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Loading... Phoenix from the Ashes: The Indian Army in the Burma Campaignby Daniel P. Marston
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. An analysis of the virtual revolution that changed Britain's Indian army from being a colonial police force at the start of World War II into an effective field force capable of the most sophisticated of operations by the end of the war. Marston bases his study on a sample of Indian batallions, most of which were subject to the early Indianization of the their officer cadres, and then follows them through the British campaigns in Burma, thus tracking how the changes in personnel policy (Indianization, recruitment of soldiers not of the "martial" races, etc.) and doctrine (specialized jungle tactics, modern logistics, mechanization, etc.) played out. If not quite in the league of "Churchill's Army" it does make a good companion to that study. ( ) no reviews | add a review
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In June 1942 the Indian Army suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Japanese Army and subsequently endured its longest retreat ever. The Japanese forces had proved more mobile in tactics and more motivated and seasoned in warfare. As a result, the Indian Army assessed its mistakes to determine what changes were needed to rebuild itself into a more capable fighting force. Marston looks at the Indian Army as a reform-minded organization, one that was able to take lessons from this major defeat, implement the necessary reforms, and ultimately defeat the Japanese soundly in 1945.Army leaders instigated analysis of the defeat at all levels of command. Innovations in operational procedure, organization, and tactics were compared, discussed, then implemented. An ongoing reassessment continued both during and after subsequent engagements. By analyzing the changes made in tactical doctrine, reinforcement procedure, Indianization of the officer corps, and the quality of nonmartial race units, Marston demonstrates that the Indian Army of 1945 was vastly different from that of 1939. The Indian Army's transformation into a highly professional force contradicts the commonly held belief that it was too conservative a force to reform itself thoroughly in the face of new challenges. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)940.5425History and Geography Europe Europe 1918- Military History Of World War II Campaigns and battles by theatreLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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