![\"A](\"https:\/\/secondbysecondworldwar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Wchindits.jpg\")
<\/a>A Chindit column crosses a river in Burma, 1943 [Public domain, Imperial War Museum\/wiki]<\/p><\/div>This week in the war, on 8 February 1943, the British Army’s 77th Indian\u00a0Brigade left Imphal in India and crossed into the Arakan region\u00a0of Burma. They were nicknamed ‘the Chindits’<\/em> and were under the command of\u00a0Brigadier Orde Wingate<\/a>.<\/p>\n The brigade was divided into two parts. The southernmost group had to cross the River Chindwin and distract the Japanese while Wingate personally led the northern group deep into Burma. Their purpose\u00a0was to conduct guerilla\u00a0operations\u00a0in enemy territory\u00a0and to cut the essential railway line that connected Myitkyina with Mandalay.<\/p>\n The operation gave the British forces in India a much-needed boost in morale. However, the Chindits suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded and, by the end of April,\u00a0Wingate had withdrawn almost his entire force.<\/p>\n The operation served as a model for more ambitious undertakings. In later Chindit operations, as in the first, Wingate’s columns were supplied by air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This week in the war, on 8 February 1943, the British Army’s 77th Indian\u00a0Brigade left Imphal in India and crossed into the Arakan region\u00a0of Burma. They were nicknamed ‘the Chindits’ and were under the command of\u00a0Brigadier Orde Wingate. The brigade … Continue reading