Marauder07-Myitkyina The Bloody End - Pacific War

Wild Bill Wilder
May 19th, 1944, Myitkyina, Burma, 0800 Hours\\Excellent progress
with Singapur, Colonel. With a day's rest, your men should be
ready for a new assignment.\\Vinegar Joe wants Myitkyina taken
today. Yesterday's attack on the city was a complete failure.
The Chinese 89th was routed. The 69th has attacked today but
is pinned down around the train station. The Japanese are still
bringing in troops across the Irrawady.\\You're gonna have to
bail them out Colonel. Have your forces assembled and on line
by 0800 hours. Air strikes may become available later if the
weather clears. Artillery will open the way for the attack. You
are to get into Myitkyina and push the enemy out of there.\\I
know your men are ill and need medical attention. After we take
this one, the brass promises unconditionally a break for the
entire Galahad Force.\\Historical Background: After the initial
victories around Singapur, Myitkyina seemed to be ready for the
taking. It was not to be.\\Taking the town would prove to be
another matter. Once the airfield was secure, supplies and troops
began landing before the day was out. The Japanese, however,
were fully aware of the peril, and began rushing troops to the
area. General Merrill flew in that day and immediately set up
his headquarters. More Chinese troops arrived late in the day
and by nightfall all were in place for an assault of the city
itself on the 18th.\\Stillwell was ecstatic. He had achieved
his goal. Taking the town the next day seemed to be a minor detail.
He wrote in large letters in his journal, "WILL THIS BURN UP
THE LIMEYS!" It seemed a shame that no mention was made in that
journal of the troops that had given much more than could be
expected to achieve this triumph for him.\\Churchill was incensed
at the results of the action of the Marauders compared to the
British performance. He felt that his troops had let him down.
In the usual sarcasm for which he was so famous, he penned a
note to Mountbatten asking how "...the Americans, by a brilliant
feat of arms, have landed us in Mityikyina."\\Stillwell's exultation
would soon pass, however, as events took a sudden turn. Since
so few troops had been encountered at the airfield, it was expected
that resistance in the town would be sparse. That was not the
case. In addition, during the night the Japanese succeeded in
reinforcing the town by sending newly arriving troops across
the Irrawady. By the next morning, over twice as many Japanese
were in place as had been the day before. The Chinese 89th Regiment
assaulted the town and was badly shot up. They retreated in confusion.
Another try the next day by the 69th Regiment had the same result.\\Even
as the fighting went on, additional Japanese soldiers were descending
on the area from every direction. They had come from the Nsopuzup,
Mogaung and even the Bhamo areas. In a period of five days,
enough enemy forces had arrived so that they outnumbered the
allies. Then the approaching monsoon broke loose in all its fury
and stopped anything from moving.\\The attempt to take Mityikyina
itself turned into a siege of the town. It was a stalemate, much
as was happening at the same time at the Anzio Beachhead just
prior to this event. Even though publicly announced as captured
by a rapturous Stillwell, the actual taking of the town did not
occur until twelve weeks later, on August 3rd, 1944. By that
time, most of the 5307th was gone. Those that had anything left
were used to form the nucleus of a new unit, the 475th Infantry
Regiment.\\On May 19th, evacuation of the Marauders had begun.
They were being taken out at a rate of 100 - 200 a day. Most
of them had to be supported or carried to the aircraft. Hunter
noted, "hardly a man could walk normally for fatigue, sores,
and skin diseases." Loss figures vary, but it is safe to say
that a little over 300 of the original 2,997 Marauders were still
able to fight. 500 had been battle casualties.\\Another 2,000
had died or been severely debilitated by diseases, the most prevalent
being Malaria, amoebic dysentery and Typhus. Another 72 had cracked
up, or in the medical terminology, suffered from psychoneurosis.
That translates to nearly 90% casualties. It means only one out
of every ten who started came through relatively unscathed. It
was one of the highest casualty losses for any outfit in the
war.\\The Marauders had made a lasting name for themselves. As
a result, the formation of the US Ranger forces would be the
legacy of the Marauders to American history.\\And even though
Stillwell never gave the Marauders the time of day in personal
attention, consideration or compassion, history has proved that
they were one of the toughest, hardest-hitting units in the American
human arsenal. The Marauders did their job. They took northern
India from the Japanese and were in large part responsible for
turning the war around in the CBI command. Well done, Marauders!\\Sources:\\Time
Runs out in the CBI, Romanus & Sutherland\Merrill's Marauders,
US War Dept\Eagle Against the Sun, Spector\Delivered from Evil,
Leckie\Burma Victory, Rooney\Wrath in Burma, Eldridge\