The second Chindit raid deep into Burma
4th March 1944: A large-scale raid behind the lines means each man carrying a heavy burden
The British had mounted an innovative deep penetration raid into Burma in 1943. Now they were preparing to launch the Chindits on a second larger operation. Once again they were led by the unconventional Major General Orde Wingate. There were plenty in the senior ranks who doubted the value of such operations - but they appealed to the imagination of Churchill and the scheme got support from on high.
This time they would not march all the way in but be flown in and then be resupplied by air. This was another innovation and there was not much experience to base plans upon. There were many difficulties to be overcome - and even then supplies would be tight.
John Masters1, later to become a noted novelist, was one of the officers planning the operation, now almost ready to go:
One detail we were spared: we didn’t have to weigh anything or anybody. That had been done, down to ounces. Apart from heavy weapons, reserve ammunition and radio sets, we were going to carry everything on our backs. For seven months we had been waging a furious but indecisive battle in an attempt to give the soldier the means to fight and eat, and at the same time allow him to walk and run.
The results were appalling to look at in cold blood, but represented the best compromise we could reach. The No. 1 of a Bren-gun team, when carrying the gun, and just after a supply drop had put five days’ K rations in his pack, toted a load of 86 pounds. For a Gurkha with a total body weight of about 130 pounds, who was expected to run up and down mountains, this was a lot. The weights ranged down until the Brigadier and a few technicians carried about 42 pounds.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to World War II Today to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.