Denis Edward Arnold

Last updated
Denis Arnold Denis Edward Arnold.jpg
Denis Arnold

Denis Edward Arnold MC (16 July 1918 - 14 January 2015) was a British Army officer of the Second World War who won the Military Cross in 1944 for an opportunistic attack on a Japanese force while serving with the Chindits in Burma. Arnold served in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and the 7th Nigeria Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force. While in Burma, Arnold received a letter from his mother containing a pledge card that he would abstain from alcohol. He and his comrades found this very amusing since there was none to be found in the jungle. On returning to England with a bottle of whisky that he was saving for a celebration, Arnold was told by a customs officer that he must pay duty on the spirit. He smashed the bottle in disgust. After leaving the army, Arnold rejoined his former employers the Blue Circle Group, eventually becoming overseas operations director. [1]

Related Research Articles

Joseph Stilwell United States Army general (1883–1946)

Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking out of Burma pursued by victorious Japanese forces, his implacable demands for units debilitated by disease to be sent into heavy combat resulted in Merrill's Marauders becoming disenchanted with him. Infuriated by the 1944 fall of Changsha to a Japanese offensive, Stilwell threatened Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek that lend-lease aid to China would be cut off which led Ambassador Patrick J. Hurley to decide Stilwell had to be replaced. Chiang had been intent on keeping lend-lease supplies to fight the communists, but Stilwell had been obeying his instructions to get Chinese communists and nationalists to co-operate against Japan.

Chindits Long-range raiding force of the Army of India during WW2

The Chindits, known officially as the Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II.

Orde Wingate British WWII Army general (1903-1944)

Major General Orde Charles Wingate, was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World War.

Northern Combat Area Command Military unit

The Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) was a subcommand of the Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC) during World War II. It controlled Allied ground operations in northern Burma. For most of its existence, NCAC was commanded by United States Army General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell. In 1945 after Stilwell was recalled, his deputy, Lieutenant General Daniel Sultan, was promoted to and assumed command.

Burma campaign Series of battles fought during World War II

The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of Burma. It was part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II and primarily involved forces of the Allies; the British Empire and the Republic of China, with support from the United States. They faced against the invading forces of Imperial Japan, who were supported by the Thai Phayap Army, as well as two collaborationist independence movements and armies, the first being the Burma Independence Army, which spearheaded the initial attacks against the country. Puppet states were established in the conquered areas and territories were annexed, while the international Allied force in British India launched several failed offensives. During the later 1944 offensive into India and subsequent Allied recapture of Burma the Indian National Army, led by revolutionary Subhas C. Bose and his "Free India", were also fighting together with Japan. British Empire forces peaked at around 1,000,000 land and air forces, and were drawn primarily from British India, with British Army forces, 100,000 East and West African colonial troops, and smaller numbers of land and air forces from several other Dominions and Colonies.

Walter Lentaigne

Lieutenant General Walter David Alexander Lentaigne,, also known as Joe Lentaigne, was a senior officer in the British Indian Army.

Battle of Imphal Battle between Japanese and Allied forces in 1944

The Battle of Imphal took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and invade India, but were driven back into Burma with heavy losses. Together with the simultaneous Battle of Kohima on the road by which the encircled Allied forces at Imphal were relieved, the battle was the turning point of the Burma campaign, part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. The Japanese defeat at Kohima and Imphal was the largest up until that time, with many of the Japanese deaths resulting from starvation, disease and exhaustion suffered during their retreat.

Jungle warfare is a term used to cover the special techniques needed for military units to survive and fight in jungle terrain.

5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force) Military Unit

5th Gorkha Rifles, also abbreviated as 5 GR(FF) is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Nepalese origin. It was formed in 1858 as part of the British Indian Army. The regiment's battalions served in the First World War (Mesopotamia) and Second World War.

Mike Calvert

Brigadier James Michael Calvert was a British Army officer who was involved in special operations in Burma during the Second World War. He participated in both Chindit operations and was instrumental in popularizing the unorthodox ideas of Orde Wingate. He frequently led attacks from the front, a practice that earned him the nickname amongst the men under his command of "Mad Mike."

Force 136 Military unit

Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Oriental Mission in April 1942. The man in overall charge for the duration of the war was Colin Mackenzie.

Border Regiment Military unit

The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot.

The Burma Rifles were a British colonial regiment raised in Burma. Founded in 1917 as a regiment of the British Indian Army, the regiment re-used the name of an unrelated earlier unit, the 10th Regiment Madras Infantry, which evolved into the 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles. After Burma was formally separated from India, the regiment was allocated to Burma. Following Burma's independence from Britain in 1948, the regiment was absorbed into the new Burmese army.

Burma campaign (1942–1943)

The Burma campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign, the Imperial Japanese Army with aid from Burmese insurgents had driven British forces and Chinese forces out of Burma, and occupied most of the country. From May to December 1942, most active campaigning ceased as the monsoon rains made tactical movement almost impossible in the forested and mountainous border between India and Burma, and both the Allies and Japanese faced severe logistical constraints.

Burma campaign (1944)

The fighting in the Burma campaign in 1944 was among the most severe in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. It took place along the borders between Burma and India, and Burma and China, and involved the British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces, against the forces of Imperial Japan and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from the United Kingdom, British India and Africa.

Major-General Lancelot Edgar Connop Mervyn Perowne CBE was a British Army officer who commanded 17th Gurkha Division.

Denis Eadie

Denis Sheldon McGregor Eadie MC was a British Army officer of the Second World War who was awarded the Military Cross by Field Marshal Lord Wavell for his conduct during the relief of Kohima.

George William Symes British military officer (1896–1980)

Major General George William Symes, was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, in which he was twice awarded the Military Cross. During the Second World War he commanded the 70th Infantry Division in India, and was deputy commander of the Special Force, commonly known as the Chindits, in Burma. He was deputy commander of the lines of communication of the 21st Army Group from May to November 1944, and then commanded the lines of communication in South East Asia Command (SEAC). In June 1945, he became general officer commanding (GOC) in Southern Burma.

Hong Kong Volunteer Company was a company of British-Chinese soldiers that escaped Japanese occupied Hong Kong, and served with the British in India and Burma during the Burma Campaign of World War II.

Battle of Mogaung

The Battle of Mogaung was a series of engagements that was fought in the Burma Campaign of World War II between 6 and 26 June 1944 at the Burmese town of Mogaung. In brutal fighting, the 77th 'Chindit' Brigade under Brigadier Michael Calvert, later assisted by Chinese forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, fought for and captured the town from the occupying forces of Imperial Japan.

References

  1. Major Denis Arnold - obituary. The Telegraph , 26 February 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.