Orde Wingate
Orde Wingate

Author: Trevor Royle

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-11-30

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 184832572X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Winston Churchill described Wingate as a ‘man of genius who might well have become a man of destiny’. Tragically, he died in an jungle aircraft crash in 1944. Like his famous kinsman Lawrence of Arabia, Wingate was renowned for being an unorthodox soldier, inclined to reject received patterns of military thought. He was a fundamentalist Christian with a biblical certainty in himself and his mission. He is best-remembered as the charismatic and abrasive leader of the Chindits. With the support of Wavell, he was responsible for a strategy of using independent groups deep behind enemy limes, supported only by air drops. Wingate was responsible for leading the charge of 2,000 Ethiopians and the Sudan Defence Force into Italian-occupied Abyssinia. Remarkably, he defeated a 40,000 strong enemy that was supported by aircraft and artillery, which Wingate did not possess. Despite his achievements, Wingate suffered from illness and depression and in Cairo attempted suicide. He was not universally liked: his romantic Zionism contrasted with the traditional British Arabist notions. He did, however, lead from the front and marched, ate and slept with his men. In this authoritative biography, Royle expertly brings to life a ruthless, complex, arrogant – but ultimately admirable – general. Trevor Royle is an author and broadcaster specialising in the history of war and empire, with more than 30 books to his credit. His latest book is The Road to Bosworth, a study of the War of the Roses. He is a columnist for the Sunday Herald and is an Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh University’s School of History. He was born in India in 1945.

Orde Wingate: Unconventional Warrior
Orde Wingate: Unconventional Warrior

Author: Simon Anglim

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781783462186

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Major General Orde Wingate (1903-1944) was the most controversial British military commander of the Second World War, and perhaps of the last hundred years. He splits opinion among soldiers, academics and writers seven decades after his death. His exploits in Ethiopia and Burma, in particular his creation of the Chindits, special forces who were trained to use guerrilla tactics behind the Japanese lines, have made him into a key figure in the history of irregular warfare. But, as Simon Anglim reveals in this thought-provoking and insightful study, myths and misunderstandings tend to cloud understanding of Wingates career, and he seeks to put the record straight. He bases his work on a major study of Wingates official and private papers, and those of his contemporaries, and he aims to provide the definitive guide to Wingate as a military commander."--Publisher's information.

Fire in the Night
Fire in the Night

Author: C Smith

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 1447231465

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Orde Charles Wingate. Winston Churchill thought him a military genius; others considered him greatly over-rated; a few even thought him mad. His overriding passion was for Zionism, a cause which he embraced when posted to British-ruled Palestine in 1936. There he raised the Special Night Squads, an irregular force which decimated Arab rebel bands and taught a future generation of Israeli generals (including Moshe Dayan and Yitzhak Rabin) how to fight. In 1941, Wingate led another guerrilla-style force into Italian-occupied Ethiopia and was instrumental in restoring Emperor Haile Selassie to his throne. But his most famous campaign was conducted behind enemy lines in Burma, where his Chindits shattered the myth of Japanese invincibility in jungle fighting. A brilliant maverick, Wingate was a difficult if not impossible subordinate. He was also - as this riveting new study reveals - an inspiring leader.

Wingate and the Chindits
Wingate and the Chindits

Author: David Rooney

Publisher:

Published: 2019-08-31

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9781689705615

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"David Rooney has done Wingate's memory a signal service." The Spectator. Major General Orde Wingate, DSO and two bars, who had created and personally led the Chindits, was killed in an air accident in 1944, at the height of the second Chindit campaign. General Slim joined the world-wide tributes paid to Wingate: but by 1956, to the distress of the Chindits, in his book Defeat Into Victory, Slim was dismissive of Wingate. What had happened to change Slim's mind so completely? David Rooney examines the life and achievements of a maverick soldier who inspired loyalty in some, hostility in others. Rooney's thoughtful and diligent research throws new light on Wingate's intriguing character, discovers why Slim changed his mind, and discloses details of the vendetta by which the military establishment, in the years after his death and following the viciously critical attack in the Official History, attempted to destroy Wingate's reputation. Rooney draws a balanced portrait of a military mind of daring originality, deserving of a better letter. This seminal work of military history is not only an insightful portrait of a unique British commander, but it is essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War, special forces and the history of the British Army. Praise for Wingate and the Chindits. 'His current book is, therefore, an exercise in setting the record straight... Rooney is presenting an unabashed case for the defense, and he does so with skill. Every student of the Burma campaign will want to examine this book carefully.' (Raymond Callahan, author of Churchill and His Generals and Burma 1942-45) 'David Rooney's Wingate and the Chindits: Redressing the Balance ... attempts to redress the balance in favour of Wingate and to counter the unfair reputation he has acquired, in Rooney's view, among the military establishment.' (History Today)

Captured Behind Japanese Lines
Captured Behind Japanese Lines

Author: Daniel Berke

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military

Published: 2021-12-30

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 139901689X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This WWII biography vividly recounts one man’s experience as a Special Ops soldier and POW in Japanese occupied Burma. In his postwar life, Frank Berkovitch was a quiet, reserved tailor. But during World War II, he served with the legendary Chindits in Burma and endured years of Japanese captivity. He fought as a Bren-gunner on Operation LONGCLOTH, the first mission to take them deep behind enemy lines. He was even General Orde Wingate’s batman. The Chindits were Wingate’s inspired idea. Under his dauntless leadership, they dispelled the myth that the Imperial Japanese Army was invincible. Outnumbered, outgunned, and reliant on RAF air drops for supplies, the 3,000 men of the Chindit columns overcame harsh jungle terrain to take the fight to the enemy. They wreaked havoc with enemy communications and caused heavy enemy casualties while gathering vital intelligence. During the desperate race to escape from Burma, Frank was captured crossing the Irrawaddy river. He spent two years imprisoned by notoriously cruel captors. Superbly researched, this inspiring book vividly describes the Chindits’ first operation and the heroism of Frank and his comrades, many of whom never returned.

Orde Wingate
Orde Wingate

Author: Jon Diamond

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-10-20

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1782003002

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Orde Wingate rose to fame by creating the Chindits in Burma in 1943. He is an extremely important figure in military history, and deserves just as much attention as Alanbrooke, Montgomery, and Auchinleck. Unlike them, however, he always operated outside the accepted etiquette and the formal chain of command. He was a maverick and misfit, and he held to the belief that the type of mass warfare demonstrated on the Western Front (1914–18) had very little to do with the warfare of the future. He believed that the latter would require an 'indirect approach', in which heavily lumbering armies would be exquisitely vulnerable to small groups of highly motivated, mobile and well-armed guerrillas. This book covers Wingate's experiences in pre-war Palestine, in Ethiopia in 1941 (where he formed an irregular guerrilla unit to harrass the Italian garrisons) and in World War II Burma, where the two Chindit campaigns would be his apotheosis.

The Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign

Author: Frank McLynn

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2011-10-04

Total Pages: 458

ISBN-13: 0300178360

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This history reveals the failures and fortunes of leadership during the WWII campaign into Japanese-occupied Burma: “a thoroughly satisfying experience” (Kirkus). Acclaimed historian Frank McLynn tells the story of four larger-than-life Allied commanders whose lives collided in the Burma campaign, one of the most punishing and protracted military adventures of World War II. This vivid account ranges from Britain’s defeat in 1942 through the crucial battles of Imphal and Kohima—known as "the Stalingrad of the East"—and on to ultimate victory in 1945. Frank McLynn narrative focuses on the interactions and antagonisms of its principal players: William Slim, the brilliant general; Orde Wingate, the idiosyncratic commander of a British force of irregulars; Louis Mountbatten, one of Churchill's favorites, overpromoted to the position of Supreme Commander, S.E. Asia; and Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, a hard-line—and openly anlgophobic—U.S. general. With lively portraits of each of these men, McLynn shows how the plans and strategies of generals and politicians were translated into a hideous reality for soldiers on the ground.

Born of War
Born of War

Author: Thomas Taylor

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies

Published: 1988

Total Pages: 472

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"'A man of genius, a man of destiny,' was Churchill's epitaph for the most original and controversial warrior of the twentieth century, Orde Wingate. Extolled by American and Israeli allies, grudgingly admired by Italian and Japanese foes, the iconoclastic Wingate fought his bitterest campaigns against the hierarchy of his own British army, which he led to its first victories on two continents during World War II. Even before, he had gained enduring fame. Like his cousin, Lawrence of Arabia, Wingate developed the embryo of a guerrilla army in the Middle East; in its ranks were the founding fathers of Israel, whom he was ready to lead against the Nazis. Rebuffed by the British high command, he worked himself into the service of the emperor of Ethiopia, a king on crusade to regain his kingdom from Mussolini's empire--an impossibly romantic mission in which only Wingate believed. Closely escaping death, Wingate then embarked on what British generals thought to be another sacrificial adventure--to oust the seemingly invincible Japanese army from Burma. Wingate was tossed like a grenade into the Japanese rear, leading a suicide expedition to cut Japanese supply lines while the British army recovered from defeat. He called his patchwork forces 'the Chindits,' a light brigade that became the American model for Merrill's Marauders. He named his behind-the-lines strategy 'long-range penetration,' the forerunner of today's extended battlefield and air-mobile warfare. At the same time Wingate was the first general since Hannibal to use elephants, the last to walk into battle and kill with his own hands. By Whatever methods, he won; against whatever odds, he prevailed--until his final, mysterious disappearance. Mixing historical fact with novelistic technique, [this book] is a tour de force of military adventure writing and a fascinating literary sojourn into the life of an enigmatic and haunting character."--Dust jacket.

War in the Wilderness
War in the Wilderness

Author: Tony Redding

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 681

ISBN-13: 0750956550

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

War in the Wilderness is the most comprehensive account ever published of the human aspects of the Chindit war in Burma. The word ‘Chindit’ will always have a special resonance in military circles. Every Chindit endured what is widely regarded as the toughest sustained Allied combat experience of the Second World War. The Chindit expeditions behind Japanese lines in occupied Burma 1943–1944 transformed the morale of British forces after the crushing defeats of 1942. The Chindits provided the springboard for the Allies’ later offensives. The two expeditions extended the boundaries of human endurance. The Chindits suffered slow starvation and exposure to dysentery, malaria, typhus and a catalogue of other diseases. They endured the intense mental strain of living and fighting under the jungle canopy, with the ever-present threat of ambush or simply ‘bumping’ the enemy. Every Chindit carried his kit and weapons (equivalent to two heavy suitcases) in the tropical heat and humidity. A disabling wound or sickness frequently meant a lonely death. Those who could no longer march were often left behind with virtually no hope of survival. Some severely wounded were shot or given a lethal dose of morphia to ensure they would not be captured alive by the Japanese. Fifty veterans of the Chindit expeditions kindly gave interviews for this book. Many remarked on the self-reliance that sprang from living and fighting as a Chindit. Whatever happened to them after their experiences in Burma, they knew that nothing else would ever be as bad. There are first-hand accounts of the bitter and costly battles and the final, wasteful weeks, when men were forced to continue fighting long after their health and strength had collapsed. War in the Wilderness continues the story as the survivors returned to civilian life. They remained Chindits for the rest of their days, members of a brotherhood forged in extreme adversity.

Orde Wingate
Orde Wingate

Author: Christopher Sykes

Publisher: Plunkett Lake Press

Published: 2022-03-10

Total Pages: 486

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Four months after Orde Wingate (1903-1944) died in a plane crash in Burma, Churchill told the House of Commons that he was “a man of genius who might well have become also a man of destiny.” An unconventional soldier — as a junior officer, he complained directly to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during an exercise about being refused entry to the Staff College —, Wingate first showed his military genius in Palestine (1936-39), where as an ardent supporter of the Jews and of Zionism, he organized the Special Night Squads, armed groups of British and Haganah volunteers, at Ein Harod in the Galilee to fight Arab attacks. In Ethiopia, where he commanded the troops supporting Haile Selassie, his brilliant campaign played a key part in the Italian defeat and the restoration of the Emperor to his throne. Wingate is mainly remembered as the leader of the Chindits guerilla brigade in Burma where, in February 1943, as Britain’s fortunes in Burma were at their lowest ebb, he led his brigade far behind the Japanese lines, harassing communications and gaining the jungle experience which would prove a vital factor in the second and larger operation and in eventual victory. “This is an excellent and well-balanced study of the brilliant if eccentric British officer and his activities in Palestine, Ethiopia and Burma.” — Henry L. Roberts, Foreign Affairs “An absorbingly interesting portrait of a military genius who at times seems slightly mad, and almost never wholly normal. Rebellious against authority, though he came from a line of army people, mysterious in his ruthlessness, his fanaticism, his unwillingness to explain his motives, Wingate... made more enemies than friends... Surely, he makes a fascinating subject for a biography.” — Kirkus “This is a fine biography of an extraordinary man... a skillful combination of bright narrative and clear analysis... an excellent portrait of the man... Based upon a large storehouse of documents, interrogations, secondary works, and trips to the scenes of Wingate’s major campaigns, this volume is by far the best study to date on this forceful and erratic figure. No doubt it will remain so for a long time to come.” — Gordon W. Prange, Military Affairs “Christopher Sykes’ Orde Wingate reveals enormous research work, an overall understanding of the problems of the time, and sufficient critical distance for an evaluation of the man and his deeds... Sykes’ plastic art of description... found in this biography fullest expression; it is a literary treat.” — Oskar K. Rabinowicz, Jewish Social Studies