attacks on officers under his command. The report had a tendency to excuse any mistakes made by its author (Wingate) while making vicious attacks on other officers, often based on limited information. Eventually, through his political allies in London, a copy of the report was given to Winston Churchill
who was impressed and took Wingate with him to the Quebec Conference
. His concepts for long-range penetration operations behind Japanese lines received official backing at high level, and he obtained substantial American support for his force. The US Army also began its own plans for the group that later became Merrill's Marauders
.
As the members of the first expedition were making their way back to India, a second Long Range Penetration brigade, 111th Indian Infantry Brigade
was being formed. Popularly known as The Leopards, the brigade was raised by General Wavell without the knowledge of Wingate, who was still in Burma and who was known to have a strong dislike for the Indian Army, its diverse troop formations, and its British officers in particular. Wavell personally selected the commander of 111th Brigade, Brigadier Joe Lentaigne
.
Wavell intended to use two Chindit brigades alternately during 1944. While one brigade was operating behind Japanese lines for two to three months at a time, the other would be resting in India, while training for and planning the next operation. However, Wingate returned from Quebec with authority to implement far more ambitious plans for the second expedition, which required that the force be greatly expanded to a strength of six brigades. Wingate refused to use Indian Army
formations in this force, because he maintained that their training in long-range penetration techniques would take longer and their maintenance by air would be difficult due to the varied dietary requirements of different Gurkha and Indian caste
s and religions, although he had little choice but to accept 111th Brigade, and two Gurkha battalions in 77th brigade. Since large numbers of trained British infantry were required, three brigades (14th
, 16th
, 23rd
) were added to the Chindits by breaking up the experienced British 70th Infantry Division
, much against the wishes of Lieutenant General William Slim
and other commanders, who wished to use the division in a conventional role. A sixth brigade was added to the force by taking a brigade from the British 81st (West Africa) Division.
At Quebec, Wingate had also succeeded in obtaining a "private" air force for the Chindits, the 1st Air Commando Group
, mainly consisting of USAAF
aircraft. The Chindits were greatly encouraged by having aircraft on which they could call immediately for supply drops, casualty evacuation and air support. Other welcome American aid was the "K" Ration
pack which, although it provided insufficient calories for prolonged active operations, was far better than the equivalent British ration pack.
The forces for the second Chindit operation were called Special Force, officially 3rd Indian Infantry Division, or Long Range Penetration Groups, but the nickname, the Chindits, had already stuck.
The new Chindit force commenced training in Gwalior. Men were trained in crossing rivers, demolitions and bivouacking. Calvert and Fergusson, both newly promoted to Brigadier, took command of two of the brigades, and were responsible for much of the training program and the development of tactical planning. Wingate himself was absent for much of the training period, first being out of the country to attend the Quebec Conference and then struck ill with typhoid from drinking bad water in North Africa on his return.
The methods of the new Long Range Penetration force in 1944 differed from those of 1943. Wingate had decided on a strategy of creating fortified bases behind the Japanese lines, which would then send out raiding columns over short distances. This change was in part forced upon him by strengthened Japanese patrols along the Burmese frontier, making a repeat of the successful infiltration in 1943 unlikely. In an imaginative move prompted by Colonel Philip Cochran
's assurance that he could transport both troops and supplies by glider, Wingate arranged for the bulk of the force to enter Burma by air, greatly accelerating the force's ability to reach its target objectives. Advance units would land in gliders in preselected open fields in Burma, and prepare them for large-scale landings by transport aircraft. The lavish air support provided by Colonels Cochran and Alison
of the 1st Air Commando Group proved critical to the success of the operation.
Wingate also had plans for a general uprising of the Kachin population of Northern Burma. He fought over these plans with the leadership of Force 136
(an organisation set up to liase with resistance forces in Japanese-occupied countries), which was concerned that a premature uprising of the Kachins without a permanent British military presence would lead to their slaughter by the Japanese at the end of operations. Force 136 also had their own plans for a rising to be coordinated with the arrival of the regular army into Burma. Wingate was eventually convinced to scale back his original plans. Further complicating relations between the organisations were orders issued by Wingate to the commander of Dah Force (a British-led force of Kachin irregulars attached to the Chindits) not to coordinate operations with Force 136 for security reasons.
During the last months of 1943, planning was conducted to carry out the strategy for India as originally determined at the Quebec Conference. In November, the overall plan for the dry season campaign of 1944 determined by South East Asia Command
focused on the use of the Chindits in the reconquest of northern Burma. These plans were approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff
at the Cairo Conference
and although other offensives in Burma were scaled back or cancelled, Stilwell's Northern Front offensive with the Chindits' participation survived the cuts. The uncertainty of the plans nevertheless meant that the plans and contingency plans for the use of the Chindits repeatedly changed up to the very start of operations.
The Chindits were assigned the task of helping the forces of Joseph Stilwell
push the Ledo Road
through northern Burma to link up with the Burma Road
and re-establish an overland supply route to China, by mounting a long range penetration operation behind the Japanese opposing his forces on the Northern Front. It had originally been intended that the IV Corps would attack on the Central Front and cross the Chindwin to tie up Japanese forces which could otherwise be used to aid the Northern Front. As the Japanese launched their own attack on the Central Front, this advance did not meet its objectives, but it still meant that most Japanese forces were engaged the Central Front and not available to reinforce the Japanese 18th Division on the Northern Front. The Japanese offensive on the Central Front resulted in further proposals and refinements of the plans for the Chindits.
On 4 February 1944, Lieutenant General Slim, commander of the British Fourteenth Army
, and USAAF General George E. Stratemeyer
, commander of Eastern Air Command, issued a joint directive to General Wingate and Cols. Cochran and Alison of the 1st Air Commando Group, to march and fly into Indaw
and from there under the command of the Fourteenth Army carry out the objectives of:
On 5 February 1944, Fergusson's 16th Brigade left Ledo for Burma. They avoided Japanese forces by traversing exceptionally difficult terrain. The rest of the Brigades were brought in by air to create fortified bases with airstrips.
Three landing zones, codenamed Piccadilly, Broadway and Chowringhee were selected. Calvert's 77th Brigade prepared to fly by Hadrian
glider into Piccadilly on the night of 5 March. A last-minute aerial reconnaissance revealed Piccadilly to be covered with logs, making landing impossible. In some accounts of the incident, Wingate insisted that the operation had been betrayed and that the other landing zones would be ambushed. To proceed would be "murder". Slim accepted the responsibility of ordering a willing Calvert to proceed with the operation, using Broadway instead. While Piccadilly had already been used to evacuate casualties during the first Chindit operation in 1943, Broadway had to be selected from the results of aerial reconnaissance. It turned out to be a poor landing landing ground and there were many casualties in crash landings, but Calvert's men were just able to make the strip fit to take transport aircraft the next day. Chindit gliders also landed on Chowringhee the next day, without opposition.
It was later revealed that the logs on Piccadilly had been placed there to dry by Burmese teak loggers. The real problem was the failure to maintain continuous observation of the landing zones (e.g. by high-flying Spitfire
photo-reconnaissance aircraft) before the forces were deployed.
Over the next week, 600 sorties by Dakota
transport aircraft transferred 9000 men to the landing zones. Chowringhee was abandoned once the fly-in was completed, but Broadway was held with a garrison which included field artillery, anti-aircraft guns and even Spitfire fighters for a brief period. Fergusson's brigade set up another base named Aberdeen north of Indaw
, into which 14th Brigade was flown. Calvert's brigade established yet another, named White City at Mawlu, astride the main railway and road leading to the Japanese northern front. 111 Brigade set up ambushes and roadblocks south of Indaw (although part of the brigade which landed at Chowringhee was delayed in crossing the Irrawaddy River), before moving west to Pinlebu
.
Ferocious jungle fighting ensued around Broadway and White City. At times, British and Japanese troops were in close combat, bayonet
s and kukri
s against katana
s. On March 27, after days of aircraft attack, Japanese attacked Broadway for several nights before the attack was repulsed with flown-in artillery and the aid of locally-recruited Kachin irregulars.
However, a setback occurred when Fergusson's brigade tried to capture Indaw
on 24 March. The original intention had been to seize the town and its airfields on 15 March but Fergusson had to report that this was impossible. Wingate appeared ready to change the brigade's mission but on 20 March, he reinstated Indaw as the target. The brigade was already exhausted from its long march, and there was no time to properly reconnoitre the objective. The units were dismayed to find that the Japanese controlled the only water sources. Fergusson expected that 14th Brigade would cooperate in the attack, but they moved west instead. Also, Japanese reinforcements had moved into Indaw, which was a major road and rail centre. Fergusson's battalions, attacking separately, were each repulsed. After this, most of the tired 16th Brigade were flown out.
to confer with air force commanders. On the return journey, the USAAF B-25 aircraft in which he was flying is believed to have flown into a thunderstorm, and crashed in the jungle-covered mountains. All aboard were killed.
Slim, the commander of British Fourteenth Army
which had loose operational control over Special Force, selected Brigadier Lentaigne to be Wingate's replacement after conferring with Brigadier Derek Tulloch, Wingate's Chief of Staff. The choice was made on the grounds that Lentaigne was the most balanced and experienced commander in the force; he had been an instructor at the Staff College at Quetta
, had led a Gurkha battalion with distinction during the gruelling retreat from Burma in 1942, and had commanded a Chindit Brigade in the field (albeit for only a few weeks but none of the other Brigade commanders had more experience). As an officer of Gurkha troops, he had a similar outlook and background to Slim. The other Brigade commanders were unknown quantities, mostly without staff qualifications with some having never even commanded a battalion-sized unit in combat before 1944, and Wingate's staff officers lacked the necessary combat experience.
What Slim ignored was complaints inside the Chindits that Lentaigne was an outsider in Wingate's force and had been critical of Wingate's methods and techniques. In this respect, he would be opposed to several of the Brigade commanders and staff of the Chindits. Wingate had disliked him because he was selected by Wavell without Wingate's approval. (Wingate also tended to hold Indian Army officers, and Gurkha Officers in particular, in total contempt.)
It is probably fair to say that nobody could have filled Wingate's shoes. Wingate had sustained his force outside normal army command through political connections that no successor would have available. The other dilemma of any successor was that they would constantly be second-guessed by those who thought they knew exactly what Wingate would have done in a particular situation. The same officers who would go to extraordinary lengths to justify even the most flawed decisions by Wingate would attack any successor whenever the opportunity presented itself.
and Kohima
, where troops were cut off and could only be resupplied by air. 23rd Brigade, yet to fly in, was also despatched to Kohima
. Those Chindits already operating in Burma were formally subordinated to General Joseph Stilwell, who ordered the Chindits to abandon their dispersed operations around Indaw, and concentrate on interdicting the supply lines to the Japanese forces opposing his Northern Combat Area Command
.
In April, Lentaigne ordered the main body of 111 Brigade west of the Irrawaddy, now commanded by John Masters
, to move north and build a new stronghold, codenamed Blackpool, which would block the railway and main road at Hopin, 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Mogaung
. Calvert was ordered to abandon White City and Broadway and move north to support Masters. Calvert was opposed to this, as his brigade had successfully held these two strongholds for months. Stilwell also feared that abandoning White City would allow Japanese reinforcements to move north. However, Lentaigne insisted that the Chindit brigades were too far apart to support each other, and that it would be difficult to use aircraft at White City and Broadway during the monsoon
.
Masters's force established Blackpool on 8 May and were almost immediately engaged in fierce fighting. Whereas White City had been deep in the Japanese rear, its defenders had had plenty of time to prepare their defences and its attackers had been a mixed bag of detachments from several formations, Blackpool was close to the Japanese northern front, and was immediately attacked by Japanese troops with heavy artillery support. As Calvert and Stilwell had feared, abandoning White City had allowed the Japanese 53rd Division to move north from Indaw. A heavy attack against Blackpool was repulsed on 17 May, but a second attack on 24 May captured vital positions inside the defences.
Because the monsoon had broken and heavy rain made movement in the jungle very difficult, neither Calvert nor Brodie's British 14th Infantry Brigade
could help Masters. Finally, Masters had to abandon Blackpool on 25 May, because the men were exhausted after 17 days of continual combat. Nineteen Allied soldiers, who were so badly injured as to be beyond hope of recovery and could not be moved, were shot by the medical orderlies and hidden in heavy stands of bamboo.
Over the period from 6 June to 27 June, Calvert's 77th Brigade took Mogaung
and suffered 800 casualties (50%) among those of the brigade involved in the operation. Fearing that they would then be ordered to join the siege of Myitkyina
, Calvert handed over Mogaung to Force X, shut down his radios and retreated to Kamaing
, where Stilwell had his headquarters. A court-martial was likely until Stilwell and Calvert met in person, and Stilwell finally appreciated the conditions under which the Chindits had been operating.
111 Brigade, after resting, were ordered to capture a hill known as Point 2171. They did so, but were now utterly exhausted. Most of them were suffering from malaria
, dysentery
and malnutrition
. On 8 July, at the insistence of the Supreme Commander, Admiral Louis Mountbatten
, doctors examined the brigade. Of the 2200 men present from four and a half battalions, only 119 were declared fit. The Brigade was evacuated, although Masters sarcastically kept the fit men, "111 Company" in the field until 1 August.
The portion of 111 Brigade east of the Irrawaddy were known as Morris Force, after its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel "Jumbo" Morris. They had spent several months harassing Japanese traffic from Bhamo
to Myitkyina. They had then attempted to complete the encirclement of Myitkyina. Stilwell was angered that they were unable to do so, but Slim pointed out that Stilwell's Chinese troops (numbering 5,500) had also failed in that task. By 14 July, Morris Force was down to three platoons. A week later, they had only 25 men fit for duty. Morris Force was evacuated about the same time as 77th Brigade.
14th Brigade and 3rd West African Brigade remained in action, assisting the newly-arrived British 36th Infantry Division
in its advance down the "Railway Valley" south of Mogaung. Finally, they were relieved and withdrawn, starting on 17 August.
The last Chindit left Burma on 27 August 1944.
The healthy were sent to training camps to await new operations. However, when the army command evaluated the men and equipment required to return the Chindits to operational status, it was decided to transform the force into an Airborne Division in India. Beyond direct replacements, it was known that the British element of the Chindits would be decimated in 1945 by the need to repatriate personnel who had served more than four years overseas.
During the early months of 1945, several of the brigade headquarters and many of the veterans of the Chindit operations were reformed into the 14th and 77th Infantry Brigades and merged into the 44th Airborne Division (India)
, while the force headquarters and signals units formed the core of Indian XXXIV Corps. The Chindits were finally disbanded in February 1945.
next to the Ministry of Defence
headquarters in London
. The memorial was unveiled on 16 October 1990 by HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. The front of the monument is in memory of the Chindits and also mentions the four men of the Chindits awarded the Victoria Cross
: Major Frank Gerald Blaker
, Captain Michael Allmand
and Lieutenant George Albert Cairns
and Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun
. The battalions who took part are listed on the sides of the monument. Non-infantry units are mentioned by their parent formations only. No distinction is made between those units who took part in 1943 versus those of 1944. The rear of the monument is exclusively dedicated to Orde Wingate and also mentions his contributions to the state of Israel.
Military historians disagree on the Chindits' military significance. The debate is part of the ongoing one of whether the deployment of special forces are a net asset to a campaign or whether the investment in time, material and men that such operations demand outweigh the advantages gained. For example, it is questioned whether the interdiction of Japanese supply lines during Operation Thursday by the Chindits contributed more to Stilwell's advance than if the resources committed to the operation had been used to provide Stilwell with another regular division to fight alongside his X Force
.
The views of the majority of the post-war British military establishment were made succinctly by Slim (commander of the Fourteenth Army), when he wrote "... the Chindits, gave a splendid examples of courage and hardihood. Yet I came firmly to the conclusion that such formations, trained equipped and mentally adjusted for one kind of operation were wasteful. They did not give, militarily, a worth-while return for the resources in men, material and time that they absorbed. ... [Special forces] were usually formed by attracting the best men ... The result of these methods was undoubtedly to lower the quality of the rest of the Army." He makes several other arguments against special forces, about the danger of ordinary battalions thinking that some tasks could only be performed by special forces, and that special forces can only stay in the field for relatively short periods compared to regular battalions. He sums up that "Anything, whatever the short cuts to victory it may promise, which thus weakens the Army spirit is dangerous." To underline his point he suggests that "This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier, who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree". He does acknowledge the need for small units to stir up trouble in the enemy's rear area but does not make it clear if he is talking about V Force
or the actions of Force 136
.
Others, like Sir Robert Thompson, himself a Chindit, have asserted that the idea behind the Chindits was a sound one, but that they were just badly handled and used in operations for which they were not properly equipped or trained, for example in static defence. A third view is that despite the relatively insignificant losses that the Chindits were able to inflict, their propaganda
value in 1943, at a time when the Army was on the defensive, was a moral boost to the people of India and Britain, and helping to dispel the image of Japanese invincibility. It has been hard to reach a consensus on any of these issues due to the partisan nature of the discussions surrounding Wingate himself.
It has also been argued that the Chindits also contributed to the overall success of the Allied armies in Burma through the innovations in air supply techniques and organisation which their operations required. The Allied air forces were later to use these tactics to supply increasingly large forces which were cut off by enemy forces, or were operating independently of road or rail lines of communication. Conversely, it has been argued that the apparent success of the Chindits led some Japanese commanders to believe that they could employ their own incursion tactics on a much larger scale, and that when they came to implement such tactics during the Chindwin offensive of early 1944, lacking the necessary air support that had enabled the Allies to be successful, the result was disastrous and ultimately led to defeat at both Kohima and Imphal, and later on the plains of Burma in 1945.
Three of the Brigade commanders on Operation Thursday (two of whom had also served in the first Chindit expedition) subsequently wrote autobiographies, which contained their comments on the Chindits' concept and practice of operations. Bernard Fergusson, originally an enthusiastic supporter of Wingate, later came to feel that Wingate lacked both consistency and flexibility in his plans, which contributed to Fergusson's long, pointless march from Ledo and his defeat at Indaw. John Masters, who was a close friend and supporter of Lentaigne, felt that the Chindits' mobility was sacrificed in holding fixed defensive positions or attacking strong Japanese positions, without the necessary support. In criticism of the whole Chindit concept, he pointed out that the Chindit force had the infantry strength of two and a half line divisions, but, without supporting arms, it had the fighting strength of less than one. Michael Calvert, who was closest to Wingate, remained an absolute unquestioning defender of Wingate and his methods.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They were formed into long range penetration
Long range penetration
A Long-range penetration patrol, group, or force is a special forces military unit able to remain in and move long distances behind enemy lines far away from direct contact with friendly forces as opposed to Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol a small group engaged in scouting missions...
groups trained to operate deep behind Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese lines. The operations were marked by prolonged marches though extremely difficult terrain by underfed troops weakened by malaria and illnesses such as dysentery. The Chindits were the brainchild of the British army's most unconventional commander of WW2: Orde Wingate. A continuing controversy over the force has centered around the extremely high casualty rate which it suffered and the military value of its achievements.
Beginnings
The Chindits were the brainchild of British Brigadier Orde Charles WingateOrde Charles Wingate
Major-General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO and two bars , was a British Army officer and creator of special military units in Palestine in the 1930s and in World War II....
when he was serving under Archibald Wavell, the Supreme Commander of the Far Eastern Theatre in India. The name was suggested by Captain Aung Thin (DSO) of the Burma Army. Chindit is a corrupted form of the suggested name of the Burmese mythical beast Chinthé
Chinthe
The Chinthe is a leogryph that is often seen at the entrances of pagodas and temples in Burma and other Southeast Asian countries. The chinthe is featured prominently on the kyat, the currency of Burma. The chinthe is almost always depicted in pairs, and serve to protect the pagoda...
or Chinthay, statues of which guarded Buddhist temples.
In the East African Campaign
East African Campaign (World War II)
The East African Campaign was a series of battles fought in East Africa during World War II by the British Empire, the British Commonwealth of Nations and several allies against the forces of Italy from June 1940 to November 1941....
of 1940–41, Wingate had begun to explore the ideas that he later used with the Chindits, when he created and commanded a mixed group of regular Sudanese and Ethiopian units together with Abyssinian partisans. Known as Gideon Force
Gideon Force
The Gideon Force was a small British-led African regular force which acted as a Corps d'Elite amongst the irregular Ethiopian forces fighting the Italian occupation forces in Ethiopia during the East African Campaign of World War II...
, they disrupted Italian supply lines and provided intelligence to British forces. As Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East in 1940, Wavell had given permission for the Gideon Force for political reasons, because he had thought Wingate's idea to be militarily too unorthodox. After the disbandment of Gideon Force, Wavell requested Wingate for service in Burma in 1942 where it was intended that he raise irregular forces to operate behind the Japanese lines similar to the manner in which Gideon Force had operated in Ethiopia. Rather than organize irregular forces in Burma, Wingate spent his time touring the country and developing his theory of long range penetration on paper. During the final stages of the British retreat from Burma, Wingate had himself specially flown back to India while the rest of the army walked out. Once in Delhi, he presented his proposals to Wavell.
Organization and training
The 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, otherwise known as the Chindits, was gradually formed in the area around JhansiJhansi
Jhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
during the summer months of 1942. Wingate took charge of the training of the troops in jungles of central India during the rainy season. Half of the Chindits were British infantry soldiers from the 13th Battalion of the King's Liverpool Regiment (nominally a second-line battalion which contained a large number of older men), and men from the former Bush Warfare School in Burma who were formed into 142 Commando Company. The other portion of the force was made up of the 3rd Battalion of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles
2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)
The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles was an infantry regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Battalion, 8th Gurkha Rifles , where it exists to this day...
(a battalion which had only just been raised) and 2nd Battalion of the Burma Rifles
Burma Rifles
The Burma Rifles were a regiment of the British Indian Army created in 1917. The regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment Madras Infantry, which evolved into the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles....
, a composite unit formed from several depleted battalions of Burmese troops which had retreated into India in 1942.
Wingate trained this force as Long-Range Penetration units that were to be supplied by stores parachuted or dropped from transport aircraft, and use close air support as a substitute for heavy artillery They would penetrate the jungle on foot, essentially relying on surprise through mobility to target enemy lines of communication (a tactic which the Japanese had previously been using to great effect in Singapore and in Burma in 1942 against British forces).
The standard brigade structure was abandoned. The force was formed instead into eight columns, each of which was organised as: an infantry rifle company; a support group with the heavy weapons; a reconnaissance platoon from the Burma Rifles; and a sabotage group from 142 Commando Company. Small detachments from the Royal Air Force (equipped with radios to call in air support), Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
and Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
were attached to the Column headquarters. With 57 mule handlers, each British column numbered 306 men. (The Gurhka columns were slightly stronger, with 369 men.)
Shortly before the first operation, one column was broken up to bring the remaining seven up to full strength. Two or more columns were commanded by a group headquarters, which in turn was commanded by the brigade headquarters.
In addition to individual personal small arms such as SMLE rifles and Thompson submachine gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
s, each column carried its own complement of support weapons: three 2-inch mortars, four Boys anti-tank rifles, two medium Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
s, two light anti-aircraft guns and nine Bren light machine guns. These, along with radios, rations and other stores, would be carried on mules, which would also provide an emergency source of food once their loads had been depleted.
Load carried by the troops
The men themselves carried more than seventy-two pounds of equipment, which was proportionally more than the mules carrying the support weapons and other stores. This personal equipment included seven days' rations, a machete or Gurkha kukriKukri
The kukri is a curved Nepalese Knife, similar to the machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon...
knife, personal weapon, ammunition, grenades, groundsheet, change of uniform, and other assorted items, that were carried in an Everest carrier, which was essentially a metal rucksack frame, without any pack.
Operation Longcloth
The Chindits crossed the Chindwin River
Chindwin River
The Chindwin River is a river in Burma , and the largest tributary of the country's chief river the Ayeyarwady . It flows entirely within Burma and is known as Ning-thi to the Manipuris.-Source:...
on 13 February and faced the first Japanese troops two days later. Two columns marched to the south and received their air supply drops in broad daylight to create an impression that they were the main attack. They even had a man impersonating a British general along with them. The RAF mounted air attacks on Japanese targets to support the deception. These columns were to swing east at the beginning of march and attack the main north-south in areas south of the main force. One column successfully carried out demolitions along the railway but the other column was ambushed. Half of the ambushed column returned to India.
Five other columns proceeded eastward. Two, those of Michael Calvert
Mike Calvert
James Michael Calvert DSO and Bar was a British soldier involved in special operations in World War II. The degree to which he led very risky attacks in person led to his becoming widely known as "Mad Mike". Calvert was court-martialled and dismissed from the Army in 1952...
and Bernard Fergusson, proceeded towards the main north-south railway in Burma. On 4 March, Calvert's column reached the valley and demolished the railway in 70 places. Fergusson arrived two days later to do the same. Despite these successes, however, the railway was only temporarily disabled, and resumed operation shortly after.
On many occasions, the Chindits could not take their wounded with them; some were left behind in villages. Wingate had in fact issued specific orders to leave behind all wounded, but these orders were not strictly followed. Since there were often no established paths in the jungle along their routes, many times they had to clear their own with machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s and kukri
Kukri
The kukri is a curved Nepalese Knife, similar to the machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon...
s (and on one occasion, a commandeered elephant). A single RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
squadron of 6 planes supplied them by air.
Once in Burma, Wingate repeatedly changed his plans, sometimes without informing all the column commanders. The majority of two of the columns marched back to India after being ambushed by the Japanese in separate actions. After the railway attacks, he decided to cross his force over the Irrawaddy River
Ayeyarwady River
The Irrawaddy River or Ayeyarwady River is a river that flows from north to south through Burma . It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway. Originating from the confluence of the N'mai and Mali rivers, it flows relatively straight North-South before emptying through...
. However, the area on the other side of the river turned out to be inhospitable to operations. Water was difficult to obtain and the combination of rivers with a good system of roads in the area allowed the Japanese to force the Chindits into a progressively smaller "box".
In late March, Wingate made the decision to withdraw the majority of the force, but sent orders to one of the columns to continue eastward. The operations had reached the range limit of air supply and prospects for new successful operations were low, given the Japanese pressure. The columns were generally left to make their own way back to India. On the journey back, the most difficult actions involved crossing back over the Irrawaddy River. The Japanese had observers and patrols all along the river bank and could quickly concentrate once an attempt at a crossing was detected. Gradually, all the columns broke up into small groups. Wingate's headquarters returned to India on its own ahead of most of the columns. Through the spring and even into the autumn of 1943 individual groups of men from the Chindits made their way back to India. The army did what they could for the men. In one case, an aeroplane was landed in an open area and wounded men were evacuated by air. Part of one column made it to China. Another portion of the men escaped into the far north of Burma. Others were captured or died.
By the end of April, after the mission of three months, the majority of the surviving Chindits had crossed the Chindwin river, having marched between 750–1000 miles. Of the 3,000 men that had begun the operation, a third (818 men) had been killed, taken prisoner or died of disease, and of the 2,182 men who returned, about 600 were too debilitated from their wounds or disease to return to active service. Of the remaining men, Wingate practically hand picked those few he would retain, while the rest were put back under the normal army command structure as part of their original battalions.
Interlude
Although British Army officers in India criticized the effectiveness of the Chindits (Japanese railway communications had been out of commission for less than a week), their effect on the morale of the allied troops in India was refreshing, and they were given plenty of publicity.Wingate wrote an operation report on returning to India, which was controversial for many reasons, including attacks on officers under his command. The report had a tendency to excuse any mistakes made by its author (Wingate) while making vicious attacks on other officers, often based on limited information. Eventually, through his political allies in London, a copy of the report was given to Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
who was impressed and took Wingate with him to the Quebec Conference
Quebec Conference, 1943
The First Quebec Conference was a highly secret military conference held during World War II between the British, Canadian and United States governments. The conference was held in Quebec City, August 17, 1943 – August 24, 1943. It took place at the Citadelle and at the Château Frontenac. The...
. His concepts for long-range penetration operations behind Japanese lines received official backing at high level, and he obtained substantial American support for his force. The US Army also began its own plans for the group that later became Merrill's Marauders
Merrill's Marauders
Merrill’s Marauders or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit , was a United States Army long range penetration special operations unit in the South-East Asian Theater of World War II which fought in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, or CBI...
.
As the members of the first expedition were making their way back to India, a second Long Range Penetration brigade, 111th Indian Infantry Brigade
111th Indian Infantry Brigade
The 111th Indian Infantry Brigade was an Infantry formation of the Indian Army during World War II. The brigade was formed in March 1943, in India as a Long Range Penetration Brigade attached to the Chindits 3rd Indian Infantry Division...
was being formed. Popularly known as The Leopards, the brigade was raised by General Wavell without the knowledge of Wingate, who was still in Burma and who was known to have a strong dislike for the Indian Army, its diverse troop formations, and its British officers in particular. Wavell personally selected the commander of 111th Brigade, Brigadier Joe Lentaigne
Walter David Alexander Lentaigne
Lieutenant General Walter David Alexander Lentaigne, CB, CBE, DSO, British Indian Army. Sometimes called "Joe" Lentaigne.Walter Lentaigne was an officer in the British Indian Army. He fought in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. During World War II he commanded a battalion during the 1942 Burma...
.
Wavell intended to use two Chindit brigades alternately during 1944. While one brigade was operating behind Japanese lines for two to three months at a time, the other would be resting in India, while training for and planning the next operation. However, Wingate returned from Quebec with authority to implement far more ambitious plans for the second expedition, which required that the force be greatly expanded to a strength of six brigades. Wingate refused to use Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
formations in this force, because he maintained that their training in long-range penetration techniques would take longer and their maintenance by air would be difficult due to the varied dietary requirements of different Gurkha and Indian caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s and religions, although he had little choice but to accept 111th Brigade, and two Gurkha battalions in 77th brigade. Since large numbers of trained British infantry were required, three brigades (14th
British 14th Infantry Brigade
The British 14th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation during both the First World War and the Second World War.- World War I :In 1914 this brigade was part of the 5th Division and moved over to France...
, 16th
British 16th Infantry Brigade
The British 16th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation based in Palestine at the beginning of the Second World War as part of the British 8th Infantry Division. It was later part of the British 6th Infantry Division which was redesignated as the British 70th Infantry Division on 10 October...
, 23rd
British 23rd Infantry Brigade
The British 23rd Infantry Brigade was a Second World War infantry brigade which saw active service in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, the Western Desert Campaign and the Burma Campaign.-History:...
) were added to the Chindits by breaking up the experienced British 70th Infantry Division
British 70th Infantry Division
- History :This formation had a brief history during the Second World War. It was formed originally in the Middle East from units stationed in Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and in Crete, as the regular British 6th Infantry Division. It was then redesignated as the 70th Division on 10 October 1941. -...
, much against the wishes of Lieutenant General William Slim
William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim
Field Marshal William Joseph "Bill"'Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, KG, GCB, GCMG, GCVO, GBE, DSO, MC, KStJ was a British military commander and the 13th Governor-General of Australia....
and other commanders, who wished to use the division in a conventional role. A sixth brigade was added to the force by taking a brigade from the British 81st (West Africa) Division.
At Quebec, Wingate had also succeeded in obtaining a "private" air force for the Chindits, the 1st Air Commando Group
1st Air Commando Group
The 1st Air Commando Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the Army Service Forces, based at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. It was inactivated on 3 November 1945....
, mainly consisting of USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
aircraft. The Chindits were greatly encouraged by having aircraft on which they could call immediately for supply drops, casualty evacuation and air support. Other welcome American aid was the "K" Ration
K-ration
The K-ration was an individual daily combat food ration which was introduced by the United States Army during World War II. It was originally intended as an individually packaged daily ration for issue to airborne troops, tank corps, motorcycle couriers, and other mobile forces for short durations...
pack which, although it provided insufficient calories for prolonged active operations, was far better than the equivalent British ration pack.
The forces for the second Chindit operation were called Special Force, officially 3rd Indian Infantry Division, or Long Range Penetration Groups, but the nickname, the Chindits, had already stuck.
The new Chindit force commenced training in Gwalior. Men were trained in crossing rivers, demolitions and bivouacking. Calvert and Fergusson, both newly promoted to Brigadier, took command of two of the brigades, and were responsible for much of the training program and the development of tactical planning. Wingate himself was absent for much of the training period, first being out of the country to attend the Quebec Conference and then struck ill with typhoid from drinking bad water in North Africa on his return.
Plans
The plans for the second Chindit operation went through many revisions.The methods of the new Long Range Penetration force in 1944 differed from those of 1943. Wingate had decided on a strategy of creating fortified bases behind the Japanese lines, which would then send out raiding columns over short distances. This change was in part forced upon him by strengthened Japanese patrols along the Burmese frontier, making a repeat of the successful infiltration in 1943 unlikely. In an imaginative move prompted by Colonel Philip Cochran
Philip Cochran
Philip Gerald Cochran was an officer in the United States Army Air Corps. Cochran developed many tactical air combat, air transport, and air assault techniques during the war, particularly in Burma during operations as co-commander of the 1st Air Commando Group...
's assurance that he could transport both troops and supplies by glider, Wingate arranged for the bulk of the force to enter Burma by air, greatly accelerating the force's ability to reach its target objectives. Advance units would land in gliders in preselected open fields in Burma, and prepare them for large-scale landings by transport aircraft. The lavish air support provided by Colonels Cochran and Alison
John R. Alison
- External links :* The All-American Airman, Walter J. Boyne, March 2000*John R. Alison Papers, 1945–1957*John R. Alison Collection, including extended video interview available online.*" John R. Alison Enshrinee Biography...
of the 1st Air Commando Group proved critical to the success of the operation.
Wingate also had plans for a general uprising of the Kachin population of Northern Burma. He fought over these plans with the leadership of Force 136
Force 136
Force 136 was the general cover name for a branch of the British World War II organization, the Special Operations Executive . The organisation was established to encourage and supply resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory, and occasionally mount clandestine sabotage operations...
(an organisation set up to liase with resistance forces in Japanese-occupied countries), which was concerned that a premature uprising of the Kachins without a permanent British military presence would lead to their slaughter by the Japanese at the end of operations. Force 136 also had their own plans for a rising to be coordinated with the arrival of the regular army into Burma. Wingate was eventually convinced to scale back his original plans. Further complicating relations between the organisations were orders issued by Wingate to the commander of Dah Force (a British-led force of Kachin irregulars attached to the Chindits) not to coordinate operations with Force 136 for security reasons.
During the last months of 1943, planning was conducted to carry out the strategy for India as originally determined at the Quebec Conference. In November, the overall plan for the dry season campaign of 1944 determined by South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command
South East Asia Command was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II.-Background:...
focused on the use of the Chindits in the reconquest of northern Burma. These plans were approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff
Combined Chiefs of Staff
The Combined Chiefs of Staff was the supreme military command for the western Allies during World War II. It was a body constituted from the British Chiefs of Staff Committee and the American Joint Chiefs of Staff....
at the Cairo Conference
Cairo Conference
The Cairo Conference of November 22–26, 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
and although other offensives in Burma were scaled back or cancelled, Stilwell's Northern Front offensive with the Chindits' participation survived the cuts. The uncertainty of the plans nevertheless meant that the plans and contingency plans for the use of the Chindits repeatedly changed up to the very start of operations.
The Chindits were assigned the task of helping the forces of Joseph Stilwell
Joseph Stilwell
General Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
push the Ledo Road
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed the Stilwell Road in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek...
through northern Burma to link up with the Burma Road
Burma Road
The Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
and re-establish an overland supply route to China, by mounting a long range penetration operation behind the Japanese opposing his forces on the Northern Front. It had originally been intended that the IV Corps would attack on the Central Front and cross the Chindwin to tie up Japanese forces which could otherwise be used to aid the Northern Front. As the Japanese launched their own attack on the Central Front, this advance did not meet its objectives, but it still meant that most Japanese forces were engaged the Central Front and not available to reinforce the Japanese 18th Division on the Northern Front. The Japanese offensive on the Central Front resulted in further proposals and refinements of the plans for the Chindits.
On 4 February 1944, Lieutenant General Slim, commander of the British Fourteenth Army
British Fourteenth Army
The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II. Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from West and East African divisions within the British Army.It...
, and USAAF General George E. Stratemeyer
George E. Stratemeyer
Lieutenant General George Edward Stratemeyer was World War II chief of Air Staff and United States Air Force Far East Air Forces commander during the first year of the Korean War.-Early career:...
, commander of Eastern Air Command, issued a joint directive to General Wingate and Cols. Cochran and Alison of the 1st Air Commando Group, to march and fly into Indaw
Indaw
Indaw is a town in northern Burma, in Sagaing Division, Katha District, Indaw Township. It is located about 2 km southeast of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about 6 km to the northeast of the town.-History:...
and from there under the command of the Fourteenth Army carry out the objectives of:
(i) Helping the advance of Stiwell's Ledo force on MyitkyinaMyitkyinaMyitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
by cutting the communications of the Japanese 18th Division, harassing its rear, and preventing its reinforcement.
(ii) Creating a favourable situation for the YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
Chinese forces to cross the SalweenSalween RiverThe Salween is a river, about long, that flows from the Tibetan Plateau into the Andaman Sea in Southeast Asia. It drains a narrow and mountainous watershed of that extends into the countries China, Burma and Thailand. Steep canyon walls line the swift, powerful and undammed Salween, one of the...
and enter Burma.
(iii) Inflicting the greatest possible damage and confusion on the enemy in North Burma.
Operation Thursday
Three landing zones, codenamed Piccadilly, Broadway and Chowringhee were selected. Calvert's 77th Brigade prepared to fly by Hadrian
Waco CG-4
The Waco CG-4 was the most widely used United States troop/cargo military glider of World War II. It was designated the CG-4 by the United States Army Air Forces, and named Hadrian in British military service....
glider into Piccadilly on the night of 5 March. A last-minute aerial reconnaissance revealed Piccadilly to be covered with logs, making landing impossible. In some accounts of the incident, Wingate insisted that the operation had been betrayed and that the other landing zones would be ambushed. To proceed would be "murder". Slim accepted the responsibility of ordering a willing Calvert to proceed with the operation, using Broadway instead. While Piccadilly had already been used to evacuate casualties during the first Chindit operation in 1943, Broadway had to be selected from the results of aerial reconnaissance. It turned out to be a poor landing landing ground and there were many casualties in crash landings, but Calvert's men were just able to make the strip fit to take transport aircraft the next day. Chindit gliders also landed on Chowringhee the next day, without opposition.
It was later revealed that the logs on Piccadilly had been placed there to dry by Burmese teak loggers. The real problem was the failure to maintain continuous observation of the landing zones (e.g. by high-flying Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
photo-reconnaissance aircraft) before the forces were deployed.
Over the next week, 600 sorties by Dakota
C-47 Skytrain
The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota is a military transport aircraft that was developed from the Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in front line operations through the 1950s with a few remaining in operation to this day.-Design and...
transport aircraft transferred 9000 men to the landing zones. Chowringhee was abandoned once the fly-in was completed, but Broadway was held with a garrison which included field artillery, anti-aircraft guns and even Spitfire fighters for a brief period. Fergusson's brigade set up another base named Aberdeen north of Indaw
Indaw
Indaw is a town in northern Burma, in Sagaing Division, Katha District, Indaw Township. It is located about 2 km southeast of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about 6 km to the northeast of the town.-History:...
, into which 14th Brigade was flown. Calvert's brigade established yet another, named White City at Mawlu, astride the main railway and road leading to the Japanese northern front. 111 Brigade set up ambushes and roadblocks south of Indaw (although part of the brigade which landed at Chowringhee was delayed in crossing the Irrawaddy River), before moving west to Pinlebu
Pinlebu
Pinlebu is a town in Katha District, Sagaing Division of Burma on the Mu River. It is the administrative seat of Pinlebu Township. The town is connected by road to Phaungbyin, Kawlin, and Bamauk...
.
Ferocious jungle fighting ensued around Broadway and White City. At times, British and Japanese troops were in close combat, bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
s and kukri
Kukri
The kukri is a curved Nepalese Knife, similar to the machete, used as both a tool and as a weapon...
s against katana
Katana
A Japanese sword, or , is one of the traditional bladed weapons of Japan. There are several types of Japanese swords, according to size, field of application and method of manufacture.-Description:...
s. On March 27, after days of aircraft attack, Japanese attacked Broadway for several nights before the attack was repulsed with flown-in artillery and the aid of locally-recruited Kachin irregulars.
However, a setback occurred when Fergusson's brigade tried to capture Indaw
Indaw
Indaw is a town in northern Burma, in Sagaing Division, Katha District, Indaw Township. It is located about 2 km southeast of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about 6 km to the northeast of the town.-History:...
on 24 March. The original intention had been to seize the town and its airfields on 15 March but Fergusson had to report that this was impossible. Wingate appeared ready to change the brigade's mission but on 20 March, he reinstated Indaw as the target. The brigade was already exhausted from its long march, and there was no time to properly reconnoitre the objective. The units were dismayed to find that the Japanese controlled the only water sources. Fergusson expected that 14th Brigade would cooperate in the attack, but they moved west instead. Also, Japanese reinforcements had moved into Indaw, which was a major road and rail centre. Fergusson's battalions, attacking separately, were each repulsed. After this, most of the tired 16th Brigade were flown out.
Change of command
On 24 March, Wingate flew to ImphalImphal
Imphal is the capital of the Indian state of Manipur.In the heart of the town and surrounded by a moat, are ruins of the old Palace of Kangla. Kangla Fort used to be the home of the Assam Rifles, a paramilitary force and on November 2004 it was handed over to state of Manipur by Prime minister Dr....
to confer with air force commanders. On the return journey, the USAAF B-25 aircraft in which he was flying is believed to have flown into a thunderstorm, and crashed in the jungle-covered mountains. All aboard were killed.
Slim, the commander of British Fourteenth Army
British Fourteenth Army
The British Fourteenth Army was a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries during World War II. Many of its units were from the Indian Army as well as British units and there were also significant contributions from West and East African divisions within the British Army.It...
which had loose operational control over Special Force, selected Brigadier Lentaigne to be Wingate's replacement after conferring with Brigadier Derek Tulloch, Wingate's Chief of Staff. The choice was made on the grounds that Lentaigne was the most balanced and experienced commander in the force; he had been an instructor at the Staff College at Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, had led a Gurkha battalion with distinction during the gruelling retreat from Burma in 1942, and had commanded a Chindit Brigade in the field (albeit for only a few weeks but none of the other Brigade commanders had more experience). As an officer of Gurkha troops, he had a similar outlook and background to Slim. The other Brigade commanders were unknown quantities, mostly without staff qualifications with some having never even commanded a battalion-sized unit in combat before 1944, and Wingate's staff officers lacked the necessary combat experience.
What Slim ignored was complaints inside the Chindits that Lentaigne was an outsider in Wingate's force and had been critical of Wingate's methods and techniques. In this respect, he would be opposed to several of the Brigade commanders and staff of the Chindits. Wingate had disliked him because he was selected by Wavell without Wingate's approval. (Wingate also tended to hold Indian Army officers, and Gurkha Officers in particular, in total contempt.)
It is probably fair to say that nobody could have filled Wingate's shoes. Wingate had sustained his force outside normal army command through political connections that no successor would have available. The other dilemma of any successor was that they would constantly be second-guessed by those who thought they knew exactly what Wingate would have done in a particular situation. The same officers who would go to extraordinary lengths to justify even the most flawed decisions by Wingate would attack any successor whenever the opportunity presented itself.
The move north
Several major changes were made at the highest level. Much of the air support was diverted to the critical battles of ImphalBattle of Imphal
The Battle of Imphal took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in North-East India from March until July 1944. Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses...
and Kohima
Battle of Kohima
The Battle of Kohima was the turning point of the Japanese U Go offensive into India in 1944 in the Second World War. The battle was fought from 4 April to 22 June 1944 around the town of Kohima in northeast India. It is often referred to as the "Stalingrad of the East".The battle took place in...
, where troops were cut off and could only be resupplied by air. 23rd Brigade, yet to fly in, was also despatched to Kohima
Kohima
Kohima is the hilly capital of India's north eastern border state of Nagaland which shares its borders with Burma. It lies in Kohima District and is also one of the three Nagaland towns with Municipal council status along with Dimapur and Mokokchung....
. Those Chindits already operating in Burma were formally subordinated to General Joseph Stilwell, who ordered the Chindits to abandon their dispersed operations around Indaw, and concentrate on interdicting the supply lines to the Japanese forces opposing his Northern Combat Area Command
Northern Combat Area Command
The Northern Combat Area Command or NCAC was a mainly Sino-American formation that held the northern end of the Allied front in Burma during World War II. For much of its existence it was commanded by the acerbic General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and controlled by his staff...
.
In April, Lentaigne ordered the main body of 111 Brigade west of the Irrawaddy, now commanded by John Masters
John Masters
Lieutenant Colonel John Masters, DSO was an English officer in the British Indian Army and novelist. His works are noted for their treatment of the British Empire in India.-Life:...
, to move north and build a new stronghold, codenamed Blackpool, which would block the railway and main road at Hopin, 30 miles (48.3 km) south of Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
. Calvert was ordered to abandon White City and Broadway and move north to support Masters. Calvert was opposed to this, as his brigade had successfully held these two strongholds for months. Stilwell also feared that abandoning White City would allow Japanese reinforcements to move north. However, Lentaigne insisted that the Chindit brigades were too far apart to support each other, and that it would be difficult to use aircraft at White City and Broadway during the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
.
Masters's force established Blackpool on 8 May and were almost immediately engaged in fierce fighting. Whereas White City had been deep in the Japanese rear, its defenders had had plenty of time to prepare their defences and its attackers had been a mixed bag of detachments from several formations, Blackpool was close to the Japanese northern front, and was immediately attacked by Japanese troops with heavy artillery support. As Calvert and Stilwell had feared, abandoning White City had allowed the Japanese 53rd Division to move north from Indaw. A heavy attack against Blackpool was repulsed on 17 May, but a second attack on 24 May captured vital positions inside the defences.
Because the monsoon had broken and heavy rain made movement in the jungle very difficult, neither Calvert nor Brodie's British 14th Infantry Brigade
British 14th Infantry Brigade
The British 14th Infantry Brigade was a British Army formation during both the First World War and the Second World War.- World War I :In 1914 this brigade was part of the 5th Division and moved over to France...
could help Masters. Finally, Masters had to abandon Blackpool on 25 May, because the men were exhausted after 17 days of continual combat. Nineteen Allied soldiers, who were so badly injured as to be beyond hope of recovery and could not be moved, were shot by the medical orderlies and hidden in heavy stands of bamboo.
Final operations
On 17 May, Slim had formally handed control of the Chindits to Stilwell. Stilwell insisted that the Chindits capture several well-defended Japanese positions. The Chindits had no support from tanks or artillery and this led to heavier casualties than before. Some have considered these operations to be abuse, but others have pointed out that if the Chindits cannot carry out such operations, their usefulness in practice is open to question. And given Wingate's lack of concern over casualties in the first Chindit operation, it's difficult to suggest that the losses in these battles were inconsistent with his methods.Over the period from 6 June to 27 June, Calvert's 77th Brigade took Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
and suffered 800 casualties (50%) among those of the brigade involved in the operation. Fearing that they would then be ordered to join the siege of Myitkyina
Myitkyina
Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
, Calvert handed over Mogaung to Force X, shut down his radios and retreated to Kamaing
Kamaing
Kamaing is a town in the Kachin State of the northernmost part of the Union of Myanmar.-External links:*...
, where Stilwell had his headquarters. A court-martial was likely until Stilwell and Calvert met in person, and Stilwell finally appreciated the conditions under which the Chindits had been operating.
111 Brigade, after resting, were ordered to capture a hill known as Point 2171. They did so, but were now utterly exhausted. Most of them were suffering from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
and malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
. On 8 July, at the insistence of the Supreme Commander, Admiral Louis Mountbatten
Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, doctors examined the brigade. Of the 2200 men present from four and a half battalions, only 119 were declared fit. The Brigade was evacuated, although Masters sarcastically kept the fit men, "111 Company" in the field until 1 August.
The portion of 111 Brigade east of the Irrawaddy were known as Morris Force, after its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel "Jumbo" Morris. They had spent several months harassing Japanese traffic from Bhamo
Bhamo
Bhamo is a city of Kachin State in northernmost part of Myanmar, located 186 km south from the capital city of Myitkyina. It is on the Ayeyarwady River. It lies within 65 km of the border with Yunnan Province, China. The population consists of Chinese and Shan, with Kachin peoples in...
to Myitkyina. They had then attempted to complete the encirclement of Myitkyina. Stilwell was angered that they were unable to do so, but Slim pointed out that Stilwell's Chinese troops (numbering 5,500) had also failed in that task. By 14 July, Morris Force was down to three platoons. A week later, they had only 25 men fit for duty. Morris Force was evacuated about the same time as 77th Brigade.
14th Brigade and 3rd West African Brigade remained in action, assisting the newly-arrived British 36th Infantry Division
British 36th Infantry Division
The 36th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army during the Second World War. The division was subsequently converted to a British Army formation and redesignated the 36th Infantry Division. It served in India and during the Burma Campaign...
in its advance down the "Railway Valley" south of Mogaung. Finally, they were relieved and withdrawn, starting on 17 August.
The last Chindit left Burma on 27 August 1944.
Kohima
23rd Brigade, which had been diverted from the main Chindit campaign, nevertheless acted as a long range penetration unit behind the Japanese fighting at Kohima. From April to June 1944, they marched long distances through the Naga hills, mostly in monsoon weather which made movement very difficult. They contributed in a large measure to the starvation of the Japanese at Kohima, the decisive factor in that battle. Although not engaged in major battles, they accounted for large numbers of Japanese stragglers and foragers, suffering 158 battle casualties themselves.The end
The Chindits had suffered heavy casualties: 1396 killed and 2434 wounded. Over half had to be hospitalised with a special diet afterwards. As bad as the numbers may seem, those suffered by the force in 1943 were proportionally much higher.The healthy were sent to training camps to await new operations. However, when the army command evaluated the men and equipment required to return the Chindits to operational status, it was decided to transform the force into an Airborne Division in India. Beyond direct replacements, it was known that the British element of the Chindits would be decimated in 1945 by the need to repatriate personnel who had served more than four years overseas.
During the early months of 1945, several of the brigade headquarters and many of the veterans of the Chindit operations were reformed into the 14th and 77th Infantry Brigades and merged into the 44th Airborne Division (India)
44th Airborne Division (India)
The Indian 44th Airborne Division was a formation of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation but the war ended before the complete formation could take part...
, while the force headquarters and signals units formed the core of Indian XXXIV Corps. The Chindits were finally disbanded in February 1945.
London memorial
There is a memorial to Orde Wingate and also to the Chindits on the north side of the Victoria EmbankmentVictoria Embankment
The Victoria Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and river walk along the north bank of the River Thames in London. Victoria Embankment extends from the City of Westminster into the City of London.-Construction:...
next to the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
headquarters in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The memorial was unveiled on 16 October 1990 by HRH The Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh. The front of the monument is in memory of the Chindits and also mentions the four men of the Chindits awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
: Major Frank Gerald Blaker
Frank Gerald Blaker
Frank Gerald Blaker VC MC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, Captain Michael Allmand
Michael Allmand
Michael Allmand VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Early life:...
and Lieutenant George Albert Cairns
George Albert Cairns
George Albert Cairns VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
and Rifleman Tulbahadur Pun
Tulbahadur Pun
Tul Bahadur Pun VC was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He later achieved the rank of Honorary Lieutenant...
. The battalions who took part are listed on the sides of the monument. Non-infantry units are mentioned by their parent formations only. No distinction is made between those units who took part in 1943 versus those of 1944. The rear of the monument is exclusively dedicated to Orde Wingate and also mentions his contributions to the state of Israel.
Military legacy
X Force
X Force was the name given to the portion of the National Revolutionary Army Chinese Expeditionary Force that retreated from Burma into India in 1942. Chiang Kai-shek sent troops into Burma from Yunnan in 1942 to assist the British in holding back the Japanese. These Chinese forces became broken...
.
The views of the majority of the post-war British military establishment were made succinctly by Slim (commander of the Fourteenth Army), when he wrote "... the Chindits, gave a splendid examples of courage and hardihood. Yet I came firmly to the conclusion that such formations, trained equipped and mentally adjusted for one kind of operation were wasteful. They did not give, militarily, a worth-while return for the resources in men, material and time that they absorbed. ... [Special forces] were usually formed by attracting the best men ... The result of these methods was undoubtedly to lower the quality of the rest of the Army." He makes several other arguments against special forces, about the danger of ordinary battalions thinking that some tasks could only be performed by special forces, and that special forces can only stay in the field for relatively short periods compared to regular battalions. He sums up that "Anything, whatever the short cuts to victory it may promise, which thus weakens the Army spirit is dangerous." To underline his point he suggests that "This cult of special forces is as sensible as to form a Royal Corps of Tree Climbers and say that no soldier, who does not wear its green hat with a bunch of oak leaves stuck in it should be expected to climb a tree". He does acknowledge the need for small units to stir up trouble in the enemy's rear area but does not make it clear if he is talking about V Force
V Force
V Force was a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering organisation established by the British during the Burma Campaign in World War II.-Establishment and organisation:...
or the actions of Force 136
Force 136
Force 136 was the general cover name for a branch of the British World War II organization, the Special Operations Executive . The organisation was established to encourage and supply resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory, and occasionally mount clandestine sabotage operations...
.
Others, like Sir Robert Thompson, himself a Chindit, have asserted that the idea behind the Chindits was a sound one, but that they were just badly handled and used in operations for which they were not properly equipped or trained, for example in static defence. A third view is that despite the relatively insignificant losses that the Chindits were able to inflict, their propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
value in 1943, at a time when the Army was on the defensive, was a moral boost to the people of India and Britain, and helping to dispel the image of Japanese invincibility. It has been hard to reach a consensus on any of these issues due to the partisan nature of the discussions surrounding Wingate himself.
It has also been argued that the Chindits also contributed to the overall success of the Allied armies in Burma through the innovations in air supply techniques and organisation which their operations required. The Allied air forces were later to use these tactics to supply increasingly large forces which were cut off by enemy forces, or were operating independently of road or rail lines of communication. Conversely, it has been argued that the apparent success of the Chindits led some Japanese commanders to believe that they could employ their own incursion tactics on a much larger scale, and that when they came to implement such tactics during the Chindwin offensive of early 1944, lacking the necessary air support that had enabled the Allies to be successful, the result was disastrous and ultimately led to defeat at both Kohima and Imphal, and later on the plains of Burma in 1945.
Three of the Brigade commanders on Operation Thursday (two of whom had also served in the first Chindit expedition) subsequently wrote autobiographies, which contained their comments on the Chindits' concept and practice of operations. Bernard Fergusson, originally an enthusiastic supporter of Wingate, later came to feel that Wingate lacked both consistency and flexibility in his plans, which contributed to Fergusson's long, pointless march from Ledo and his defeat at Indaw. John Masters, who was a close friend and supporter of Lentaigne, felt that the Chindits' mobility was sacrificed in holding fixed defensive positions or attacking strong Japanese positions, without the necessary support. In criticism of the whole Chindit concept, he pointed out that the Chindit force had the infantry strength of two and a half line divisions, but, without supporting arms, it had the fighting strength of less than one. Michael Calvert, who was closest to Wingate, remained an absolute unquestioning defender of Wingate and his methods.
External links
- Material on Wingate's Burma Campaign (histories, personal accounts, biographies)
- Royal Engineers Museum Engineers with the Chindits
- http://www.wolftree.freeserve.co.uk/Burma/Burma4.html
- The Chindits
- Office of the US Surgeon General: Office of Medical History: Book 4, With Wingate's Chindits index
- G. V. Faulkner, MD, MC. Medical Report on Operations, 77th Indian Infantry Brigade
- Chindits 1943 / 1944 roll of honour, awards and images.
- http://www.thechindit.co.uk
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wz-_gO5uduU documentary