Marauder06-Still Able to Fight - Pacific War

Wild Bill Wilder
May 17th, 1944, Myitkyina, Burma, 0530 Hours\\Colonel, the attack
against Singapur is on. We have a special mission for your team.
At the airfield and in the village are food and medical supplies
that we vitally need and that we need to keep from the enemy.\\Before
the big attack at 0930 hours, your team is to slip into the area,
capture those supplies (the two objectives), keeping them from
the enemy. And you know how badly we need them!\\This is one
time we cannot afford to count the cost. You MUST take those
supplies (objectives). Without a doubt you'll be counterattacked
so you must move quickly! We're relying on you to take these
positions and keep them from the enemy till we can reach you.\\If
you fail in your mission, most likely we will fail in ours. Do
it, Colonel!\\Historical Background: By the end of April, the
Marauder force was down to half its strength. Casualties accounted
for more than 500 and nearly another 1,000 were down to every
type of tropical disease known and some unknown. The effective
combat force, however, now numbered with Kachin and Chinese a
little over 4,000 men. And those this was a considerably larger
number than the original complement, three out of every four
were not American. Most were Chinese troops. Of the original
group of Marauders, less than 1,500 remained.\\It was still far
from over. Stillwell had a conference with Merrill and Hunter
and ordered another forced march, this one well over 100 miles
through some of the toughest terrain they had yet encountered
to attack the airfield and town of Myitkyina.\\The significance
of Mityikyina to both allied and Japanese forces was apparent.
It was the principal Japanese base for defense against attacks
from the north. It was 170 miles south of Ledo and junction with
the railroad that ran out of Rangoon. It was at a key navigational
point on the Irrawady River. Taking the city would effectively
cut the Japanese forces in Burma in half, and fully deny the
northern half of Burma to them. The capture of the airfield would
eliminate the threat of Japanese interceptors attacking transports
going from China to India. Most of all, it would free Ledo from
any imminent danger and allow the completion of the Ledo Road,
gateway to China.\\The journey to the area around Mityikyina
took 18 days. It was a hard march, interspersed with minor skirmishes
with enemy troops roaming the jungles around the town.\\Many
of the enemy soldiers were fleeing the allied forces moving down
on them. They found themselves scattered throughout the dense
forests and underbrush trying to find safety. The Marauders showed
them neither safety nor mercy, except that which is found in
death. If you took a prisoner, he was yours too care for, to
feed and control. Most of the men were in no mood for that.\\On
May 16th, Colonel Hunter was within four miles of the airfield
at Myitkyina. So far their presence had been undetected. Hunter
planned his attack carefully. The 1st Battalion would sweep south
and cover any exit routes and the ferries along the Irrawady.
The White Combat team would head further to the southeast and
take the town of Zigyon to block any movement from that area.
The entire 150th Chinese Regiment would attack the airfield.\\The
attack went well. It had been carefully planned and flawlessly
executed. By noon on the 17th of May, the entire area outside
of Myitkyina was now under allied control.\\