The Chindits were unconventional warfare forces organized by Orde Wingate
under British
command for operations in Burma.
They specialized in long-range penetration of Japanese lines,
with resupply provided from the air. Wavell, general officer
commanding India in the early part
of the war, had been sufficiently impressed by Wingate's activities
during the campaign in Italian
Somaliland that he authorized Wingate to raise a long-range penetration
force for the Far East.
he first Chindit unit, the 77th Indian Brigade, was
committed to battle on 8 February 1943, penetrating the Tamu region
from its base in Imphal.
The timing was unfortunate, as the only offensive action
being
taken by regular forces against the Japanese
in Burma at the time was a
poorly planned and anemic advance into the Arakan region.
This
meant the Japanese could easily protect their communications while
pursuing the Chindits. The Chindits might nonetheless have been
able to sustain operations if they had stayed in the jungle; but
Wingate pursued a grandiose scheme that took his columns across the Irrawady, where they were
caught in the open during the dry
season. The outcome was that the first
Chindits
merely inconvenienced the Japanese while suffering terrible casualties
and barely escaping back across the Irrawady. Less than two hundred
Chindits ever made it back to India.
But Wingate was a sufficiently charismatic visionary that the
raid
was seen as some kind of great military accomplishment. Churchill himself
fell under the charm, and considerable additional manpower was
committed to new Chindit formations. Eventually six new Chindit
brigades were raised: 3 West African, 14, 16, and 23 British, and 27
and 111 Indian Brigades. Inspired by the British example, the Americans
raised their own irregular force, 5307 Composite Unit, who
rejected their official designation ("disgustingly like a street
address in Los Angeles") in favor of "Merrill's Marauders." There is
reason to suspect that the British viewed the Chindit operations as a
way to satisfy American
demands for action in Burma without committing large formations to a
theater in which they had little interest.
A second series of
Chindit
expeditions began with the departure on 5 February 1944 of 16 Long
Range Penetration Brigade (LRP) from Ledo
south towards "Aberdeen", a site selected for its suitability for
construction of a small airstrip for resupply. The 16 LRP was
followed by the 77 LRP on 5 March, headed for "Broadway." The Chindits
were supplied with excellent intelligence
on the Japanese dispositions.
On 8 March the Japanese began their long-planned U-Go offensive with the objective of seizing Imphal, Kohima, and Dimapur, isolating the Allied forces in northeast Assam and opening the road to India. It was thought that the Chindit activity would interfere with the Japanese offensive, but the troops involved were relying on capturing British dumps to resupply and were largely unaffected. However, by 13 March, the Japanese discovered "Broadway" and began a damaging series of air strikes against it.
On 24 March Wingate was killed in an air crash. Command of the Chindits was taken over by the senior brigade commander, Lentaigne, and came under the overall control of Stilwell. Thus Wingate did not live to see the most significant success by his forces, which advanced to cut off the supply line of the Japanese troops investing Kohima. Having failed to capture the British supplies on which they had planned to sustain their offensive, the Japanese were forced back and the route to Imphal from Dimapur reopened. Chindit units also interfered with the lines of communication of 18 Division, which was attempting to hold Myitkyina against Stilwell's Chinese forces.
WIth the opening of the Ledo Road and the collapse of U-Go, the British finally felt in a
position to mount a regular counteroffensive into Burma. This largely
eliminated the need for special forces supplied by air, particularly
since the air transport was now needed to support the regular
forces. As a result, the Chindits were disbanded.
References
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia (c) 2007 by Kent G. Budge. Index