Operation Longcloth

After many years of waiting, Osprey will soon be getting the Campaign Series book they’ve been badgering me about on Operation Longcloth, Wingate’s first ‘Chindit’ expedition into Burma between February and May 1943. There are plenty of books on the Chindits - some good, some not so - but none, so far as I am aware, specifically on the raid into Burma that propelled Wingate to military stardom and created more myths and missteps than any comparable military operation, ever, with the possible exception of Dieppe. The Osprey Campaign Series are first-class, accessible histories of subjects that provide text, photos, maps and art work, and are brilliant summaries of campaigns for those coming to the subject for the first time. A couple Ive done are shown in the video here:

On the Imperial War Museum website you can see two original films of men of 77 Brigade preparing to cross the Chindwin at Tonhe, and a second one taken of some of the survivors at Imphal, after they’d been trucked back from Tamu (MWY83). Of the 3,000 men who crossed the Chindwin back in February, only just over 2,100 made it back, most having walked 1,000 miles to the Irrawaddy and beyond, and back. What on earth was this about? Was it worth it? Were Wingate’s ideas sensible? What was the result? Well, wait and see!

The first, part of a War Pictorial News broadcast 181, can be seen at this link.

The second of the two films (MWY83) can be seen below: