The FReeper Foxhole - Undercover: Detachment 101 - October 9th, 2004

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

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Clearly, a couple dozen Americans would have little effect in such an atmosphere against a hardened Japanese army. But, unwittingly, the Japanese themselves had sown the seeds for their ultimate defeat in Southeast Asia.

At first, the Japanese were seen as liberators freeing the Burmese from the British colonial yoke. But the Japanese treated the Burmese as they had the Chinese, brutally attacking the people and butchering entire villages. A tribe of hill people called the Kachins bore the brunt of the atrocities. As a result, the Kachins hated the Japanese, and many Kachins joined Detachment 101 in fighting the invaders.



The Kachin tribesmen were short, rugged men and born fighters, equally at home crossing mountain peaks and following virtually invisible tracks through the jungle. They had an uncanny ability to shadow their foes through the jungle for miles without being seen or heard, and in time the Japanese came to fear and dread them. Detachment 101 eventually grew to a force of more than 10,000 guerrillas.

From a string of jungle outposts established along a 600-mile front, Detachment 101 units mounted repeated attacks on Japanese supply lines, blowing up bridges and railroads, disrupting communications, and providing intelligence for the Allies. Detachment 101's patrols ferreted out Japanese camps and supply installations concealed in the jungle; they provided such exact descriptions of local landmarks for pilots of the U.S. Tenth Air Force that the Americans were able to successfully bomb and strafe targets they could not even see.



The presence of Detachment 101 patrols in the jungle also lifted the morale of American and British aircrews flying supplies over the "Hump" of the Himalayas from India to China. Now, for the first time, the fliers knew that if they crashed and survived, expert trackers would be coming to their aid. Detachment 101 even had its own air force--a ramshackle assortment of light planes used to supply its men in the field and to bring out wounded.


Major General Wingate

Detachment 101's support of Maj. Gen. Orde Wingate's Chindits and Maj. Gen. Frank Merrill's Marauders was crucial to the Allied success in Burma and to the eventual victory in Southeast Asia. The regular Allied forces came to depend on the support of irregular units perhaps more than in any other theater of the war.


Merrill and Stilwell

The Americans represented the peaks of industrialization, modernization and education. The Kachins were from the other end of the spectrum -- backward, primitive and mostly illiterate. However, mutual respect bound them together. Men from both groups were usually loyal, dependable and courageous. And they were all determined to run the Japanese out of Burma.

During three years of jungle warfare, Detachment 101 claimed to have killed 5,447 Japanese, while another 10,000 Japanese soldiers were wounded or reported missing. But the unit's importance went beyond its kill rate alone. The constant possibility of ambush, at which the Kachins were expert, made the Japanese edgy and cautious and ate away at their morale.



When asked, Japanese prisoners rated each Kachin as equal to 10 Japanese soldiers. The OSS estimated that, in reality, the Kachins were even more effective than that--inflicting 25 casualties on the enemy for every casualty of their own. During its operations, Detachment 101 also destroyed 51 bridges and 277 military vehicles, while suffering the loss of 184 Kachins and 18 Americans killed in action.



Detachment 101 was deactivated on July 12, 1945. Skeptical to the end, General Stilwell was dubious of the Kachin kill rate. "How can you be so sure of the numbers?" he asked a guerrilla leader.

Dropping a bundle on Stilwell's desk, the diminutive warrior said, "Count these ears and divide by two."

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

Article written by Sterling Rock Johnson/originally appeared in the May 1996 issue of World War II magazine.
www.cia.gov/csi/studies/fall_winter_2001/article07.html
http://oss-101.com/photos.html
www.army.mil/
www.historynet.com

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!
Going to see a glacier today!

[snippy_about_it]

Pictures!!! Don't forget the camera.

[A Jovial Cad]

Good morning, snippy.

There are just so many layers to this hurricane of our History known as World War II--everytime I think I've mastered the essentials, another article comes along that convinces me I've barely scratched the surface in that regard. And then it's back to the drawing (reading) board! LOL...
Yet another informative article, thanks for posting it.

[Soaring Feather]

Okay, got it next to my purse along with extra film. I am not digital!

[snippy_about_it]

I am not digital!

You'll have to find a scanner when you get home.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning AJC.

You are so right. When you think of all the years, all the people and the fact that we were nearly in every part of the globe you realize we will never know it all.

I am continually amazed and always learning.

[Soaring Feather]

Ah snippy I have a CD made along with one set of prints. I do have a scanner though.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh, a CD. Doh!

[SAMWolf]

Good story about some of our earlier "Special Forces"

[snippy_about_it]

It's after midnight
i can't stay up much longer
heading for slumber

Good night Sam.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Feather. You're up early/late?

[SAMWolf]

Morning Jovial Cad.

I know the feeling, I've been reading about WWII since grammar school and keep coming across things I've never heard of before.

[Soaring Feather]

Howdy Sam. It's 11:10pm. I don't know what the NY time is LOL

Doh it's 3:00am NY time. What time do you have?? I am lost!!! LOL

[SAMWolf]

AWWWWWWW! Too bad puppies can't stay puppies forever.

Good Night Snippy

[SAMWolf]

It's 12:10 in Oregon.

[Soaring Feather]

Yikes time to go to bed!!

[SAMWolf]

Yep, same here. Good Night, Feather.