Operation Thursday Mike Calvert

1 operation thursday

1.1 fly-in
1.2 broadway
1.3 white city
1.4 mogaung

operation thursday
the fly-in

calvert commanded 77th indian infantry brigade in operation thursday, larger second chindit operation. brigade spearheaded airborne landings deep in japanese rear. operation staged lalaghat, d-day fixed 5 march. morning, 1 of general philip cochran s b-25 mitchells flew on , photographed landing zones. wingate had ordered no aircraft should fly on landing zones, lest operation betrayed, cochran not directly under wingate s command , felt launching operation without accurate intelligence dangerous gamble. photographs showed second landing site, codenamed piccadilly, untenable:

it @ dramatic moment, keyed , ready go, aerial photographs arrived. showed primary landing site broadway clear, piccadilly had been blocked tree trunks; no gliders land there night. general opinion japs had realized possibilities of piccadilly landing area , had deliberately blocked it, though time later discovered explanation simpler: burmese woodmen had laid out trees dry in clearing.

wingate enraged cochran s actions admitted danger real. , calvert weighed options. danger of executing potentially compromised operation substantial, delay threatened push window of opportunity @ least month. of 3 planned sites 2 available; calvert suggested plan further altered , entire brigade flown broadway. said, prepared take whole of brigade broadway , without [second landing site] piccadilly. calvert later wrote, had taken account [third landing site] chowringhee east of irrawaddy while broadway west of river. told wingate, don t want split brigade either side of irrawaddy. prepared take brigade broadway alone , take consequence of slower build-up. general william slim asked calvert…and found him against [using] chowringhee. further discussion slim , wingate clinched matter: broadway alone. nervous bales, imagine were, knew had go…in case broadway clear , see no reason why should not go in there because piccadilly blocked.

each american c-47 towed 2 heavily laden waco cg-4 gliders. although double tow posed no problems competent pilot in weather, many of pilots inexperienced , route across mountain ranges bordering chindwin river guaranteed turbulent, unsettled flight. first gliders scheduled arrive @ broadway 9:30pm, 2:00am wingate , others waiting @ lalaghat had not yet heard calvert. poor reconnaissance, not enemy resistance, caused delay, aerial reconnaissance had failed show number of ditches scarring field @ broadway. calvert wrote:

all 6 of advance party gliders had landed , plan had been wheel them off make way next batch, in turn wheeled away , on. had reckoned without ditches. 3 of 6 gliders badly wrecked small force @ present on ground not shift them. worked @ them furiously heard shout , looked up. in bright light of moon saw horror first 2 of next batch had cast off [their tows] , winging silent way down.

calvert transmitted prearranged signal soya link , despised of ration items, stop flying, @ 6:30am on 6 march radioed code words pork sausage resume flights broadway. strip c-47s in place evening, , supplies came rushing in. calvert lost no time in organizing reconnaissance missions , fortifying broadway. 13 march build-up complete. in 7 nights 9,000 men, 1,350 animals, 250 tons of supplies , weapons had landed behind enemy lines in burma.

broadway

on 17 march led bayonet charge against japanese positions shielded sunken road , steep hill crowned pagoda. calvert noticed friendly forces nearby drawing heavier fire. in fact, elements of south staffordshire regiment had dug in adjacent japanese unit. neither force aware of other. deciding had done, elected make frontal assault:

saw had done pretty quickly, shouted freddie going charge. told going charge pagoda hill. there reinforcements on our left flank charge well. so, standing up, shouted out charge in approved victorian manner, , ran down hill…half of south staffords joined in. looking found lot had not. told them bloody charge, hell think re doing. charged. machine-gunners, mortar teams, officers — on hill

the fighting degenerated free-for-all. calvert characterized action extraordinary mêlée…everyone shooting, bayoneting, kicking @ else, rather officers’ guest night. lieutenant george cairns awarded victoria cross killing several japanese after 1 severed left arm sword. pause in fighting turned stalemate, complete shouting — according calvert [t]he japs yelling @ in english, dirty hairy bastards, etc.; final charge made calvert , gurkhas dislodged japanese. many of these shot retreated. afterward, hill horrid sight, littered jap dead, , ones had been killed there earlier in day black flies. stretcher-bearers removing our wounded , our mercifully few dead.

shortly after action lieutenant in south staffordshire regiment, norman durant, wrote compelling description of calvert in letter parents:

his hair flops on forehead, , has disconcerting habit of staring @ when speak him , yet not appearing hear word. lectures painfully slow , hesitant , during training gave impression of taking long time make mind; in action things different. knows officers in brigade , many of senior ncos, , manner , attitude same if talking co, subaltern or private…

calvert s dedication troops under command 1 of visible attributes. according david rooney 1 of successful of chindit leaders [and] showed greatness commander reminding men that, bad things them, things worse enemy.

white city

the brigade captured , held position near mawlu. calvert saw mawlu [the location of block] crucial point road , rail traffic , determined build defensive box there. because of supply drop parachutes adorning surrounding jungle, became known white city. fortified position blocked japanese road , rail communications northern front on 2 months. large rectangle, 1,000 800 yards, white city identified japanese threat. probing attacks on 18, 19, , 20 march inflicted handful of casualties, beaten without significant loss. japanese mounted serious attack on night of 21 march resulted in [v]ery confused close-quarter fighting lasted night. 2 japanese light machine guns established in block; dawn attack led flamethrower-equipped infantry displaced japanese, driving them outside perimeter. calvert instrumental in orchestrating counterattacks , under fire.

after repulsing numerous nighttime attacks, calvert had 2 relatively quiet weeks fortify white city. under direction thick hedge of barbed wire put in place , surrounded mines , booby traps. firing positions dug in , camouflaged; reinforced logs , earth, these positions invisible , all-but impenetrable. calvert established defensive fire plan coordinate machine gun , mortar fire. 2-pounder anti-tank guns arrived on 29 march , put in place. these followed engineers built landing strip capable of handling c-47 cargo aircraft, delivered more artillery. white city defended 4 anti-tank guns, 6 bofors 40 mm autocannons , 4 25-pounders. calvert had not insubstantial arsenal @ disposal.

on 6 april white city again came under attack. japanese shelled , bombed block throughout afternoon. calvert recalled terrain combined meticulous attention detail in constructing positions provided shelter, , casualties low. effective weapon japanese possessed 6-inch mortar, old coastal defence piece had laboriously dragged through jungle bombard block. mortar fired bomb 4 , half feet long in flight more 30 seconds. calvert described mortar “the bane of our existence.” calvert spent attack in dugout, coordinating troops’ response via telephone. reported stiff resistance led friend ian macpherson prevented japanese breaching block.

from 6 april through 11 april, calvert wrote, “[t]he sequence of attack same practically every night , varied in intensity.” japanese infantry attacked after dark, invariably running stiff resistance emplaced machine guns, mines, barbed wire, booby traps, artillery, , sustained rifle fire. japanese brought forward 2 light tanks; these destroyed 2-pounder anti-tank guns. confident in block’s ability withstand attack, calvert’s concern rapidly dwindling supply of ammunition. machine gun ammunition being used @ frantic pace. in all, 700,000 rounds of vickers machine gun ammunition dropped white city. calvert requested supply drops contain less food , more ammunition.

calvert led several counter-attacks against encircling japanese forces in person. on 13 april commanded larger attack involving of brigade. despite intervention of american p-51 mustangs, attack failure; calvert forced order retreat. learned major ian macpherson, commander of headquarters company of 77 brigade had been killed, body left in japanese positions. calvert said not leave without knowing before starting macpherson. when brigade major heaved out revolver, stuck in stomach , said, ll shoot if don t go back. him when killed did calvert resume retreat.

mogaung

calvert (left) giving orders during capture of mogaung in june 1944.

in may, chindit brigades moved north. monsoon had broken , floods impeded chindits operations. on 27 may, major general walter lentaigne (who had taken command of chindits after wingate killed in air crash in late march) ordered calvert s brigade capture town of mogaung. calvert @ first promised capture mogaung 5 june. however, japanese reinforced defenders of town until held force of 4 battalions 53rd division. calvert s brigade tried advance on flooded flat ground, suffered severely shortage of rations, exhaustion , disease. finally, calvert reinforced chinese battalion , put in all-out assault on 24 june captured of town. last resistance cleared 27 june. calvert s brigade had suffered 800 battle casualties in siege, half of strength. of remainder, 300 men left fit fight.

the american general joseph stilwell, had overall command of chindits, announced via bbc chinese troops of northern combat area command had captured mogaung. calvert signalled stilwell s headquarters chinese reported taking mogaung. brigade taking umbrage.

when received orders move myitkyina, japanese garrison holding out, calvert closed down brigade s radio sets , marched stilwell s headquarters in kamaing instead. court martial threatened, after , stilwell met in person , stilwell appreciated first time conditions under chindits had operated, 77th brigade evacuated india recover. calvert awarded bar dso second chindit expedition. in field calvert successful , aggressive chindit commander, , font of positive leadership throughout campaign.