Fire in the Night : Wingate of Burma, Ethiopia, and Zion

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: Bierman and Smith have done a fine job of portraying Wingate. And, what a great read!

Wingate has finally been given his due in this book. His true worth as an Army officer is finally exposed: As great as Lawrence but lacking the literary gifts.

A must-read for the professional Army or Marine Corps officer!

Rating:
Summary: NOT THE STANDARD WARRIOR GENTLEMAN
Review: Having been brought up on stories from my early years about the brave and often forgotten exploits of the Chindits I was very enthused to tuck into this book. Orde Wingate has been the hero of many, not so much because he was a military successful warrior, but because he was wildly unconventional at a time when staid ethics and methods of war were leading to defeats of the western allies on all fronts.

A fierce Old Testament fear and learning of the bible bread in what would now be called a fundementalist christian family, he blended this with queer eccentricities like, indifference to appearing nude before his collegues and newspapermen, a complete indifference to British Monarchy and the hierarchical class-bound society and way of thinking. An appreciator of new ideas and probably quite to the left of many of his superiors, he had no hestation in punishing and physically striking his recruits (no matter their colour), and could kill the enemy mercilessly, or order large groups knowingly to their death without a blink.

Wingate pioneered unconventional warfare with his notion that large unit groups can function in the rear of the enemy for long periods of time if they were self-sufficient and well trained. He eschewed the entire idea of "special forces" as they are often called nowadays. In the end I do not think that he squared the circle large unit action and special forces --- he wanted both and got really neither. His tactics worked rather well against the Italians (but that was no surprise he realised), but they were problematic against the Japanese. The first operation, "Long Cloth" was an unmitigated disaster, with enough adventures from its many participants to fill an entire library (they still make some of the most heart thumping reads available). The entire operation broke down and became in some cases, every man for himself. Wingate himself giving the order.

His second operation was more problematic. No doubt these operations had significant effect on the enemy and no doubt were very helpful in the taking of Myikyena and Mogang, but I really think that 14th Army would have rolled up the Japanese flank nicely anyway, as they did and win the Battle of Burma with overwhelming firepower and troops as well unmitigated air superiority.

In the end the Japanese in Burma were beaten by traditional large unit engagements.

That is not a defeat of the ideas of Orde Wingate, nor do they negate the incredible bravery of the men who served with him. What it does DO however is to put to rest the idea that Orde Wingate was a purveyor of "Truth" -- his ideas were worthy, but they were not the be-all end-all of jungle combat. His developments were prodigeous and his personal bravery never in doubt. But I think that, like Moses, he got involved too much in fanatical devotion to one idea and was willing to sacrifice a lot for an idea. In the case of Moses, his people --- in the case of Wingate, it was often his own troops.

This books admirably chronicles the multifacted nature of Wingate. It is factual and comes across as neutral as possible, often citing critical sources and those men (also of incredible courage) that did not fall under his spell.

The narrative is tight and WELL EDITED. Unlike your regular 1000 page biography Smith and Beirman are able to deal with the subject adequately in 400 pages with nothing substantive missing. Also there is just enough detail of almost all of his life. The final 150 pages deals with the Burma campaign the authors are very skillful in their use of detail. They include all of the crucial elements necessary of his many campaigns.

I found the book to be a very admirable read. I think that it only deepened the questions I have about Wingate --- was a daring experimenter or a madman? --- I think that one can add, bitterly-troubled person to the heap of questions surrounding this man.

I still ask myself, if this man were my commander would I succumb and become a convert, would I stand aloof and protest that something is terribly wrong? I do not know, and cannot judge because I was not born at the time these events transpired. I was not a part of this great crusade, nor a part of the glory the gained or the horrors they endured.

Rating:
Summary: Looney lionized as Brit war hero
Review: How pathetic that the authors have omitted to tell us that Wingate was a lunatic saved from a life of straitjackets by Churchill, to spite Bill Slim the maggot.

And that the Chindits exploits mostly ended up as gross fiascos, and that his heoric bandits were mostly captured by the Japs without a fight.

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: I thought I knew a little about Ord Windgate before I read this book. And "a little" is exactly right. This British Army Officer brushed asside every obsticle he ever came to and prevailed in what he was trying to do most of the time. So how could a hundred thousand or so Japanese in Burma stop him. Well they didn't.

This man was litterally a pain ...... of everyone who ever stood in the way of what he saw as the right thing to do. As a junior officer he was disliked by many of his superiors and the stuffy types that were most of his fellow officers. A few saw that he was a dedicated innovator who realy didn't care who he offended by bringing about change. As he progressed up the ranks he had successes that made him even less popular except where it counted.

Those who admired him truly beleived in him (Winston Chuchill for one), but those who disliked him often hated him. It is this man who the authors bring to life within the pages of this well researched and documented book. A first class work of history. Well worth the time to read it.

Rating:
Summary: Biography and Military History At Its Best, Combined
Review: I thought I knew a little about Ord Windgate before I read this book. And "a little" is exactly right. This British Army Officer brushed asside every obsticle he ever came to and prevailed in what he was trying to do most of the time. So how could a hundred thousand or so Japanese in Burma stop him. Well they didn't.

This man was litterally a pain ...... of everyone who ever stood in the way of what he saw as the right thing to do. As a junior officer he was disliked by many of his superiors and the stuffy types that were most of his fellow officers. A few saw that he was a dedicated innovator who realy didn't care who he offended by bringing about change. As he progressed up the ranks he had successes that made him even less popular except where it counted.

Those who admired him truly beleived in him (Winston Chuchill for one), but those who disliked him often hated him. It is this man who the authors bring to life within the pages of this well researched and documented book. A first class work of history. Well worth the time to read it.

Rating:
Summary: incomplete portrait of a complex figure
Review: Like many sources, this book praises wingate without enough
careful examination of his flaws. The book focuses mostly
on three chapters in Wingate's life. It starts with his
service in palestine in 1936.

Driven by religious fanaticism and his contempt for what
he saw as uncivilized peoples (arabs or any non-europeans
really), he attached himself to Zionism and zionist politicians.
In the process he exceeded or ignored his orders, then after
politically compromised himself in open alliance with zionist
groups to a point where he could not possibly serve there.
His great "vision" for the region was for a "sub-empire"
with Zionists serving as a sort of spartan military elite
to subdue and westernize those considered lesser humans. All
as part of some sort of twisted fanatical vision of christianity.

After having been booted out of Palestine, he eventually ended
up in Ethiopia where he again ignored his orders. His goal
this time was to force a royal government on Ethiopia regardless
of what anyone else thought and in spite of serious reservations
on the part of politicians and his superiors. His campaign
was a wonderful "boys adventure" sort of a affair, but in the
end it was army won the campaign. Wingate's great accomplishment
was saddling Ethiopia with an unstable and territorially
aggressive monarchy that eventually collapsed in a bloodbath
in the 1970s.

After, he went into open revolt against the entire leadership
of the army in the area. He openly insulted them and held them
in utter contempt. In his mind, though he had never held
a position of high responsiblity in the army, he saw himself
as being some sort of grand illustrious figure. And when
his campaign of alination, insults and personal attacks failed
to get him recognition, he attempted suicide. Contrary to the
book, his megolmania and self-destructive behavior would indicate
someone with serious problems rather than a great leader.

He was rescued from career oblivion by a friend in India. He
was sent into Burma in 1942 to see what could be done in the
way of irregular warfare. For all his bluster, he did nothing.
And beyond that, while other men were suffering and dying
on the march back to India, Wingate arranged to be flown out.

Back in India, he was given a brigade to test out his theories
with. He whined about what he was given in terms of men. He
only wanted british soldiers. He threw the men into jungle
camps during the monsoon with the idea that by inflicting the
maximum amount of suffering and disease, that british men
who had his opinion been weakened by access to health care
and doctors in britain would be made strong again. When the
casualty rate reached over 50%, he moved the men into regular
housing and they recovered. The book presents the self-serving
fiction that the casulaty rate declined due to weeding out
"bad men" when in reality it only improved because the monsoon
ended and the worst of the camps was abandoned.

Wingate's first mission into Burma served no real purpose. It
was originally to be part of a broader plan, but when the
broader plan was cancelled, wingate demanded that the operation
go ahead anyway as a training exercise. He led the men into
Burma, put a railway out of operation for a few weeks and
then led his men deep into Burma where they accomplished nothing.
Eventually, Wingate executed one of his brilliant strategies
to solve the situation. He broke up his command and effectively
gave the order every man for himself. The force or more
properly what survived of the force returned in small parties
to India.

Once back, Wingate ignored his men in favor of launching a
press and publicity campaign on his achivements. He wrote
a self-serving account of operations and when his commanders
raised objects to it, he arranged for a copy to be given
directly to Churchill and the cabinet. Wingate decided to
bypass the entire army and come under the patronage of
politicians. The politicans heard about the brilliant victory,
but they did not hear about the officer running naked in the
jungle or of the man who believed bringing back flogging was
necessary for real dicipline.

When he returned to India in the fall of 1943, he fell ill
because he had recklessly drank contaminated water in north
africa on the way back. He had been given a blank cheque
for any resources he wanted for operations in Burma.

However, due to a combination of him being out of the country
and ill, his operational role in developing the second chindit
force wasn't very large. Eventually, an plan was thrown
together for operations in 1944. Rather than being an evolution
of his supposed theories, it mostly involved a new idea of
fighting a special operations war with a division-sized formation
operating from large bases in enemy controlled territory.

Wingate died early on during the operation so its impossible to
know what would have been the result if he had lived. However,
the only other time his 1944 strategy was used was by the
French in Vietnam where it led to total disaster.

Wingate has a number of followers. Obviously, Israelis are
greatful for the help he provided in forming what eventually
became their army. There are also those who, like wingate,
who see the british army as a failed institution and somehow
see innovation in the form of a man who cut his own throat,
ran around naked in camp, wanted to bring back flogging and
credited broader access to good health care in civilian life
as being responsible for weakening the british soldier.

A good work on Wingate has to deal with the positive aspects
and the negative ones. Too many draw a one-sided portrait
(including this one) while sweeping the not so nice parts of
the story under the rug.

Rating:
Summary: An Objective Treatise on Wingate, Man and General
Review: Orde Wingate was a man of extremes and those whose lives he touched either loved him or hated him. Books written about him have largely reflected this, usually taking one side or the other. At last, here is a book that allows readers to decide for themselves in a brilliant, thoroughly researched work, that presents all the extreme facets of General Wingate. It is well argued, with its conclusions backed by documented evidence, and beautifully written in a fashion that makes it appealing to read as a book, rather than just a reference.

From Wingate's early days at Harrow and the beginning of his military career, the reader follows his personal battles with himself and with others. The reader is launched after Wingate as he finds his feet in Palestine in with little regard for convention, either social or military. His first forays in to guerilla warfare, both successful and not, are embellished with personal evidence from credible historical witnesses. His subsequent banishment from Palestine, following policital dabbling above his station, is described, backed by his utter conviction about Zionism that was to colour the rest of his career.

The reader is then invited to rejoin the fray with Wingate as he develops his guerilla techniques, restoring Haile Selassie to his Ethiopian throne. Throughout, the impression of Wingate as a inspirational leader who was a thorn in the side of his superiors in re-inforced.

The final chapter in Wingate's life begins with an unexpected and unwelcome posting to Burma at Wavell's behest to harry to Japanese as they over-run Burma in a bid to drive the British from India. Spendid, accounts of Wingate's audacious cultivation of senior figures, including Churchill and Mountbatten, lie alongside his uncanny ability to forge enemies as he bullies and cajoles the system in to supporting his Chindit operations.

The demise of the Chindits after Wingate's untimely death and subsequent attempts to besmirch him, his techniques and achievements, form the epilogue of this outstanding book.

Rating:
Summary: Fire in the night: wingate of Burma, Ethiopia, and Zion
Review: Some fifteen years ago I was in a Barnes and Noble bookstore in Philadelpia looking at a bin of books for $1.00. I stumbled on a book, took it home and read it in a week. I went back to the bookstore and bought every copy they had. I sent the copies to every influential and/or bright friend I could think of because I believed the story was just fascinating. I couldn't believe the book had been ignored. Eventually, the book would become very well known due to the motion picture adaptation. The book was a total flop, at least initially. We know this book today, thanks to Mr. Spielberg's film, as "Schindler's List."

" Fire in the Night" is the only other book in my lifetime that has struck me quite the same way. It is quite enlightening to read about someone as interesting as Orde Wingate or Oskar Schindler. The average man only dreams about being heroic. Wingate and Schindler lived the kind of life that few of us are capable of pulling off.

If someone doesn't make this book into a documentary or a movie then the world has missed an opportunity, and we will only be the poorer for it.

Rating:
Summary: One good read begets two
Review: Some time ago, I read QUARTERED SAFE OUT HERE, the wartime memoirs of George MacDonald Fraser concerning the time he spent in the Other Ranks of the British imperial army that recaptured Burma from the Japanese in World War II. In his book, Fraser mentions the high regard the troops had for the army commander, William Slim. I subsequently read DEFEAT INTO VICTORY by Field-Marshal Viscount Slim, a personal account by the man who commanded the Fourteenth Indian Army during its bitter retreat from, and its glorious return march through, Burma. In his volume, Slim mentions the unorthodox British general Orde Wingate's contributions to the Japanese defeat in Southeast Asia. Thus, FIRE IN THE NIGHT, Wingate's biography.

Co-authored by John Bierman and Colin Smith, FIRE IN THE NIGHT is the immensely readable life story of an incredibly complex man. In a nutshell, after several brief chapters on Wingate's early life, the narrative sequentially covers his postings in Palestine, Ethiopia and, finally, India/Burma, during which time (1936-1944) he rose in rank from Lieutenant to Major General. In the British Mandate of Palestine, Orde became an ardent Zionist while fighting Arab "gangs" with Special Night Squads, the armed detachments of British regulars and Jews which he himself brought into being. In Ethiopia, his was a key role in the British victorious military effort to drive the Italians from the country and return Haile Selassie to the thrown. In India, Wingate's ultimate triumph before an untimely death was to conceive, form, train and deploy the Third Indian Division, the "Chindits", as a Special Force to insert behind Japanese lines in Northern Burma to destroy the enemy's means of communication and supply.

To my mind, the strength of this book is that it gives the reader an excellent overview of Wingate the man and soldier without getting bogged down in an overabundance of detail. Certainly, the subject of Wingate's character, obsessions and eccentricities could fill volumes. He was admired and loved by the men he literally led into battle. (He drove them hard, but he drove himself even harder.) Conversely, he was loathed by many of his officer peers and superiors for his arrogance, outspokenness, rudeness and personal slovenliness. (He was on record as calling some of his more Blimpish superiors "military apes".) But, he also had his admirers in high places, most notably Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten, the Supreme Commander of all allied forces in Southeast Asia.

Perhaps the most endearing of Wingate's traits were his eccentricities. For example, he carried a wind-up alarm clock on his person because he considered watches unreliable. And then there was his attitude to personal nudity best illustrated by an incident during the wide press acclaim following his first Chindit campaign. An Australian correspondent invited to the general's hotel room in Delhi wrote:

"I found him sitting naked on his bed, eyes buried deep in a book. He hardly glanced up as I entered and rather gruffly asked what I wanted. ... He wasn't interested in me or my requirements, but seemed most excited about the book he was reading ... a critical commentary of Emily Bronte and her work."

Can you imagine those media hogs of the Second World War - Patton, Montgomery and MacArthur - doing that?

Rating:
Summary: Balanced and entertaining...
Review: This is a lucid, penetrating, balanced and entertaining analysis of one of the 2nd World War's underestimated and controversial personality---a latter day T.E. Lawrence without the romantic riddle and enigma. The authors skillfully grabs the reader's attention from the start, eliminating extraneous details.(e.g., initial statement: "Orde Charles Wingate entered the world as he left it, amid a flurry of urgent telegrams.")

The book makes one wonder what the outcome would have been if he was given far more timely attention for his, at that time, unconventional theories of long range penetration and supply. On the other hand, it makes one wonder if he would have amounted much in today's athmosphere of the 'politically correct society' with his "amazing success in his getting himself disliked by people who are only too ready to be on his side", with his abrasive way of getting things done. It may well be a classic example of the adage that 'genius is never appreciated in one's time.' But many exalted figures in history considered him a military genius--the authors made it plain and clear there were many detractors too, from the ordinary soldier to Field Marshall Slim's unjust inferences in his post war memoirs.

My only complaint: the maps in the book--one gets the impression they were done in a hurry; the places mentioned which are crucial to the events described cannot be found, and I found myself having to use different atlases.

In retelling this story, the authors proved once more the truth in the saying that two heads working together are better than one.