World War II
India
March 1942, 12th Field Company arrived in Bombay still part of the 70th Infantry Division, moving to Poona to re-equip and acclimatise. Captain DV Hutchinson joined the Trans Indian Convoy, travelling by troop train and vehicle across India to Ranchi in the state of Bahir. Time here was spent on countless recce’s, checking defensive lines, roads and bridges, all the time avoiding the constant threat of malaria which was endemic in many areas. Recce’s included Jhansi, Dheli, Bangalore and many other places, to practise in jungle bridging, improvised rafting, fieldcraft, digging foxholes and watermanship amongst other things. Heading up to North Assam and the Burmese Frontier, as well as South to the Bay of Bengal to defend the coastline. The Company eventually returned to Ranchi. [31]
“We were diverted to India from where the Squadron took part in operations in the Arakan against the Japanese, in reconnaissance for a new India to Burma road, and finally the whole Squadron was converted to Chindits, one Sapper Commando Platoon per Column. All this time the Squadron had been part of 6 British Division later re-designated 70 Division. We had a marvellous spirit de corps, the Squadron was like one big family and it was very successful in all it did.
This was in the days when Squadrons and Troops were largely independent and Engineering Regiments and Company Royal Engineers were unheard of.”
Extract taken from Hand notes, Officer Commanding 12th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers by Col DVH MBE.
On 10 January 1943, Captain DV Hutchinson received his recommendation for ‘regular commission’ into the British Army. The first image below shows him attempting to make a river crossing on 5 April, when tasked with driving from Ratu to Chhipadohar to collect bamboo mats to be used in raft building.
-CLICK HERE TO READ A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF AN EXAMPLE OF JUNGLE WARFARE TRAINING-
Burma
In June 1943 the Company was sent to an area of West Bengal, east of Calcutta to serve with the 23rd Infantry Brigade. The Brigade had been called upon to reinforce the area, during the time of intense fighting in the Arakan region. Setting sail from Calcutta to the port of Chittagong in East Bengal, forming up before moving south by train and road to Bawli Bazaar and Cox’s Bazaar. Little in the way of operations were carried out by the 23rd Infantry and despite active patrolling, no contact with the Japanese was made at this time apart from occasional firing at enemy aircraft as they strafed overhead. At this time the monsoon broke out and all military operations became static. Ultimately, the first main Allied offensive to the north was seen as a failure, due to lack of training in such extreme conditions, poor administration, inadequate supply routes and low morale.
The first Chindit raid, under Brigadier Orde Wingate, concluded about this time and its successes were widely publicised to counter the depressing news from the Arakan.
India
After a miserable period of bivouacking without cover, the 23rd Infantry Brigade formed up for embarkation on river transport back to Chittagong, before joining a troop train to Bangalore, in Southern India and reassigned to 70th Infantry Division once more back in Jhansi.
In October 1943, the 70th Infantry Division was absorbed into General Wingate’s Chindit Force, to create the Special Force including the 23rd Indian Infantry Brigade. So once again, the 12th Field Company found itself back in Jhansi- Sangor, Central India.
The 70th Division was the pride of the armies in India, known for its high levels of training and morale. It was the only fully-trained, completely-equipped British division in the theatre, so when orders came that it was to be broken up to augment the Chindit Force, it generated considerable resentment at General HQ India, especially with Lieutenant General William Slim.
It was in Jhansi that an intensive period of training began on Chindit lines in preparation for jungle warfare.
The training was severe, including both tactical training and marching 40 miles a day with full equipment, with heavy equipment being carried by mules. At the end of the training period, the battalion was not only highly trained in jungle and Chindit operations but, with the constant exercise and increased rations, was very fit.
Operations included further sorties to Cox’s Bazaar in the Arakan as part of the newly formed 23rd Long-range Penetration Brigade in the 34 Column of 4th Battalion, Border Regiment. With further spells of leave at Bangalore and Calcutta, and trips to the KrishnaRajaSagara Dam at Mysuru.
Chindits
The name Chindits was suggested by Captain Aung Thin of the Burma Rifles. Chindit is a corrupted form of the Burmese mythical beast Chinthé or Chinthay, statues of which guarded Buddhist temples.
The forces for the second Chindit operation were called Special Force, officially 3rd Indian Infantry Division, or Long Range Penetration Groups, but the nickname, the Chindits, had already stuck.
After Wingate was killed in an aircraft crash in March 1944 several major changes were made at the highest level. Much of the air support was diverted to the critical battles of Imphal and Kohima, and the 23rd Long-range Penetration Brigade based at Shahgarh, Madhya Pradesh were yet to fly in. So the 12th Field Company found themselves diverted from the main Chindit campaign and dispatched north of Kohima, nevertheless acting as a long range penetration unit. With the objective of cutting the communications of the Japanese 31 Division that were advancing from the East near Homalin, across to Imphal, and the besieged Kohima. [32][33]
On 30 March 1944 Captain DV Hutchinson MBE and his Platoon of the 12th Field Company boarded the train at Saugor Station and journeyed via Salaia, Umaria, Sahdal, Balispur, sakti, Jharsugda and Bisa to the forward area for 6 days with a further 7 in reserve, finally arriving at Mariani just south of Jorhat.
-CLICK HERE TO READ A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE TROOP/ANIMAL MOVEMENT-
The 12th Field Company were split between the 34 & 55 Columns with 4th Battalion Border Regiment led by Lt. Col JL Burgess in the 23rd Long-range Penetration Brigade under Brigadier Lance ECM Perowne. Along with Cpt. DV Hutchinsons Platoon, there were three other Platoons in the 12th Field Company attached to the 4th Battalion Border Regiment. The other Officers were Cpt. SL Putnam O/C, Lt. IH Frame 2I/C and Lt JW Cherry 2I/C.
They marched long distances through the Naga hills towards Burma, mostly in monsoon weather, through dense jungle and across dangerous rivers, which made movement very slow and difficult.
The environment in Assam & Burma was amidst the most hostile conditions endured during the entirety of WWII. With extreme temperatures, monsoon rains, disease and mountainous, dense jungle to contend with. Within this inhospitable environment , the men had to carve landing strips out of the jungle and transport enormous amounts of equipment. The first light airstrip created in Mokokchung was 360×30 yards and required two hills to be levelled and one valley filled, moving approximately 40,000 cubic yards of earth.
-CLICK HERE TO READ A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF AN EMERGENCY AIRSTRIP-
Faced with the constant threat of enemy ambush airdrops were often lost to the RAF missing the location or having to abort because of the conditions.
Other Sapper work at this time included building river crossings and mule tracks, demolishing unexploded bombs and laying booby-traps.
Men learnt to cope with the cruel conditions in their own way. Thirst caused severe suffering. Andrew Sutherland, of 23 Brigade (The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment, 60 Column): “Every morning we drank hot tea, filled our water bottles and then drank all the water remaining in our chaguls, forcing it down if need be. Thereafter, no matter how thirsty we became, we would not touch any water for the whole day. For we had very quickly found that even sipping water made the thirst unbearable. It required a certain amount of willpower but was worth the effort. We would keep our mouths moist by chewing gum from our K-rations.”
-CLICK HERE TO READ A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF A 34 COLUMN HARASSING PATROL-
The meagre K-Rations were not designed to fulfil the required nutrients used up on such an arduous strain on the human body, malnutrition was just another hurdle they had to overcome. Soldiers usually had to sleep in the open with no cover. Nowhere in the Naga Hills was there 50 yards of flat terrain, troops had to march up hills that were 6,000 to 8,000 feet high carrying packs of 80 lbs.
From April through to July 1944 they contributed in large measure to the starvation of the Japanese at Kohima, the decisive factor in that battle. Although not engaged in the major battles, they accounted for large numbers of Japanese stragglers and foragers in very arduous fighting conditions, suffering 158 battle casualties themselves, several of which were in the 12th Field Company.
Captain DV Hutchinson and his Platoon that made ‘The Long Walk’ with 34/55 Columns
It was during the final weeks of Operations as the fighting intensified with heavy shelling from both sides, on the perimeter of Ukhrul, that Captain DV Hutchinson M.B.E. led his Platoon from Siruhi to Langdang along with 5 Platoon & Commando Platoon of the 4th Battalion Border Regiment. Ukhrul had now been burning for one day and half a night since the Japanese set it alight on 5 July. On 6 July 1944 they were shelled by the enemy, killing 2nd Lieutenant A. Chapman of the 4th Borders and wounding another. Then on 7 July Corporal H. Stewart of the 4th Borders was accidentally killed when grenade prematurely disharged. Captain D.V. Hutchinson buried these two men at Langdang Cemetery and they were later relocated to Imphal Military Cemetery (Plot 3 Row H). He mentions them on the ‘Burial of the Dead’ form that he read from at the time, as seen below.
Once the Japanese forces in and around Ukhrul had capitulated, the Brigade had already received information that plans for their withdrawal via Imphal, Kohima up to Dimapur were in an advanced stage. Many hundreds of lives were lost during this fierce period of fighting with many Japanese at the point of starvation.
The harassing operations by 23rd Brigade of which 12th Field Company was an integral part, made a major impact on the Japanese to bring about a withdrawal from the Imphal/Kohima area of operations and they did not again attempt an invasion of India. [32][33]
Plans for more Chindit operations were abandoned and Special Force was disbanded in March 1945. It proved impossible to obtain sufficient British replacements to re-form the Chindits as a six-Brigade force. What remained of the Chindits came to be seen as one of the very few reservoirs of soldiers with combat experience available in the Far East.
Those who fought in the Far East have long been considered the ‘Forgotten Army’ compared with the fighting that took part in mainland Europe. The Chindit Campaign has been heavily criticised, by Military leaders and Historians alike, for it’s effectiveness in the overall picture of War in the East. But there is no doubt that the sacrifices made by all nationalities who served in these unimaginable conditions did not halt the Japanese invasion of India and considerably weaken their strengths at the closing stages of the Second World War.
The 12th Field Company RE lost 10 known men during the War in India and Burma, with 4 men killed during the April – July Campaign in 1944. They are remembered here.
Most Chindit survivors had an instinctive feeling that something bordering on the unique had been achieved. They had fought together at the outer extremities of human endurance. There was a cachet to being a Chindit. The very word produced mixed emotions, a blend of awe and something approaching pity.
The Brigade now moved into Imphal, passing through what remained of Kohima, the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of WWII, and onto the railhead at Dimapur. Returning to Jhansi on 2 December 1944.
India
The officers of the 23rd Brigade had Christmas dinner in the New Imperial Hotel in Delhi, and those who had over three years and eight months service were then allowed to repatriate to the UK.
“In the end I was sorry in a way to leave the Squadron on repatriation after being four and a half years with it and at times having been acting 2nd in Charge and Officer Commanding”.
Extract taken from Hand notes, Officer Commanding 12th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers by Col DVH MBE.
30 December 1944. From Bombay docks the journey continued through the Suez Canal, past Port Said, Gibraltar Harbour and back home for a brief spell in England on 29 January 1945, before departing once more.
Pakistan
In March 1945, DV Hutchinson was now 2nd in Command with 268th Field Company RE. It was here that he was assigned to the 44th Indian Airbourne Division at Chaklala near Rawalpindi in Pakistan to receive parachute training. They followed 7-8 days of intensive ground training in which they learnt about the parachute, how it worked, how to use it and more importantly, how to land safely.
More time was spent on landing technique than any other aspect of the parachute, to ensure as far as possible, a safe landing on the ground.
The second week started with two acclimatisation flights, to get them used to flying and to try and minimise the air sickness problem.
Carried out in Douglas Dakotas, mostly over some of the foothills of the Himalayas, these were pretty rough flights. The RAF were responsible for the entire training program and the instructors were two flight sergeants.
The first drops were made by two people going out on each circuit of the aircraft, jumping from a height of 800-1000ft and landing on the DZ (drop zone), which was a fairsize ploughed field.
The remaining drops, one on each day, were doubled up to 4,8,16 and so on until it reached 20, they finally did two drops in one day, one of which was at night. This was something different as the only light was four green lights, placed one at each corner of the DZ.
Over the next few months all men received full parachute training and in May 1945, the Company encamped at Batrassi in the North West Frontier and was combined with the newly formed 12th Parachute Squadron RE.
All images of the 12th Parachute Squadron RE are courtesy of the Pvt Harry Owen collection (1 September 1919- 11 April 2007)
This period marked the end of the Second World War for Captain DV Hutchinson. He was now to fly to the Reinforcement Holding Unit (50 RHU) situated at Ripon Barracks in Bielefield, near Hanover to await his next posting. Find out the next stage of his journey by following the link below.
Alternatively if you would like to find out more about the 12th Field Company RE during the Post War years then follow the link below.
For further reading on the Burma Campaign, I recommend the following books:-
- Defeat into Victory, by Field-Marshal. Sir William Slim
- Slim, Master of War: Burma and the Birth of Modern Warfare, by Robert Lyman
- Road of Bones: The Siege of Kohima 1944 – The Epic Story of the Last Great Stand of Empire. by Fergal Keane
- Burma ’44: The Battle That Turned Britain’s War in the East, by James Holland
Ubique Vir 