Code Name Galahad: And The Battle Of Myitkyina - The 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) In Burma 19

Code Name Galahad is a rich and compelling account of one of the Second World War's most demanding and often overlooked campaigns. In the wake of the Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942, Allied forces faced a strategic crisis: how to reopen a vital land route to China while confronting a determined enemy in some of the harshest terrain on earth. The answer came in the form of a bold experiment the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), codenamed 'Galahad' a force of 3,000 American volunteers trained for long-range jungle warfare. Under the leadership first of Lieutenant Colonel Charles N. Hunter and later Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill, and operating within Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell's China-Burma-India theatre, Galahad spearheaded a relentless charge through North Burma in February 1944. Their advance culminated in the dramatic coup de main capture of Myitkyina Airfield on 17 May and the siege of the strategically vital town, which fell to Sino-American forces on 3 August. Drawing on over 250 rare archival photographs and maps, and grounded in meticulous research, Code Name Galahad brings together operational detail and human experience, capturing both the strategy and the sacrifice that defined the unit later immortalized as Merrill's Marauders. Decimated by combat and disease and eventually disbanded in August 1944, Galahad's story is one of endurance, innovation and extraordinary courage under extreme conditions. AUTHOR: Jon Diamond MD is a kidney specialist in the USA with a deep interest in the Second World War. He is a keen collector of photographs. His Stilwell and the Chindits, War in the South Pacific, Invasion of Sicily, Invasion of the Italian Mainland: Salerno to Gustav Line, 1943-1944, Onto Rome 1944; Anzio and Victory at Cassino, Beyond Rome to the Alps; Across the Arno and Gothic Line, 1944-1945, Op Plunder - The Rhine River Crossing, MacArthur's Papua New Guinea Campaign, Hell in the Central Pacific, Liberation of the Philippines, Burma Victory, The Fall of Malaya and Singapore and The Battle of Okinawa 1945 are all published by Pen and Sword in the Images of War series. 250 b/w illustrations