![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() Topic: INTERESTING NUGGETS OF WW-2: BURMA CAMPAIGNUp until 1942, Fort Hertz was maintained as an outpost of the Myitkyina Battalion of the Burma Frontier Force. During the 1942 Japanese invasion of Burma, various retreating soldiers of the British/Indian Burma Garrison remained in the Fort Hertz area. The military authorities in India had no direct contact with Fort Hertz during most of the summer of 1942. Troops were parachuted into Upper Burma on July 3, 1942. Led by Captain I.O.M. Roberts of the 153rd (Gurkha) Indian Parachute Battalion, the men had orders to investigate the state of the Myitkyina area and then march 150 miles north to Fort Hertz. On August 12, 1942 Major Hopkins of the 50th Indian Parachute Brigade overflew the Fort and discovered that it was unexpectedly in British hands. Captain Roberts had reached the fort some days before. The landing strip at the fort was however unusable. The next day, a party led by Captain G.E.C. Newland of the 153rd Indian Parachute Battalion parachute dropped into Fort Hertz with engineering supplies. By August 20, the airfield had been repaired enough that aircraft could land. Lieutenant-Colonel Gamble, the new commander of the area arrived on that date quickly followed by a company of the 7/9th Jat Regiment. The party led by Captain Roberts was extracted around the same time. Later during World War II its garrison, consisting of various battalions of the British Indian Army and the Northern Kachin Levies, formed an isolated Northern post of the Allied Armies engaged in the Burma Campaign. With the assistance of Kachin irregulars, the route north from Japanese-held Burma to Fort Hertz was defended against a series of minor attacks in 1942 and 1943. In 1943 and 1944 the primary purpose of Fort Hertz was to gather intelligence and to cover an airstrip which served as an emergency landing ground for planes flying The Hump from India to China over the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains. This same airstrip was the only supply line for Fort Hertz. There was also eventually a radio beacon check point at the site. Large-scale official training of the Kachin Levies did not start until August 1943 when a V Force team was sent to Fort Hertz. An American team advisory team of eight officers and 40 sergeants (radiomen, cryptographers and medics) also flew into Fort Hertz. The American forces raised their own Kachin force in a Myitkyina area in 1944 which were known as the Kachin Rangers. When General Joseph Stilwell's Chinese X Force started the advance to cover the building of the Ledo Road and American Northern Combat Area Command operation, forces from Fort Hertz advanced on Stilwell's left flank and captured Sumprabum. They then continued their advance towards Myitkyina capturing Tiangup From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ![]() |
![]() |
|
|
Have you covered this chaps? You probably are familiar with Orde Wingate.
![]() A Chindit column crossing a river in BurmaActive1942 – 1945CountryUnited Kingdom, IndiaAllegianceAllies of World War IIBranchBritish Indian ArmyTypeSpecial forcesRoleAsymmetric warfareGarrison/HQJhansi, IndiaBattles/warsBurma Campaign of World War IIDecorationsFour members awarded the Victoria CrossCommandersNotable commandersOrde Wingate, Walter David Alexander LentaigneBurma CampaignChindits – Ngakyedauk – Imphal – Kohima – Central Burma The Chindits (Officially in 1942 77th Indian Infantry Brigade and in 1943 Indian 3rd Infantry Division) were a British Indian Army "Special Force"[1] that served in Burma and India from 1942 until 1945 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines. |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() Topic: SOME INDIAN ARMY UNITS WHICH WERE PART OF CHINDITS
The 9 Gorkha Rifles dates back to 1817, when it was raised at Infantry Levy at Fatehgarh. In 1823, it became a regular unit as part of the Bengal Native Infantry. After the reorganisations post-1857, the designation was changed to 9 Bengal Native Infantry with one of its companies formed by Gorkhas and other hillmen. By then the Regiment had fought at Bhartpur and in the difficult battle of Sobraon in the Ango-Sikh War. In 1901, the Regiment was designated 9 Gorkha Rifles.
9 GR fought in the Great War in Europe and in the inter war years took part in the operations in the North West Frontier. In World War II, it fought in Italy and North Africa. The 3/9 GR and 4/9 GR formed part of the Chindits in Burma, and earned a reputation in the long range penetration operations. In the 1962 Indo-China War, the 1/9 GR fought under the most demanding conditions on the Namka Chu in NEFA (Arunachal Pradesh). The Regiment continued the fine traditions in 1965 and 1971 and earned Battle Honours and gallantry awards. http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/LAND-F...s/9Gorkha.html |
![]() |