Beschreibung:

World War Two Burma Campaign. A photographic record of the First and Second Chindit expedition, under the command of Brigadier Orde Wingate in Burma, 1943 & 1944, a series of 109 gelatin silver print photographs for the First expedition and 28 photographs for the Second expedition, neatly tipped on to rectos of large buff paper sheets, mostly arranged in groups of 4 per page with general manuscript headings and other numeric codes beneath, typed carbon copy captions pasted to facing versos, images mostly 10.5 x 15.5 cm and similar, a total of 2 manuscript title leaves and 33 leaves with photographs, some blanks at rear, original cloth-backed limp boards with stencil title 'Wingate Expeditions' to upper cover, some soiling and wear, punch holes to margins, spine tie deficient with contents and covers now loose, oblong folio (38 x 50 cm) Major General Ford Charles Wingate, DSO & Two Bars (1903-1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma campaign of the Second World War. Using the Indian 77th Infantry Brigade Wingate created a jungle long-range penetration unit, later known as the Chindits. During the first expedition of 1943 Wingate crossed the Chindwin river and had some success, putting one of the main railways in Burma out of action, before proceeding deep into Burma and over the Irrawaddy River. In the second expedition (Operation Thursday) in March 1944, gliders were flown into areas behind Japanese lines. The Japanese had launched an invasion of India around this time and the Chindit brigades forced several pitched battles along their line of march and so disrupting the Japanese offensive and diverting troops from the battles in India. The value of Wingate's Chindit expeditions has been debated ever since.