Merrill's Marauders

E61277

Merrill's Marauders were a famed American long-range jungle warfare unit of World War II that conducted deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines in the China-Burma-India theater.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Army special operations unit
World War II military unit
alsoKnownAs 5307th Composite Unit
Galahad
branch United States Army
casualties high proportion of original strength lost to combat and disease
commander Frank Merrill
commemoratedBy U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame
books and films about their Burma campaign
conflict World War II
country United States of America
disbandedIn 1944
formedIn 1943
honor awarded Presidential Unit Citation
legacy inspiration for U.S. Army long-range reconnaissance units
predecessor of modern U.S. Army Rangers
mission conduct long-range penetration behind enemy lines in Burma
disrupt Japanese communications and supply lines
support Allied advances in northern Burma
namedAfter Frank Merrill
notableBattle Battle of Myitkyina
notableFor deep-penetration missions behind Japanese lines
long-range jungle warfare
notableOperation Northern Burma campaign
objective capture Myitkyina airfield
officialName 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)
operationalArea Burma
northern Burma jungles
opponent Imperial Japanese Army
partOf U.S. Army Services of Supply, China-Burma-India Theater
rankOfCommander Brigadier General
recruitedFrom volunteers from U.S. Army units in the Caribbean
volunteers from U.S. Army units in the South Pacific
volunteers from U.S. Army units in the United States
size approximately 3,000 men at formation
sufferedFrom combat fatigue
dysentery
malaria
malnutrition
typhus
supportedBy Kachin guerrillas
Office of Strategic Services
tactics guerrilla-style hit-and-run attacks
jungle warfare
long-distance foot marches
theater China-Burma-India Theater
type light infantry
long-range penetration unit
underCommandOf Allied South East Asia Command
General Joseph Stilwell

Referenced by (3)

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