V-Force or 'V' Force in Burma / India

Asked this week to research an officer who the family say served with 'V' Force in Burma and Borneo, but died in October 1945. A separate thread created: Captain Cecil Warwick Strong, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry & 'V' Force

I had not heard of this "behind the lines" formation, so dug away. They do appear in a few threads here, so there is some duplication.

In summary: An intelligence gathering organisation established by the British in Burma. Organised in 6 Area Commands. Each Area had a commander, second-in-command, adjutant, quartermaster, medical officer with 4 platoons (about 100 men) of Assam Rifles and anything up to 1,000 enlisted guerillas or auxiliaries.

The website is the work of a late ex-UK SF member and is maintained by his son. It includes a Roll of Honour which includes five ‘V’ Force members (not CWS). There are a small number of short profiles[1] which vividly illustrate what they did in Burma 1944-1945.

From: V FORCE

‘V’ Force was formed 1/4/42 in Cinnamara, Assam and disbanded 15/1/46 at Kentung, Shan State, northern Burma. From: Minden Militaria

The beginnings of ‘V’ Force: Even as the IJA solidified collaboration with lowland Burmese, Allied agents

were setting up behind-the-lines resistance. In retreat, the British disbanded regular tribal battalions, but veterans were integrated into irregular “levy” units forming a defensive screen around Japanese-held territory. In north Burma it was Kachin Levies; to the east, Karen Levies; in the northwestern hills, Chin Levies supported by the Burma Frontier Force; and in the Upper Chindwin and Naga Hills of the India-Burma border it was the stay-behind “V” Force supported by the Assam Rifles, and intelligence-gathering “Z” Force. Levy recruits, including village headmen, police, and retired soldiers, were primarily used for patrol duties, though many saw action when front lines crossed their territory.

From Ch. 3 ‘Combat in Indigenous Homelands’ in a 2022 book: ‘War at the Margins: Indigenous Experiences in World War II’ from University of Hawai'i Press. See: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/5/oa_monograph/chapter/3178782/pdf and the book is available: https://library.oapen.org/bitstream...6683/9780824891794.pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y

Why was V Force created? Rumours were rife that the Japanese would push across the border and break through the gateway of India. If India fell, the British war in the east - and the Empire itself - would be finished. But where along the long border would the Japanese come through? It was imperative that the British receive the earliest possible intelligence of such an offensive. Accordingly, a special guerilla troop called V Force was set up to patrol the Naga Hills both sides of the border. Native tribesmen, led by British officers, were recruited to patrol the impenetrable jungle and provide early warning of a Japanese invasion.

In the event, three Japanese divisions totaling more than 80,000 men crossed into India further east, overrunning several V Force camps.

Extracted from: Road of Bones: The Siege Of Kohima 1944. The Epic Story Of The Last Great Stand Of Empire, by Fergal Keane. Pub. 2010. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Bones-Siege-Kohima-Empire/dp/0007132409

Keane also refers to the Imphal & Kohima battles between March-July 1944, and during the Japanese retreat her detachment harassed them. The lady is identified and explained in a Kohima Educational Trust link to the film produced by The Royal British Legion in 2020 which tells extraordinary story of Ursula Graham Bower and the role of the Naga people in the fight against the Imperial Japanese Army in India and Burma. See: Ursula Graham Bower and the Nagas - Kohima Educational Trust and Ursula Graham Bower, M.B.E. - Kohima

There is a detailed article by a military historian and a member here I know ‘The advance towards Kohima: The Japanese advance and the heroic stand of the 1st Battalion The Assam Regiment at Jessami and Kharasom’ which refers to the role of ‘V’ Force initially their intelligence role and then combat at Kohima. See: Request Rejected

He has a second article ‘Operation Character in 1945’ which refers to the action of local levies and the role of ‘V’ Force in the Karen Hills.See: http://www.kaiserscross.com/304501/586001.htm

A US Army officer’s 2021 staff college thesis ‘Allied Special Operations and Their Effects on Japanese Strategy: Northern Burma, 1942-1945’ gives context to ‘V’ Force – which is referred to five times: For example: In May 1943, to augment exhausted British forces defending the Burma-India border, SOE India Mission recruited and trained over one thousand indigenous guerrilla fighters from eastern India, who they combined with five battalions of the Assam Rifles to form the East Bengal Guerrilla Force. Transferred to Army control in July, the force became known as V-Force and conducted intelligence collection, weather reporting, and pilot rescue from a series of observation posts ahead of the Imphal front.

From: Defense Technical Information Center

Command & Control became an issue and Kaisercross 2nd article has a passage of note: In June 1944 Lieutenant General W.J. “Bill” Slim, the commander of the British Fourteenth Army in the Burma theatre, became exasperated with the lack of sound intelligence on Japanese intentions. Although SOE was not tasked in an intelligence role Slim’s complaints led to a review of which secret organisations were doing what, and the findings were….

Each of these twelve organisations competed for suitable personnel and resources, particularly air support, but the quality of the results obtained varied considerably across the theatre. Meanwhile effort was being needlessly duplicated… providing good value for money, SOE was not, and he wanted SOE activities subordinated to and directed by military formations. An attempt to combine operational and administrative aspects of the secret organizations failed because basically it was ‘too difficult’ for the staff officers involved. The final compromise reached was that the administrative status quo remained but SOE’s primary function was intelligence provision, and in the battle area SOE came under the direct command of Fourteenth Army and XV Corps. From then on SOE parties were specifically tasked to directly support advancing British formations, with a priority being the provision of accurate information leading to successful airstrikes on suitable enemy targets.

From: Request Rejected

Comment: These issues were not resolved till May 1945 (as follows).

In mid-1942, SIS in Asia adopted the same cover-name employed by SIS at GHQ Middle East, namely the 'Inter-Service Liaison Department' (ISLD). For the rest of the war the terms 'SIS' and 'ISLD' were used inter-changeably in Asia. Similarly SOE went by the local name of 'Force 136' in this part of the world, while the MIg escape organization chose the name 'E Group'.

‘This was likely to be SOE who would also absorb local army reconnaissance groups like 'Z' Force and 'V' Force.’ (A decision taken in May 1945, applying to Burma).

From: Britain's Secret Intelligence Service in Asia During the Second World War by Richard Aldrich, in ‘Modern Asia Studies’ 1998. See: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/people/aldrich/publications/mas.sis.pdf

There is an apparent list of SOE agents via: The Most Secret List of Soe Agents: S | PDF | Political Movements | History & Theory Registration is needed, I have not accessed this.

There are two known files at TNA: Burma: Special Forces: `V' Force: Assam Zone 'A' Group | The National Archives and Burma clandestine organisations: operations of Force 136: V Force and Z Force (WO 106/5838). See: Burma clandestine organisations: operations of Force 136: V Force and Z Force | The National Archives

There is a 2024 book ‘The Gaidinliu Uprising in British India: Encountering the Millenarian’ by Sajal Nag. It contains numerous ‘V’ Force references, visible in an online version via Google Books.

Three books – not available online - were identified on ‘V’ Force.

Burma Outpost by Anthony Irwin, ex-‘V’ Force and published in 1946. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Burmese-Outpost-Anthony-Irwin/dp/B0007JMVJC ww2talk.com ember wtd45 may have this book.Anthony Irwin BEF Officer, Commando, Glider Pilot Officer and Military Cross

By ww2talk.com member Rothy: "The Raiders of the Arakan" by C.E. Lucas Phillips[2]. The book is about Major Denis Holmes who fought with "V" Force in the Arakan. Post 15 has a short passage from a book on why ‘V’ Force was created by TimUK: extracted from WW2 Stories - The Banzai Hunters by Peter Haining. From: Burma Terminology, Definitions Required.

‘Undercover In the Jungle’ by John Bowen[3], published in 1978, with one complimentary review – which notes it is a rare book. The author was a South Africa-born British Indian Army officer who served with ‘V’ Force . For a brief outline, including the author’s commendation for a Military Cross see: V FORCE - Gebhard, John Leslie

There are a number of ww2talk.com threads which offer information:

‘V’ Force appears in this thread, minus anything else than the name and two links. From: https://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/special-forces-in-burma.17075/ The links being: https://burmastarmemorial.org/ (inactive now) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_Force

Post 83 refers to MC awarded to another V Force officer: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/portsmouth-war-dead-project.18206/page-5

Post 8 lists a V Force detachment being at Kohima in the battle. From: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/battalions-at-kohima.52566/

Post 1 refer to a V Force detachment created at Imphal. See: https://www.ww2talk.com/index.php?threads/v-force-lt-sw-fraser-smith-mc.73206/

A MC awarded to another officer: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?thread...al-warwickshire-regiment-v-force-burma.97900/

Post 8 has an extract from an April 1944 Corps War Diary how V Force worked in Assam, citing one pg. from WO172/4587. From: http://ww2talk.com/index.php?thread...lled-in-manipur-april-1944.76489/#post-822376

There are a small number of other online sources available (this is not an exhaustive list):

A short early 1944 story of a native traitor in the Arakan, Burma, he agreed to return and then escaped! See: https://www.combinedops.com/574 FS SECTION.htm Treachery was not unknown and once a local tribe defected to the Japanese and wiped out 'V' Force outposts near Imphal / Kohima.

A long article on one British officer’s service to support the Chindits and then with ‘V’ Force. See: https://www.chinditslongcloth1943.c...t-frederick-andrew-forbes-burnett-dso-mc.html

There is a (partial) online list of the medals awarded to the unit’s members from Burma. See: https://www.angloburmeselibrary.com/world-war-2-awards.html

Some officers served for short period, e.g. Major L. J. F. 'Leav' Taylor : He was commissioned in 1941 into the 7th Gurkha Rifles an along with Jimmy Patrick was posted to Shillong, Assam to join the 1st Battalion. He was then seconded to V Force early in 1942, and joined Moke Murray on patrols in the Kabaw Valley. He continued his excellent work with V Force until after the Japanese were stopped at Imphal, earning a Mention in Despatches. He then returned to the 1st Battalion which was with 48 Brigade in 17 Indian Division. From: https://spink.com/lot/21001000632

A 2007 obituary of one officer, Major John Salmon, who later served in the ‘Malayan Emergency’. See: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1556591/Major-John-Salmon.html (behind a pay wall).

Searching online for V Force it appears to be better to use ‘V’ and the second hit is to the Kohima Educational Trust, in particular a British military historian, Dr. Robert Lyman – who gives a YouTube talk on them (1h 19m) Not yet listened to. There is a link to a nine page 1945 document, which was never published and indicates the names of those involved was kept secret. See: https://www.kohimaeducationaltrust.org/resource-material/documents/v-force-by-gordon-graham-1945.pdf


[1] A wartime casualty British officer’s medals sold in 2017 has a description of the actions: Seen 19/3 and gone 20/3/24 and unable to trace on the website: https://auctions.bamfordsauctions.c...and-grand-tour-auction-of-curiositi-lot-3812/

[2] This is a 2021 edition on Kindle, other versions are available. The author was a WW2 British Army gunner and authored many books. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095PSS...54138266b9d8b&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

[3] See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product...p=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0718302265

 

The Chindit connection and Borneo / Sarawak

In my research there was a reference[1] to ‘V’ Force being trained by Brigadier James Michael Calvert[2], aka ‘Mad Mike’, whose career is well-documented elsewhere and who was one of the senior commanders in The Chindits – they too are well documented[3]. Calvert had been involved earlier in WW2 with training “behind the lines” or resistance elements, particularly in the use of explosives and bobby traps.

Comment: It appears later in the war Force 136 took over the training of ‘V’ Force. It is possible some transferred to Force 136 and ended up in Borneo to re-establish British rule.

The Chindits after two operations in Burma, with heavy casualties, were finally disbanded in February 1945, with the personnel reassigned to combat and support units.

The British command and involvement in the Dutch East Indies, Sarawak and Borneo came very late just before VJ-Day. It was the Australians who had the lead in Borneo and Sarawak, conducting two landings there and liberated those POWs who had survived.


[1] After listing the four irregular units conducting special operations in Burma, so including ‘V’ Force the implication is made: ‘the Bush Warfare School at Maymo busy training guerrilla soldiers under the supervision of the school commander, Major Michael Calvert.’ From: April 16, 2011 – Achilles the Heel

[2] Summary of service from the introduction to his Oral History interviews: British officer served with London Divisional Engineers in Norway, 1940; officer served with Special Operations Executive in GB, Australia and Burma, 1940-1942; officer served with Chindits in India and Burma, 1942-1944; officer served with Special Air Service in GB, North-West Europe and Norway, 1944-1945. Via: 'Mad Mike' Calvert Interviews

[3] A starting point is: Chindits - Wikipedia and the multiple threads on ww2talk.com

 

I am grateful for the members who have added their posts, they gave me a starting point.

I have kept back one section as it is incomplete and awaiting an update.

 

After reading the book, Burma Outpost a goodly number of years ago, I recorded for my files, all the V Force related war diaries I could find available at the National Archives. Hopefully these might add to your excellent thread:

 

bamboo43,

Thanks, I doubt my next steps include the War Diaries. I know one member has posted that is the only way to find confirmation a person was with them.

 

Lt-General Slim's Order of the Day, to the HQ V Force dated 31 August 1944:

 

"The Raiders of the Arakan" by C.E. Lucas Phillips is available as a Text to Borrow in the Internet Archive The raiders of Arakan : Phillips, C. E. Lucas (Cecil Ernest Lucas), 1898- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The other two books have both been digitised by Google Books, but due to copyright reasons are not currently available to me, or I would think most people, unless you live somewhere the copyright rules are different, but I will give both URLs . Both books should be out of copyright eventually
Burma Outpost by Anthony Stuart Irwin Burmese Outpost
A few sample pages are in this link https://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/Anthony_Irwin-1945-Burmese_Outpost-en-red-tu.pdf

‘Undercover In the Jungle’ by John Bowen 1978 Undercover in the Jungle

The following link has some mentions of V Force, https://www.networkmyanmar.org/ESW/Files/peter-murray-1980.pdf and there is reference to book at the end, Malayan Spymaster by Boris Hembry 2011 , for which there are some sample pages available Google Books Malayan Spymaster

Maureen

 

Thanks for yet another excellent heads up Maureen.