Merrill's Marauders

   (5307 Composite Unit)

   Informally named for their commander, Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, this World War II American unit numbering 2,997 officers and men was organized as a counterpart to Brigadier Orde Wingate's Chindits. Under the command of General Joseph Stilwell, its objectives were to recapture northern Burma from the Japanese and clear the way for completion of the Ledo Road. In an operation codenamed "Galahad," the Marauders marched overland from northeastern India into the Hukawng Valley (in present-day Kachin State) in February 1944, fought tenaciously against Japanese units alongside the 22d and 38th Chinese Divisions, and captured the vital airstrip at Myitkyina in May. Allied control of the airfield enabled them to fly more than 14,000 supply flights from India to China between May and October 1944. But the Japanese counterattacked, and the town of Myitkyina did not fall to the Allies until August. That same month, the Marauders, having suffered terrible casualties, were demobilized.

   See also Burma Road.