Wingate’s Raiders, an Allied special forces unit, fought behind Japanese lines in Burma (now Myanmar) during World War II (1939-1945). British Brigadier General Orde Charles Wingate organized and equipped British, Burmese, and Nepalese (Gurkha) soldiers into a guerrilla fighting force known as the Chindits. In 1943, the unit entered enemy territory, where it conducted attacks, raids, and ambushes against Japanese lines of communication. The unit suffered heavy casualties and had limited success in its first campaign.
During a second campaign in March 1944, Wingate was killed in an airplane crash. But the Chindits continued to fight, cutting railroad lines, blowing up bridges and highways, and destroying Japanese supplies and installations. The Chindits also supported the Allied advance into Burma led by U.S. Army General Joseph W. Stilwell.
