Behind Japanese Lines; With the OSS in Burma

Chicago, IL: Rand McNally & Company, 1970. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 448 pages. Endpaper maps, Maps. Illustrations. Glossary. Bibliography. Index. Richard Dunlop was the author of many history books, a freelance journalist for the Chicago Tribune and a past president of the Society of Midland Authors. He was awarded back-to-back Mark Twain Travel Writers Grand Awards. Originally destined for duty with the OSS in China, Dunlop found himself in the summer of 1944, following the lead of a Kachin Guerrilla along a Burmese jungle path as they infiltrated the Japanese lines. Until the end of the war he lived behind Japanese lines, sometimes at 101 base camps, but more often in the jungle with the Kachins. Dunlop and his Kachin Rangers participated in the fierce battle preceding the opening of the Ledo-Burma Road, particularly by providing intelligence for Merrill's Marauders. In the spring of 1945 the American-Kachin Rangers came out of the jungle to fight as infantry in stopping a surprise Japanese counterattack, for which they were awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. After the recapture of Burma, Dunlop worked with the OSS in China and on a special mission for Donovan in Greece before returning to the United States. He then had a successful career as a writer. The extraordinary firsthand account of an American special forces unit in the jungles of southeast Asia and their guerilla operations against the Japanese during World War II! In early 1942, with World War II going badly, President Roosevelt turned to General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, now known historically as the "Father of Central Intelligence," with orders to form a special unit whose primary mission was to prepare for the eventual reopening of the Burma Road linking Burma and China by performing guerilla operations behind the Japanese lines. Thus was born OSS Detachment 101, the first clandestine special force formed by Donovan and one that would play a highly dangerous but vital role in the reconquest of Burma by the Allies. Behind Japanese Lines, originally published in 1979, is the exciting story of the men of Detachment 101, who, with their loyal native allies-the Kachin headhunters-fought a guerilla war for almost three years. It was a war not only against a tough and unyielding enemy, but against the jungle itself, one of the most difficult and dangerous patches of terrain in the world. Exposed to blistering heat and threatened by loathsome tropical diseases, the Western-raised OSS men also found themselves beset by unfriendly tribesmen and surrounded by the jungle's unique perils-giant leeches, cobras, and rogue tigers. Not merely a war narrative, Behind Japanese Lines is an adventure story, the story of unconventional men with an almost impossible mission fighting an irregular war in supremely hostile territory. Drawing upon the author's own experiences as a member of Detachment 101, interviews with surviving 101 members, and classified documents, Dunlop's tale unfolds with cinematic intensity, detailing the danger, tension, and drama of secret warfare. Never before have the activities of the OSS been recorded in such authentic firsthand detail.