The China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater is one of the least researched areas of operation during the Second World War. In particular the Burma and India part. I feel that there are several reasons for this. First of all, it was an area of operations that only 'worked' for part of the year. The annual monsoons of May-October pretty well turned the area into a quagmire of water and mud. Doing any large-scale operations during that time was nearly impossible as roads and runways were impassable and unusable.

Secondly, it is looked upon as a British area of influence. While it is true that General Lord Mountbatten was the main man in charge, there was a sizeable US presence in the area as well, mostly to make sure that the Chinese were supplied by flying materiel over the Himalayas, or the "Hump".

It was also an area where the US was willing to try new things to overcome the physical demands the terrain placed upon operations. It is important to know what the lay of the land is like in that part of the world. The area is hilly and mountainous. There are few roads and rail lines. Because the mountains and hills run mostly north and south, moving west to east to push out the Japanese is very difficult. Most movement goes along the three major rivers in Burma and those are nearly impassable during the monsoons due to flooding.

It was hear that General Wingate decided that the only kind of successful operations in the area would be by relatively small forces that would rely on insertion, removal and supply from the air. His plan was to put forces behind enemy lines  to create havoc with the enemy's supply lines and then get out. This idea was put to General Arnold in the US and together they devised Project 9, which was basically a highly mobile fighting force complete with its own transportation and services.

 This unit was tied in directly with the Chindits and Merril's Marauders; groups most of us have heard about. It is also the unit upon which the comic 'Terry and the Pirates' was based. Were it not for this group (which supplied all Allied ground operations in Burma, from the smallest to the largest via the air), there would have been no ground war in Burma.

The air component of this force was the 5318th Provision Unit (Air), which was the 1st Air Commando Group. This group contained fighters, bombers, transports, gliders and liaison aircraft. Specifically P-51A, B-25H, C-47, Waco Hadrians, and L-5s. The book then goes on to chronicle the events, men and equipment used by the 1st Air Commando Group from inception in 1943 to its disbanding in late 1945.  

This is really not a book for the modeler. Sure, you will find a nice selection of images that will be helpful, but that is not its purpose. The author really brings to light the operations of the force and along the way, you get a history of the Burma campaign. The tales of heroism, political intrigue are throughout the book and make for 'jolly good' reading. A lot of the book focuses on the pilots of the liaison squadrons, most of whom were sergeants. It is understandable as the author's father  or grandfather was a pilot in one of those squadrons. 

As for some stats on the book. It is hardbound, 172 pages, well edited, has lots of pictures that I had never seen before, is printed on quality paper, and is well laid out. There were only a couple of things I found that I didn't like.  The maps in the book are cheesy. They were taken from a cheap computer map program and are pretty miserable quality. They are also hard to read and generally pretty useless in anything more than very general use. I'd rather have seen line drawings that you could read. Maybe this is an example of 'hurry up and get it to press'. I don't know, but it does add to Schiffer's spotty reputation. One thing I found most annoying was the many different ways the author referred to the Japanese. He referred to 'aircraft of the Rising Sun', 'the Nipponese Army', 'Nippon pilots', 'soldiers of the Emperor', and so on. Give me a break!  Just call them the Japanese! Didn't have this problem using 'British' or 'American'. I didn't read of soldiers of the King or the President's pilots. Geez!

That little rant aside, it was a fascinating read despite the miserable maps. I learned more about the Burma campaign through this book than several others I have read on the subject. If you really want to know about the 1st Air Commandos and the Burma campaign, then buy this book.

Review copy courtesy of me and my credit card!

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