With Wingate in Burma
Beyond the Chindwin. By Bernard Fergusson. (Collins. 10s. 6d.) THE imagination of the world was caught by the story of Wingate's first expedition into the Burmese jungle. It has been quite clear
for some time that this operation had no deep strategic significance, but ithat its two main purposes were reconnaissance—for air reconnaissance in such country was far from satisfactory—and the explosion of the dangerous myth that only Japs could fight in the jungle. In a very real sense, therefore, the Chindits were laying the foundation on which the more recent successes in Burma have been built. The first step on the long road to Rangoon was taken by the British, Gurkha and Burmese troops who crossed the Chindwin under Wingate's command in the early part of 1943- There have been other accounts of this operation, but none so authoritative or so well written as the one here reviewed. Its author, Major (now Colonel) Fergusson, a regular officer in the Black Watch, commanded No. 5 Column, which formed part of the British group of the expedition. His qualities as a soldier and as a leader of men are apparent both from his own modest account of his column's deeds and from what we already know of the Wingate expedition. Even if he were an indifferent writer, this would still be an important book, the first-hand story of an actor in a crucial episode in the war against Japan. But Colonel Fergusson's authorship is as successful as his soldiering. His story is clearly told with a fine natural moderation. His portraits of the men in the column are well drawn and they move against a jungle background which his prose helps our imagination to create.
Throughout the book there runs a note of what can best be called tragedy, expressed always with dignity and economy ; "Duncan volunteered to go, and to my grief I let him "—this sentence refers to a patrol, Duncan was his friend and adjutant, and he did not come back. It is not surprising that the dust-cover should announce a volume of poems by Colonel Fergusson, for the poet's touch can often be felt in this book. To get full value from reading it, one ought to turn first to Appendix A and become familiar with the names and functions of the officers of the column. Then with the help of the end-paper map there should be no difficulty in follow- ing intelligently the story the author has to tell.
This book gives us some light on two great soldiers—the late Orde Wingate and Lord Wavell. Colonel Fergusson paints a somewhat hard portrait of Wingate ; he is no uncritical hero-wor- shipper and wisely sees that his disciples must follow the spirit rather than the letter of their master. The author also makes it clear how much the expedition owed to the Commander-in-Chief whose responsibility it was to send it out. It is significant that two recent books on unconventional soldiering—this one and Major Kennedy Shaw's Long Range Desert Group—should have paid tribute to Lord Wavell's inspiration. The Wingate expedition in its particular way exemplified the two principles which that great soldier has always stressed—training which gives mobility and mobility which gives surprise.
S. H. F. JOHNSTON.
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