Charles Orde Wingate
| Orde Wingate | |
|---|---|
Orde Wingate
|
|
| Birth name | Orde Charles Wingate |
| Born |
26 February 1903 Nainital, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, India (now in Uttarakhand, India) |
| Died | 24 March 1944 (aged 41) Near Bishnupur, Manipur State, India (now in Manipur, India) |
| Buried at | Initially near Bishnupur, India; later exhumed and reburied in Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom / British Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1921–1944 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Royal Artillery |
| Commands held |
Gideon Force Chindits |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order & Two Bars Mentioned in despatches |
1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine
World War II
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 World War II.
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 World War II. 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 late in the war. A continuing controversy over the Chindits has centred around the casualty rate the force suffered, especially from disease. 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.
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Wikipedia