CHINDIT RESCUE
Eighty years ago, a hazardous rescue yielded an iconic image of the Burma campaign.
It is one of the most recognisable images of the war in Burma; a group of haggard Chindits crammed inside a C-47 Dakota. But what is the story behind this enduring photograph?
What had played out in Burma’s jungle and teak forests in spring 1943 was an audacious three-month raid targeting Japanese communications and infrastructure. Operation Longcloth saw 3,000 men enter the jungle with only what could be carried by man or mule. It was brutal, with 27% killed or captured.
Toward the end of the operation, and midway through its withdrawal, Major Walter Scott’s 8 Column was short of supplies and marching from the Irrawaddy toward a clearing – later codenamed ‘Piccadilly’ – chasing an air drop. On April 14, it was ambushed while crossing the Kaukkwe Chaung, where it sustained the majority of its casualties. Then, on April 22, the column’s last mule – carrying its wireless set – had to be shot. Before smashing the equipment, two air drops were arranged.
As the wounded and sick, unable to move, were ordered left behind – Scott left stretcher cases with Kachin villagers – those who climbed into the aircraft were the lucky ones.
