Orde Wingate's Chindits and the Airfield Built in the Jungle

Brigadier Orde Wingate's Chindits — officially the Long Range Penetration Groups — were formed to operate deep behind Japanese lines in Burma. In March 1943, 3,000 men crossed the Chindwin River and operated for three months behind Japanese lines, destroying railways and supply dumps. They suffered 1,300 casualties (many from disease and starvation) and were initially dismissed as a failure. But Wingate convinced Churchill the mission was a propaganda success and it was enlarged in 1944. In the enlarged operation, Wingate's forces literally airlifted entire glider regiments into the Burmese jungle and assembled them on the ground. A force of 200 men under Lt. Col. Mike Calvert built an entire airfield in the jungle with hand-cut lumber, flown-in equipment, and engineering tools delivered by glider — operating a fully functional airstrip in a place the Japanese thought was impenetrable. Japanese patrols reported they could hear the sound of aircraft engines in places where no aircraft had ever been.