Chindits

Uncommon card · No. 149142

The Chindits, officially known as 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. Brigadier (later Major-General) Orde Wingate formed them for long-range penetration operations against the Imperial Japanese Army, especially attacking lines of communication deep behind Japanese lines. The name Chindits is a corrupted form of Chinthe (Burmese: ခြင်္သေ့), the Burmese word for "lion". Their operations featured long marches through extremely difficult terrain, undertaken by underfed troops often weakened by diseases such as malaria and dysentery. Controversy persists over the extremely high casualty rate and, despite results – such as the reallocation of an entire Japanese division and part of a second to deal with the Chindits – debate about the military value of special forces operations continued post-war.

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