World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics

Publication Date: 3/10/2007
Book Author: Stephen Bull
Publisher: Osprey Publishing

introduction

World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics covers the experiences of the US, British, Japanese, and Commonwealth troops and examines how the tactics on both sides developed over the course of the war. Dr. Stephen Bull is Curator of Military History and Archaeology for Lancashire County Museums. Among the author's other books are four Osprey titles, two on World War I trench warfare and two on World War II infantry tactics.

World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics describes and illustrates the slow and difficult learning curve followed by the Allies in the mid-war years as they fought to end the Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. Researched from actual wartime training documents and front-line memoirs, the author explains how the British, Australian, and US armies transformed their tactics, attitudes, and equipment to master the art of jungle warfare. In 1944-45 the Allies finally conquered the jungle environment, exploiting their new strengths and their enemy's weaknesses, to win victories in Burma and on the Pacific islands. Coincidentally, the recent issue of Armchair General highlights the leadership of General (later Field Marshal) William J. Slim, commander of Burma Corps and then XV Corps and then Fourteenth Army during this period, which put me in an appropriate jungle warfare state-of-mind while reading through this book.

The Jungle Environment

The difficult jungle battlefield was an enemy all by itself to both sides. The opening sections of the book describe the particular challenges in these harsh surroundings, including the logistics and transportation problems each side faced. Since combat was usually characterized by close fighting, it was performed largely by infantry and mostly by infantry alone since support by other arms was frequently impractical or impossible.

Jungle terrain imposed three major limitations upon the infantry that fought there. First was the lack of visibility and fields of fire. Second was the sheer remoteness and obstruction to transport. Third was the tropical climate itself with its high humidity, insects, stagnant water, and an associated array of debilitating diseases such as cholera, typhus, and malaria.

Development of Jungle Warfare Tactics

The author presents a balanced examination of all sides throughout the entire war, concisely covered in 64 pages. There are 62 black and white photos and illustrations throughout, plus another eight beautiful color plate illustrations by award-winning Steve Noon with detailed plate commentaries for each. For example, an illustration of Australian section tactics in 1943 has commentary describing the section advancing on jungle track, section deployment upon contact, section deployment for penetration, and section holding position. A picture is often worth a thousand words, but having some words also helps to fully understand what is being illustrated.

World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics is organized into six major sections which detail the history and evolution of jungle warfare:

• Allied Failure, 1941-42, covers British Empire forces’ experience in Malaya and their lack of centralized doctrine and training which led to their defeat. This section also covers US forces, primarily FM 31-20 Jungle Warfare released just after the Pearl Harbor attack and the subsequent changes needed during 1942-43.
• Japanese Success, 1941-42, covers Japanese offensive tactics, ambush and deception, and machine gun tactics. Interestingly, Japanese troops were not specially 'jungle trained' but most had combat experience from the long war against China. The mainstay of Japanese tactical doctrine was the primacy of attack, which the Allies would have to learn the hard way.
• Allied Reaction, 1942-43, covers British 'stay-behinds,' British 1942 training manuals and Australian contributions, particularly the Canungra jungle warfare training course and the 1943 6th Australian Division Training Instruction with its analysis of Japanese tactics. This section also covers the early American response and development of tank-infantry tactics for the jungle.
• Long Range Penetration, 1943-43, covers Major General Orde Wingate and his Indian 'Chindits', as well as Operations 'Longcloth' and 'Thursday'. Wingate's 77th Indian Infantry Brigade, named from the mythical beasts whose statues guard the entrances of Burmese temples, conducted deep penetrations with columns of about 400 troops.
• FM 72-20: US Tactics, 1944, covers the definitive US Army Jungle Warfare manual which appeared in October 1944. This manual was based on experience gained by the 5307th Composite Unit, known as 'Merrill's Marauders', and covered weapons and clothing, defensive tactics, and patrol tactics.
• To The Last Man, 1944-45, covers the end-war tactical conservatism and logistics failure of the Japanese, improvement of Allied small unit tactics, Japanese defensive tactics, and the bunker-busting techniques and tank-infantry cooperation of the Allied assault teams. This is a fascinating description of the desperate measures and counter-measures which evolved over the last couple years of the war, and ultimately moved decisively in favor of the Allies.

closing

In my prior life as an infantry officer, I attended Ranger School and the Army's Jungle Operations Training Center in Panama and so learned first-hand many of the fundamentals of jungle warfare and the challenges infantry face in that environment. I had read about Merrill's Marauders and seen the movie. I especially recall one tough 10 km movement over rugged jungle hills in Panama with a 60mm mortar tube slung over my shoulders in addition to everything else I was humping, and I must confess it was nothing compared to what many of the soldiers had to deal with while fighting the Japanese. These memories all came rushing back as I read through World War II Jungle Warfare Tactics and Armchair General. Infantry tactics based on different terrain environments are always interesting to learn about, and this latest book by Osprey Publishing is another worthy addition to one's library of references.

Related Reading

Defeat into Victory, Sir William Slim, Cassell & Co. Ltd, London, 1956 (ISBN-13: 978-1568490779).

About The Author

Bill is a former infantry officer with a keen interest in military history. His wargaming passion began in the 1970s with Tactics II, Third Reich and other Avalon Hill classics. Board games eventually gave way to computer games, as kids and critters took over his life. Through no fault of his own, Bill found himself playtesting for Fury Software (Strategic Command 1 & 2) and Schwerpunkt (Russo-German War, Anglo-German War), and managed to survive the experience. In his spare time when he’s not playtesting or writing manuals or developing custom scenarios, Bill sneaks away to his day job with the federal government. And he actually still plays a variety of wargames, because he’s too lazy to fish.