This week in the war, on 8 February 1943, the British Army’s 77th Indian Brigade left Imphal in India and crossed into the Arakan region of Burma. They were nicknamed ‘the Chindits’ and were under the command of Brigadier Orde Wingate

The brigade was divided into two parts. The southernmost group had to cross the River Chindwin and distract the Japanese while Wingate personally led the northern group deep into Burma. Their purpose was to conduct guerilla operations in enemy territory and to cut the essential railway line that connected Myitkyina with Mandalay.

The operation gave the British forces in India a much-needed boost in morale. However, the Chindits suffered heavy losses in killed and wounded and, by the end of April, Wingate had withdrawn almost his entire force.

The operation served as a model for more ambitious undertakings. In later Chindit operations, as in the first, Wingate’s columns were supplied by air.