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Author: Bill Towill Publisher: iUniverse ISBN: 0595158323 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 162
Book Description
At sunset on Sunday 5th March 1944 an airborne force set out from Lalaghat airstrip in Assam aboard gliders piloted by Americans of the 1st Air Commando USAAF. They were men of Special Force, otherwise known as "The Chindits" led by their famous commander Major General Orde Wingate. In the brilliant moonlight they flew eastwards over the steep mountain range separating India from Burma, crossed the mighty Chindwin River, which lay like a glittering silver ribbon far below them, to land in a small clearing, codenamed "Broadway" in the jungle 130 miles behind the Japanese front lines. Despite heavy casualties sustained in the glider landings, the survivors by dint of prodigious effort managed in a few hours to construct a rough airstrip, which on the following nights received Dakota transport aircraft ferrying men, mules and equipment. They achieved complete surprise over the enemy and within a period of six days, in a total of 78 glider and 660 Dakota sorties, some of which alighted at a nearby airstrip codenamed "Chowringhee", 9,052 men 1,360 pack animals and 250 tons of supplies were landed in a brilliantly successful operation for the loss of a total of only 121 men killed or wounded. It was the biggest operation of its kind so far launched during the War, though only three months later it was to be followed by "Overlord", the gigantic Allied invasion of Normandy. Fighting with grim determination against their fanatical opponents, in what became a conflict of primeval ferocity, with no quarter asked or given, the Chindits exerted a stranglehold over the enemy supply routes and so impeded the Japanese divisions to the north which were attempting to force their way into India via Imphal and Kohima. When the monsoon came, the fighting continued in a sea of mud, with the Chindits often starving and short of ammunition since the low lying cloud prevented supply drops being made to them by the RAF and USAAF. Inflicting enormous casualties on the enemy, they also took heavy casualties from battle and sickness until, at the last, broken in body but not in spirit, less than 5% of those who still survived were judged on medical examination to be physically fit enough to continue the fight.
Author: Bill Towill Publisher: iUniverse ISBN: 0595158323 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 162
Book Description
At sunset on Sunday 5th March 1944 an airborne force set out from Lalaghat airstrip in Assam aboard gliders piloted by Americans of the 1st Air Commando USAAF. They were men of Special Force, otherwise known as "The Chindits" led by their famous commander Major General Orde Wingate. In the brilliant moonlight they flew eastwards over the steep mountain range separating India from Burma, crossed the mighty Chindwin River, which lay like a glittering silver ribbon far below them, to land in a small clearing, codenamed "Broadway" in the jungle 130 miles behind the Japanese front lines. Despite heavy casualties sustained in the glider landings, the survivors by dint of prodigious effort managed in a few hours to construct a rough airstrip, which on the following nights received Dakota transport aircraft ferrying men, mules and equipment. They achieved complete surprise over the enemy and within a period of six days, in a total of 78 glider and 660 Dakota sorties, some of which alighted at a nearby airstrip codenamed "Chowringhee", 9,052 men 1,360 pack animals and 250 tons of supplies were landed in a brilliantly successful operation for the loss of a total of only 121 men killed or wounded. It was the biggest operation of its kind so far launched during the War, though only three months later it was to be followed by "Overlord", the gigantic Allied invasion of Normandy. Fighting with grim determination against their fanatical opponents, in what became a conflict of primeval ferocity, with no quarter asked or given, the Chindits exerted a stranglehold over the enemy supply routes and so impeded the Japanese divisions to the north which were attempting to force their way into India via Imphal and Kohima. When the monsoon came, the fighting continued in a sea of mud, with the Chindits often starving and short of ammunition since the low lying cloud prevented supply drops being made to them by the RAF and USAAF. Inflicting enormous casualties on the enemy, they also took heavy casualties from battle and sickness until, at the last, broken in body but not in spirit, less than 5% of those who still survived were judged on medical examination to be physically fit enough to continue the fight.
Author: John Igbino Publisher: AuthorHouse ISBN: 1546296166 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 587
Book Description
In 1944 twenty thousand Allied Airborne Special Force troops in five Brigades commanded by Major General Orde Wingate landed behind the Japanese lines in Northern Burma. The Operation was Codenamed Operation Thursday. The Special Force troops were nicknamed ‘Chindits’. Four thousand Nigerian troops fought in the Special Force Brigades as Chindits during Operation Thursday. This book is an account of their operations behind Japanese lines between February and August 1944. The Brigade’s Insignia was the Black African Spider advancing on its prey. Thus, the Brigade called itself the ‘Spider Brigade’; its Battalions, namely the 6th, 7th and 12th Nigeria Regiments, ‘Spider Regiments’, and its troops ‘Spidermen’. The book is a well-written account of the Spider Brigade’s battles against the 18th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. It should force Chindit Historians to confront the anomalies in Contemporary History’s treatment of Nigerian Chindits. The book is a scholarly and dispassionate excursion into the 14th Army’s Campaigns, putting under the microscope the preconceived assumptions of British and Indian Armies’ Officer Corps about the fighting quality of Nigerian Chindits. Thus, the book is an important and long overdue account of Operation Thursday that will become the standard work on Nigeria’s contributions to Allied Airborne Invasion of Burma.
Author: Frank McLynn Publisher: Yale University Press ISBN: 0300178360 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 458
Book Description
This history reveals the failures and fortunes of leadership during the WWII campaign into Japanese-occupied Burma: “a thoroughly satisfying experience” (Kirkus). Acclaimed historian Frank McLynn tells the story of four larger-than-life Allied commanders whose lives collided in the Burma campaign, one of the most punishing and protracted military adventures of World War II. This vivid account ranges from Britain’s defeat in 1942 through the crucial battles of Imphal and Kohima—known as "the Stalingrad of the East"—and on to ultimate victory in 1945. Frank McLynn narrative focuses on the interactions and antagonisms of its principal players: William Slim, the brilliant general; Orde Wingate, the idiosyncratic commander of a British force of irregulars; Louis Mountbatten, one of Churchill's favorites, overpromoted to the position of Supreme Commander, S.E. Asia; and Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, a hard-line—and openly anlgophobic—U.S. general. With lively portraits of each of these men, McLynn shows how the plans and strategies of generals and politicians were translated into a hideous reality for soldiers on the ground.
Author: Tony Redding Publisher: The History Press ISBN: 0750956550 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 817
Book Description
War in the Wilderness is the most comprehensive account ever published of the human aspects of the Chindit war in Burma. The word 'Chindit' will always have a special resonance in military circles. Every Chindit endured what is widely regarded as the toughest sustained Allied combat experience of the Second World War. The Chindit expeditions behind Japanese lines in occupied Burma 1943–1944 transformed the morale of British forces after the crushing defeats of 1942. The Chindits provided the springboard for the Allies' later offensives. The two expeditions extended the boundaries of human endurance. The Chindits suffered slow starvation and exposure to dysentery, malaria, typhus and a catalogue of other diseases. They endured the intense mental strain of living and fighting under the jungle canopy, with the ever-present threat of ambush or simply 'bumping' the enemy. Every Chindit carried his kit and weapons (equivalent to two heavy suitcases) in the tropical heat and humidity. A disabling wound or sickness frequently meant a lonely death. Those who could no longer march were often left behind with virtually no hope of survival. Some severely wounded were shot or given a lethal dose of morphia to ensure they would not be captured alive by the Japanese. Fifty veterans of the Chindit expeditions kindly gave interviews for this book. Many remarked on the self-reliance that sprang from living and fighting as a Chindit. Whatever happened to them after their experiences in Burma, they knew that nothing else would ever be as bad. There are first-hand accounts of the bitter and costly battles and the final, wasteful weeks, when men were forced to continue fighting long after their health and strength had collapsed. War in the Wilderness continues the story as the survivors returned to civilian life. They remained Chindits for the rest of their days, members of a brotherhood forged in extreme adversity.
Author: Grant McLachlan Publisher: Klaut ISBN: 0473226235 Category : Biography & Autobiography Languages : en Pages : 796
Book Description
Sparrow is a seldom-heard but uplifting story of the Sparrows – the Battle of Britain gunners who defended Timor as part of Sparrow Force. It is the story of Charlie McLachlan’s war: a triumph of stubborn Scottish defiance and laconic Aussie genius over the relentless violence of man and nature. From the Rudolph Hess crash-landing to the atom bomb, from history’s last bayonet charge to the war’s greatest aerial bombardment, Charlie McLachlan survives and bears witness to some of the landmark days of World War II. At one time or other in his four-year ordeal he is fired upon by the armies, navies and/or air forces of Germany, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Great Britain and the United States of America – pretty much everyone but the Russians. He defies or evades the ravages of tropical ulcers, tropical heat, alpine cold, gangrene, cholera, malaria, beriberi, dysentery, mosquitoes, crocodiles, snakes, sharks, scorpions, sadistic Sikhs, Japanese hellships, falling coconuts, flying shrapnel, beatings, beheadings, bullets, bombs, bayonets, torpedoes, a crushed leg, a fractured skull, malnutrition and premature cremation. He’s presumed dead by the British Army, left for dead by Japanese guards, and declared dead by a Dutch-Javanese doctor. Yet through it all Charlie soldiers on. Half a world away, his wife Mary, fashioned from the same mental granite, stoically awaits his return. Not even an official telegram confirming the near-certainty of Charlie’s death, or later rumours of his torture, can shake her iron faith. *** Sparrow Force – the force that defended Timor in 1942 – was one of Australia’s most successful military units. At the lowest point in the Second World War these soldiers - equipped with First World War weapons and cut off from Australia - waged a commando campaign that held off Japan’s most successful and elite special force. Low in medicine and ammunition, they built an improvised radio that regained contact with their homeland. It was the first good news of the war for the Allies. Sparrow Force was unique. They were the first force to defeat Japan in battle, and they were the last to be captured. Those who escaped to pursue a guerrilla campaign spent more time in combat against the Japanese than any other Allied unit. They were set up to fail; instead they endured, defied, and succeeded. Newsreels were made, victories were recorded, medals were awarded, and Australia’s morale was elevated. As Winston Churchill famously said, “They alone did not surrender.”
Author: Peter Jacobs Publisher: Pen and Sword ISBN: 1783463333 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 273
Book Description
The Second World War saw a host of heroic raids enacted across the various theatres, all delivered valiantly in a variety of ways by British combatants; on land, by sea and from the air. Daring exploits such as the raid on Rommel, the endeavours of the Cockleshell Heroes and the Dam Busters have become legendary in the annals of warfare. All feature here, alongside details of fascinating lesser-known operations.??It goes without saying that not all the raids were a success; in fact, some went disastrously wrong but the men who carried them out did so with extreme courage and in the knowledge that they might not return. Here, Peter Jacobs tells the gripping stories of some of the most heroic raids of the entire conflict. These include the disastrous landings at Dieppe; the amphibious assault on the dry dock at St Nazaire (more Victoria Crosses were won during this raid than in any other operation of the war); the airborne assaults on the German radar installation at Bruneval and later on Pegasus Bridge as a prelude to D-Day; and the low-level raid by RAF Mosquitos on the prison at Amiens to release members of the French Resistance.??This is an intriguing and insightful historical record of thirty of the most daring and strategic raids of military history and is sure to appeal to all enthusiasts of the genre.
Author: Andrew Selth Publisher: ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute ISBN: 9814951781 Category : Reference Languages : en Pages : 370
Book Description
Updated by popular demand, this is the fourth edition of this important bibliography. It lists a wide selection of works on or about Myanmar published in English and in hard copy since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which marked the beginning of a new era in Myanmar’s modern history. There are now 2,727 titles listed. They have been written, edited, translated or compiled by over 2,000 people, from many different backgrounds. These works have been organized into thirty-five subject chapters containing ninety-five discrete sections. There are also four appendices, including a comprehensive reading guide for those unfamiliar with Myanmar or who may be seeking guidance on particular topics. This book is an invaluable aid to officials, scholars, journalists, armchair travellers and others with an interest in this fascinating but deeply troubled country.
Author: George Glenton Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317403789 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 275
Book Description
Originally published in 1963. This book tells the story of the closure of the News Chronicle and its London evening companion The Star as seen by two journalists on the News Chronicle. They describe the Daily News tradition, record some of its finest hours and write about some of the greatest journalists who served their employers loyally. They endeavour to unravel what went on in Bouverie Street immediately before, at the moment of the crash and afterwards. The merger of these two prominent organs of public opinion with the Daily Mail and Evening News made splash headlines and was widely discussed in the press, on television and radio. Faithful readers were dismayed, politicians were alarmed, and the staff of the newspapers were indignant. For 114 years the Daily News and its modern successor the News Chronicle had weathered financial storms and overcome gales of prejudice and political opinion to become one of the most respected morning papers. The Star had, since 1888, fought the cause of the underdog and earned the affection and gratitude of many Londoners. This book highlights the feelings of men and women who were proud to work for their paper but did not know till almost the very last that they were fighting a losing battle, and how and why some of them kept the secret.
Author: Bill Towill
Author: Bill Towill
Author: John Igbino
Author: Frank McLynn
Author: Tony Redding
Author: Grant McLachlan
Author: ALI Caleb Chikammadu
Author: Peter Jacobs
Author: Andrew Selth
Author: Jacques Legrand
Author: George Glenton