Chindit

Chindit

The inside story of one of World War Two's most dramatic behind-the-lines operations

Summary

Part of the SECOND WORLD WAR VOICES series in partnership with the podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, presented by comedian Al Murray and bestselling historian James Holland.

'Heroic, punishing excursions behind enemy lines, the Chindit expeditions are mythical and controversial in equal measure...Rhodes James takes us right to the heart of them' Al Murray
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1943 - The fight to retake Burma is about to begin. Major-General Orde Wingate surprises the conquering Japanese Army with a daring raid they had no idea was coming. But this is just the beginning.

Next, he devises a campaign of guerrilla operation to hit the invaders where it most hurts. Behind their own lines. Marshalling and training a lethal force of 10,000 men deep in the Burmese jungle, the Chindits are born.

Cipher Officer Richard Rhodes James was part of that hidden army and chronicles the story of a band of brothers fighting for survival against a remorseless enemy and an unforgiving environment. Neither took any prisoners. The Chindits' daring actions and tactical brilliance laid the foundations for turning the tide of the war in the East.

About the author

Richard Rhodes James

Rhichard Rhodes James was born in Mandalay, Burma, in 1921, one of five children of an Indian Army officer. After his education in England, he returned to India in 1942 and joined the 3rd Gurkha Rifles.

After the Chindit operations, in which he was mentioned in dispatches, he went on the expedition to repossess Malaya from the Japanese, ending the Second World War in Java.
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