"One could not choose a worse place for fighting the Japanese,"
said Winston Churchill of North Burma, deeming it "the most
forbidding fighting country imaginable." But it was here that the
fledgling Office of Strategic Services conducted its most
successful combat operations of World War II. Troy Sacquety takes
readers into Burma's steaming jungles in the first book to fully
cover the exploits and contributions of the OSS's Detachment 101
against the Japanese Imperial Army.
Functioning independently of both the U.S. Army and OSS
headquarters--and with no operational or organizational model to
follow--Detachment 101 was given enormous latitude in terms of
developing its mission and methods. It grew from an inexperienced
and poorly supported group of 21 agents training on the job in a
lethal environment to a powerful force encompassing 10,000
guerrillas (spread across as many as 8 battalions), 60 long-range
agents, and 400 short-range agents. By April 1945, it remained the
only American ground force in North Burma while simultaneously
conducting daring amphibious operations that contributed to the
liberation of Rangoon.
With unrivaled access to OSS archives, Sacquety vividly recounts
the 101's story with a depth of detail that makes the
disease-plagued and monsoon-drenched Burmese theater come
unnervingly alive. He describes the organizational evolution of
Detachment 101 and shows how the unit's flexibility allowed it to
evolve to meet the changing battlefield environment. He depicts the
Detachment's two sharply contrasting field commanders: headstrong
Colonel Carl Eifler, who pushed the unit beyond its capabilities,
and the more measured Colonel William Peers, who molded it into a
model special operations force. He also highlights the heroic
Kachin tribesmen, fierce fighters defending their tribal homeland
and instrumental in acclimating the Americans to terrain, weather,
and cultures in ways that were vital to the success of the
Detachment's operations.
While veterans' memoirs have discussed OSS activities in Burma,
this is the first book to describe in detail how it achieved its
success--portraying an operational unit that can be seen as a
prototype for today's Special Forces. Featuring dozens of
illustrations, The OSS in Burma rescues from oblivion the daring
exploits of a key intelligence and military unit in Japan's defeat
in World War II and tells a gripping story that will satisfy
scholars and buffs alike.
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