Order of battle of the Chindits

Last updated

The Order of battle of the Chindits , an Allied special force which carried out two deep penetration raids behind Japanese line during the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II

Contents

First Chindit expedition, 1943, codenamed Operation Longcloth

Headquarters 77th Indian Infantry Brigade [1]

Commander Brigadier Orde Wingate
Brigade Major Major R.B.G. Bromhead (succeeded by Major G.M. Anderson)
Staff Captain Captain H.J. Lord

Deception party

Officer Commanding (O.C.) Major Jeffries

No. 1 Group (Southern)

Officer Commanding (O.C.) Lieutenant Colonel Leigh Alexander (died during the operation)
1 Column (Major Dunlop)
2 Column (Major Burnett)

No. 2 Group (Northern)

O.C. Lieutenant Colonel S.A. Cooke
3 Column (Major Michael Calvert)
4 Column (Major R.A. Conron)(replaced by Major R.B. Bromhead March 1, 1943)
5 Column (Major Bernard Fergusson)
7 Column (Major K. Gilkes)
8 Column (Major Walter Scott)

HQ Group (Burma Rifles)

O.C. Lt-Colonel L.G. Wheeler 2nd Burma Rifles (replaced by Captain P.C. Buchanan on the death of Lt-Colonel Wheeler)

Second Chindit expedition, 1944, codenamed Operation Thursday

Headquarters 3rd Indian Infantry Division [2]

Division Commander Major-General Orde.C. Wingate (succeeded by Major-General W.D.A. Lentaigne )
Deputy Commander Major-General G.W. Symes (succeeded by Brigadier D. Tulloch)
Brigadier General Staff Brigadier D. Tulloch ( succeeded by Brigadier H.T. Alexander)
Locations of Headquarters
Rear HQ at Gwalior, Central India
Main HQ first at Imphal later at Sylhet, Assam
Launching HQ at Lalaghat
Tactical/Forward HQ, Shaduzup, Burma

Thunder 3rd West African Brigade

Officer Commanding (O.C.) Brigadier A.H. Gillmore, (succeeded by Brigadier A.H.G. Ricketts): 10 HQ column
6th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment: 66 and 39 Columns
7th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment: 29 and 35 Columns
12th Battalion, Nigeria Regiment: 12 and 43 Columns
3rd West African Field Ambulance: Support

(From disbanded 70th British Infantry Division );

Javelin British 14th Infantry Brigade

O.C. Brigadier Thomas Brodie: 59 HQ column
2nd Battalion, Black Watch: 42 and 73 Columns - Lt.Col.G.C.Green
1st Battalion, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment: 16 and 61 Columns
2nd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment: 65 and 84 Columns
7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment: 47 and 74 Columns - Lt Col F.R.(Wilf) Wilford; Maj (later Lt Col) F.H.J.Wileman & Maj J.G.Lockett MC (att from Seaforth H.). Maj F.H.J.Wileman later detached to help train Merrill's Marauders in Jungle Warfare.
54th Field Company Royal Engineers & Medical Detachment:support

Enterprise British 16th Infantry Brigade

O.C. Brigadier B.E. Fergusson: 99 HQ column
2nd Battalion, The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey): 21 and 22 Columns
2nd Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment: 17 and 71 Columns
51st/69th Regiment, Royal Artillery: 51 and 69 Columns (infantry columns made up of R.A. personnel)
45th Reconnaissance Regiment: 45 and 54 Columns (infantry columns made up recce units)
2nd Field Company Royal Engineers & Medical Detachment: support

Emphasis 77th Indian Infantry Brigade

O.C. Brigadier Mike Calvert: 25 HQ column
1st Battalion, The King's Regiment (Liverpool): 81 and 82 Columns
1st Battalion, The Lancashire Fusiliers: 20 and 50 Columns
1st Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment: 38 and 80 Columns
3rd Battalion, 6th Gurkha Rifles: 36 and 63 Columns
3rd Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles: 57 and 93 Columns
142 Company, Hong Kong Volunteers & Medical and veterinary detachments: Support

Profound 111th Indian Infantry Brigade

O.C. Brigadier W.D.A. Lentaigne, (succeeded first by Major John Masters and then by Brigadier Morris): 48 HQ Column
1st Battalion, The Cameronians: 26 and 90 Columns
2nd Battalion, The King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster): 41 and 46 Columns
3rd Battalion (part), 4th Gurkha Rifles: 30 Column
Mixed Field Company Royal Engineers/Royal Indian Engineers & Medical and veterinary detachments: Support

Morris Force

O.C. Lt-Colonel (later promoted Brigadier) J.R. Morris
4th Battalion, 9th Gurkha Rifles: 49 and 94 Columns
3rd Battalion (part), 4th Gurkha Rifles: 40 Column

Dah Force

O.C. Lieut-Colonel D.C. Herring
Kachin Levies

Bladet (Blain's Detachment)

O.C. Major Blain
Gliderborne commando engineers

Royal Artillery Supporting non-mobile units designed to defend Chindit Jungle Fortresses.

R, S and U Troops 160th Field Regiment Royal Artillery (All 25 pounders)
W, X, Y, and Z Troops 69th Light Anti Aircraft Regiment (40mm Bofors)

Support Units

NO 1 Air Commando USAAF – strike and casualty evacuation (until 1/5/1944 only)
Eastern Air Command – supply
U.S. Army 900th Field Unit (engineers)

Divisional Support Troops

2nd Battalion Burma Rifles – one section assigned per column except for columns in the 3rd West African Brigade
145th Brigade Company R.A.S.C.
219th Field Park Company, Royal Engineers
61st Air Supply Company R.A.S.C.
2nd Indian Air Supply Company, R.I.A.S.C.

Galahad 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) US Army

1st Battalion; Red and White Combat Teams
2nd Battalion; Blue and Green Combat Teams
3rd Battalion; Khaki and Orange Combat Teams
Also known as Merrill's Marauders. After being trained, the force was transferred to General Joseph Stilwell's Northern Combat Area Command and operated independently of the Chindits.

23rd British Infantry Brigade

O.C. Brigadier Lancelot Perowne: 32 HQ Column
1st Battalion Essex Regiment: 44 and 56 Columns
2nd Battalion Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding): 33 and 76 Columns
4th Battalion Border Regiment: 34 and 55 Columns
60th (North Midland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery: 60 and 68 Columns (fighting as infantry)
12th Field Company Royal Engineers & Medical Detachment: Support
This Brigade trained as a Chindit Brigade, but was diverted to the main front in Assam and took part in the Battle of Kohima.

Notes

  1. Appendix 26: The Composition of 77th Indian Infantry Brigade (The Chindits), February 1943, Woodburn Kirby, Vol II, p. 503–4.
  2. Appendix 16: Outline Order of battle of Special Force (3rd Indian Division), Woodburn Kirby, Vol III, pp. 484–85.

Related Research Articles

This is a list of British ground forces in the Falklands War. For a list of ground forces from Argentina, see Argentine ground forces in the Falklands War

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)</span> Military unit

The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th Battalion, 8th Gorkha Rifles (Sirmoor Rifles), where it exists to this day. As part of the British Army, the regiment served in Malaya, Hong Kong and Brunei until 1994 when it was amalgamated with the other three British Army Gurkha infantry regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. It is the only Gurkha regiment which did not have a khukuri on its cap badge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">4th Gorkha Rifles</span> Infantry regiment of the Indian Army

The 4th Gorkha Rifles or the Fourth Gorkha Rifles, abbreviated as 4 GR, is an infantry regiment of the Indian Army comprising Gurkha soldiers of Indian Gorkha or Nepalese nationality, especially Magars and Gurungs hill tribes of Nepal. The Fourth Gorkha Rifles has five infantry battalions. The regiment was raised in 1857 as part of the British Indian Army. In 1947, after India's independence, the Fourth Gurkha Rifles became part of the Indian Army as the Fourth Gorkha Rifles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force)</span> Indian Army 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Infantry Division (India)</span> Infantry division of the Indian Army during World War

The 5th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II that fought in several theatres of war and was nicknamed the "Ball of Fire". It was one of the few Allied divisions to fight against three different armies - the Italian, German and Japanese armies.

The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Company, the regiment has been known by a number of names throughout its history. Initially the unit did not recruit from the Gurkhas, although after being transferred to the British Indian Army following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it became a purely Gurkha regiment, in due course with its regimental headquarters at Abbottabad in the North West Frontier Province of British India. After 1947 the regiment was one of only four Gurkha regiments to be transferred to the British Army and this continued up until 1994, when it was amalgamated with other Gurkha regiments to form the Royal Gurkha Rifles. Over the course of its 177-year history, the regiment was awarded 25 battle honours, although prior to World War I it had only been awarded one and no battle honours were awarded to it after World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">23rd Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)</span> Infantry brigade of the British Army

The 23rd Infantry Brigade was an infantry brigade of the British Army that saw active service in the First World War, mainly on the Western Front During the Second World War, the brigade saw active service in the Syria-Lebanon Campaign, the Western Desert Campaign, and the Burma Campaign.

The 19th Brigade is an Army Reserve brigade of the British Army. As the 19th Infantry Brigade it fought in the First and Second world wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th Indian Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 20th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army in the Second World War, formed in India, and took part in the Burma Campaign during the Second World War. After the war, the bulk of the division was deployed to French Indochina to oversee the handover from Japanese to French rule. For nearly all is operational life the division was commanded by Major-General Douglas Gracey. The division's history is subject of open source and historical records research, including the Order of Battle, on an open access, WW2 history website and subject of updates in August 2021

The Malaya Command was a formation of the British Army formed in the 1920s for the coordination of the defences of British Malaya, which comprised the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States and the Unfederated Malay States. It consisted mainly of small garrison forces in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Taiping, Seremban and Singapore.

The 11th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II. It formed part of Indian III Corps in the Malaya Command during the Battle of Malaya. The division was re-raised on 1 April 1965 and is presently part of the XII Corps of Southern Command. It is presently responsible for safeguarding the borders with Pakistan along Southern Rajasthan and Gujarat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">44th Airborne Division (India)</span> Airborne division of the Indian Army during World War II

The 44th Indian Airborne Division was an airborne forces division of the Indian Army during World War II, created in 1944. It provided a parachute battalion for one minor airborne operation, but the war ended before the complete formation could take part..

Iraqforce was a British and Commonwealth formation that came together in the Kingdom of Iraq. The formation fought in the Middle East during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th Indian Infantry Division</span> Military unit

The 25th Indian Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Indian Army during World War II which fought in the Burma Campaign. It was re-raised within the post-independence Indian Army in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7th (Meerut) Division</span> Military unit

The 7th (Meerut) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army that saw active service during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3rd (Lahore) Division</span> Military unit

The 3rd (Lahore) Division was an infantry division of the British Indian Army, first organised in 1852. It saw service during World War I as part of the Indian Corps in France before being moved to the Middle East where it fought against troops of the Ottoman Empire.

The Indian Army had no standby force ready in 1971 with the specific task of attacking East Pakistan, one of the many reasons why India did not immediately intervene after Pakistan launched Operation Searchlight in March 1971. Indian Army's Eastern Command was tasked with defending the northern and eastern borders and fighting the insurgencies in Nagaland, Mizoram and Naxalites in West Bengal at that time.

The Burma Corps ('Burcorps') was an Army Corps of the Indian Army during the Second World War. It was formed in Prome, Burma, on 19 March 1942, took part in the retreat through Burma, and was disbanded on arrival in India in May 1942.

The Order of battle, Keren 1941 shows Italian army forces that participated in the Battle of Keren from February to March 1941 and British troops in Sudan on 20 January 1941, which participated in military operations against Eritrea during the East African Campaign 1940–1941.

The Structure of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force over the course of the First World War is shown below.

References