Essay on Chindits and Their Contribution

Essay on Chindits and Their contribution
Essay on Chindits and Their contribution
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1Essay on Chindits and their contribution
Introduction
World War II or Second World War was started in 1939 and lasted till 1945. It was the
greatest war between powerful countries in the world. It is also called the century’s biggest
global war. The war started with two opposing powerful military alliance the allies and the axis.
The world war one was not ended with proper treaty and clear sign left the whole world unstable.
The European always created more ripple in the peace than any other nation. The world war of
1914-1918 prepared the stage for the international conflict that started a new world war two just
in two decades. To dominate the world, Germany headed by Adolf Hitler signed treaties with
Italy and Japan. Great Britain and France declare war on Germany after its invasion of Poland in
1939. A total on 60 million people lost their life in the world war two. Six million of Jews were
murdered by Nazi concentration camps by Holocaust.1
The Chindits were created to defeat the imperial Japanese army. It was formed by British
Army Brigadier Orde Charles Wingate who created the Chindits the deep penetration mission in
Japan. Its major work criteria were to attack the Japanese troops, form a line of communication
for the British. It was a highly trained and important operation units of the two armies British and
India, it came in action in 1943-1944 in the Burma campaign in world war two. Wingate upon
arrival in March 1942, ordered to form a guerrilla army units, who can fight behind Japanese
lines. In April in India he started to plan for jungle long-range penetration units. He was given
the Indian 77th Infantry Brigade, from which jungle long-range penetration unit was formed by
him. They were trained at Dhana in Madhya Pradesh where the men were toughen by camping
them in the Indian jungle during the rainy season.2 The plan of training in tough situation and
terrain proved to be disastrous. 70% of the troop went absent due to sickness and wounds. The
1 Lyons, World War II, 25
2 Hartcup and Bernard, The effect of science on the second world war, 54

2Essay on Chindits and their contribution
first Chindit expedition, which was called the Operation Longcloth, marched into Japanese-
occupied Burma in 1943. They successfully attacked Japanese rail, supply depots and
communication lines. The unit was divided in to eight sections consisting of Royal Air Force, a
signal section, and a mule transport company. This eight column started from Imphal on 12th
February 1943 crossing the Chindwin river. The troop went deeper in to Burma to destroy all the
supply assess of the Japanese but the conditions there was very different from what their
intelligence told them.3They had to fight in dry and inhospitable area with criss-crossed by motor
roads. They suffered severely from exhaustion and shortages of water and food.
The first exercise proved to be critical damaging the major infrastructure of the Japanese.
The Japanese saw less of direct fighting with the troop that made them think that they need to
strengthen their army to defend chindits. The Chindits were highly aggressive even with the
limited resources to survive they were able to displace the Japanese army and services. This led
to failed attack on Allied forces.4 In this action almost a third of the army lost their life. Most of
them got lost in the jungle and some returned wounded and sick. Although the training given to
them was the toughest with each man carrying 33 kg of equipment, when compared to mules
carrying the support weapons and other stores.5 The weapons they were carrying were all high
standard and mostly new technology. The total things that they carried were guns, rations for
seven day, Gurkha kukri knife, uniform and ground sheet. The whole regiment was composed of
fifty percentage of the British army and rest was Indian, Bangladeshi regiment and Gurkha
regiment.
3 Trager, The Chindits and Marauders in Wartime Burma, 63
4 Lathrop, A Surgeon with Stilwell,52
5 Lennon, Kanchanaburi and the Thai-Burma railway, 144