Orde Wingate
British WWII Army general (1903-1944) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Major General Orde Charles Wingate, DSO & Two Bars (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory during the Burma Campaign of the Second World War.
Orde Wingate | |
---|---|
Born | (1903-02-26)26 February 1903 Nainital, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British India (now in Uttarakhand, India) |
Died | 24 March 1944(1944-03-24) (aged 41) Near Bishnupur, Manipur State, British India (now in Manipur, India) |
Buried | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | British Army |
Years of service | 1921–1944 |
Rank | Major General |
Service number | 27013 |
Unit | Royal Artillery |
Commands held | Chindits (1942–44) Gideon Force (1940–41) |
Battles/wars | 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine Second World War |
Awards | Distinguished Service Order & Two Bars[1] Mentioned in Despatches (2)"No. 35120". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 March 1941. p. 1872. MacGregor Medal[2] |
Wingate was an exponent of unconventional military thinking and the value of surprise tactics. Assigned to Mandatory Palestine, he became a supporter of Zionism and set up a joint British–Jewish counter-insurgency unit. Under the patronage of the area commander Archibald Wavell, Wingate was given increasing latitude to put his ideas into practice during the Second World War. He created units in Abyssinia and Burma.
At a time when Britain was in need of morale-boosting generalship, Wingate attracted British Prime Minister Winston Churchill's attention with a self-reliant aggressive philosophy of war, and was given resources to stage a large-scale operation. The last Chindit campaign may have determined the outcome of the Battle of Kohima, although the offensive into India by the Japanese may have occurred because Wingate's first operation had demonstrated the possibility of moving through the jungle. In practice, both Japanese and British forces suffered severe supply problems and malnutrition.
Wingate was killed in an aircraft accident in March 1944. The casualty rate the Chindits suffered, especially from disease, is a continuing controversy. Wingate believed that resistance to infection could be improved by inculcating a tough mental attitude, but medical officers considered his methods unsuited to a tropical environment.