Merrill’s Marauders (named after Frank Merrill) or Unit Galahad, officially named the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), was a United States Army special operations force unit that specialized in artillery observer, close-quarters battle, combat patrol, commando style raids in jungle warfare, guerrilla warfare, long-range penetration, special reconnaissance, and tracking targets to frontline military intelligence gathering or surprise attacks, which fought in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, or China Burma India theater (CBI).
The unit became famous for its long-range penetration missions behind Japanese lines, often engaging Imperial Japanese forces superior in number.
Formation and training In the Quebec Conference (QUADRANT) of August 1943, Allied leaders decided to form a U.S. long-range penetration unit that would attack Japanese troops in Burma. The new U.S. force was directly inspired by, and partially modeled on Orde Wingate's Chindits Long Range Penetration Force. A call for volunteers attracted around 3,000 men.
A Memorandum from the Operations Division (OPD) of the United States Department of War (War Department) dated 18 September 1943 (OPD 320.2) listed the proposed composition of the new American long-range penetration force, which would be an all-volunteer unit. The Caribbean Defense Command provided 960 jungle warfare-trained officers and men, 970 jungle-trained officers and men came from Army Ground Forces units based in the continental United States, and a further 674 "battle-tested" jungle warfare troops came from the South Pacific Command, chiefly Army veterans of the Guadalcanal campaign and Solomon Islands campaign,George, Lt. Col. John, Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Publications (1981), , 978-0935998429, p. 420: Many of the battle-tested South Pacific volunteers came from the Army's Americal Division, particularly the 164th Infantry Regiment, which fought at Guadalcanal. with all troops to assemble at Nouméa, New Caledonia.
General Douglas MacArthur was also directed to transfer 274 Army combat-experienced volunteers from the Southwest Pacific Command, veterans of the New Guinea campaign and Bougainville campaign.Ogburn Jr, Charlton The Marauders (1956): Many of the Southwest Pacific veterans came from the Army's 37th Infantry Division. A few Pacific veteran volunteers came from stockade, with volunteering earning them their freedom; they were sprinkled throughout the unit and called "The Dead End Kids" after the Hollywood film series featuring juvenile delinquents. The unit was officially designated as 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) with the code name Galahad.
The men were first sent to India arriving in Bombay on 31 October 1943 to train. Here they were reinforced with Army Air Corps and Signal Corps personnel, as well as an animal transport company with mules and experienced muleteers. Officers and men were equipped with U.S. Herringbone Twill (HBT) uniform cotton OD uniforms, M1943 fatigues, Type II field shoes (with or without canvas leggings), jungle boots, canvas load-bearing equipment, blanket (one-half tent or "shelter-half" per man), poncho, and a machete or kukri for brush clearing.
Small arms included the .30-06 M1 Garand, the .30-06 M1903A4 sniper rifle, the .30 M1 carbine, the .45 Thompson submachine gun, the .45 M1911 pistol, the .30-06 BAR (M1922 machine rifle version), and the .30 M1919 Browning air-cooled belt-fed machine gun.George, Lt. Col. John, Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Publications (1981), , 978-0935998429 Mules were used to haul radios, ammunition, and heavier support weapons, including the 2.36-inch M1A1 bazooka and the U.S. 60 mm M2 Mortar.Norris, John and Calow, Robert, Infantry Mortars of World War II, Osprey Publishing (2002), , , p. 13 The mortar was often employed without its bipod in order to speed deployment.
The 5307th was originally destined to train in long-range penetration tactics under the direction of Brigadier Charles Orde Wingate, commander of the Chindits. At Deolali, 200 km (125 miles) outside Bombay, the troops endured both physical conditioning and close-order drill, before entraining for Deogarh, Madhya Pradesh.
The unit was to have 700 animals that included 360 mules. There were to be as many more but the ship that was carrying them was torpedoed in the Arabian Sea. They were replaced by 360 Australian Waler horses that had originally been with the 112th Cavalry in New Caledonia who were deemed unfit for jungle warfare. They had traveled to India where they served with the Chinese Army before being assigned to the 5307th.Ogburn Jr, Charlton The Marauders 1959 Harper 1982 edition p.66
From the end of November 1943 to the end of January 1944, the 5307th remained at Deogarh and trained intensively. All officers and men received instruction in anti-tank warfare, artillery observer, camouflage, close-quarters battle, combat patrol, commando style raids in jungle warfare, counter-battery fire, defusing and disposal of bombs and land mines, demolitions, evacuation of wounded personnel, field military intelligence gathering, guerrilla warfare, hand-to-hand combat, jungle survival, light and heavy weapons, maps and navigation, military communications, military engineering, reconnaissance, scouting, small unit tactics on entrenchments, stream crossings, tactical emergency medical, and the then-novel technique of supply by airdrop. Special emphasis was placed on "jungle lane" marksmanship at pop-up and moving targets using small arms.George, Lt. Col. John, Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Publications (1981), , 978-0935998429 In December the 5307th conducted a weeklong maneuver in coordination with Chindit forces.
U.S. General Joseph Stilwell was determined that the only U.S. combat troops available in the theater would not serve under British command. As the only Allied ground commander without a subordinate contingent of infantry forces from his own army, Stilwell was aware that he would have minimal influence upon Allied ground strategy in Burma unless he could gain command of the Marauders. Admiral Lord Mountbatten, the supreme Allied commander of the South East Asia Command (SEAC), was persuaded by Stilwell, deputy supreme Allied commander, that they should serve under the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC).
Stilwell appointed Brigadier General Frank Merrill to command them. Several American war correspondents had come to Deogarh to hear about the unit and its training; the reporters sat around trying to think of an appealing nickname for the 5307th that would capture the interest of the American public. Time correspondent James R. Shepley came up with "Merrill's Marauders" and that name stuck.
Operations
In early 1944, the Marauders were organized as an elite light infantry assault unit, with mule transport for their 60 mm mortars, bazookas, ammunition, communications gear, and supplies. Although the 5307th's three battalions were equivalent to a regimental-size unit, its lack of organic heavy weapons support meant the force had a combat power less than that of a single regular American infantry battalion, a fact that General Stilwell and his NCAC staff did not always appreciate.Taylor, Thomas H., and Martin, Robert J., Rangers: Lead the Way Turner Publishing Co. (1997) , , p. 7 Without heavy weapons support, the unit would have to rely on flexibility and surprise to outfight considerably larger Japanese forces.
A little known secret to the Marauders' success was the inclusion of fourteen Japanese-American Military Intelligence Service translators assigned to the unit, including future United States Army Rangers (Army Rangers) and Military Intelligence Hall of Fame inductee Roy Matsumoto.
Weight was critical to the Marauders, and the need for a compact, lightweight field ration was essential; unfortunately, the best solution, the dry Jungle ration, at 4,000 calories per day, had been discontinued for cost reasons in 1943.Kearny, Cresson H., Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Publishing (1996), p. 291 On the advice of Army supply officers in Washington, General Stilwell and his G-4 staff determined that a one-per-day issuance of the U.S. Army's 2,830 calorie K ration (one K ration = three meals) would be sufficient to maintain the Marauders in the field.Kearny, Cresson H., Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Publishing (1996), p. 293 While compact, the K ration not only had fewer calories but less bulk, and included some components so unappetizing as to be thrown away by many users.Kearny, Cresson H., Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Publishing (1996), pp. 294: The strange tasting maltose and dextrose tablets, the highly acidic lemon powder, and the fatty pork loaf were frequently discarded, further reducing the K ration's caloric content.
On the advice of British General Orde Wingate, the force was divided into two self-contained combat teams per battalion. In February 1944, in an offensive designed to disrupt Japanese offensive operations, three battalions in six combat teams (coded Red, White, Blue, Khaki, Green, and Orange) marched into Burma. On 24 February, the force began a 1,000-mile march over the Patkai range and into the Burmese jungle behind Japanese lines. A total of 2,750 Marauders entered Burma; the remaining 247 men remained in India as headquarters and support personnel.
While in Burma, the Marauders were usually outnumbered by Japanese troops from the 18th Division, but always inflicted many more casualties than they suffered. Led by Kachin scouts, and using mobility and surprise, the Marauders harassed supply and communication lines, shot up patrols, and assaulted Japanese rear areas, in one case cutting off the Japanese rearguard at Maingkwan. Near Walawbum, a town believed by General Stilwell's NCAC staff to be lightly held, the 3rd Battalion killed some 400–500 enemy soldiers.George, John (Lt. Col.), Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Press (1981), p. 492: According to General Merrill, the 3rd Battalion's intelligence officer counted at least 100 more bodies of Japanese soldiers on the Walawbum battlefield than NCAC had estimated were in the town or the surrounding area.
The Japanese were continually surprised by the heavy, accurate volume of fire they received when attacking Marauder positions. Its combat-experienced officers had carefully integrated light mortar and machine gun fires, and virtually every man was armed with a self-loading or automatic weapon in which he had trained to a high level of marksmanship. In March they severed Japanese supply lines in the Hukawng Valley.
Informed by the British that the situation in Imphal was under control, Stilwell wanted to launch a final assault to capture the Japanese airfield at Myitkyina. Always guarded against the potential for interference by the British, General Stilwell did not coordinate his plans with Admiral Mountbatten, instead transmitting separate orders to his Chinese forces and the Marauders. The men took a brief rest at Shikau Gau, a jungle village clearing where they bartered with the native inhabitants for fresh eggs and chickens with an issue of 10-in-one and C rations.George, John (Lt. Col.), Shots Fired in Anger, NRA Press (1981), pp. 493–494 The Marauders also took the opportunity to sunbathe in an attempt to control the onset of various fungal skin diseases. Now down to a little over 2,200 officers and men, the 5307th began a series of battles on the march to Myitkyina.