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Troy J. Sacquety

The OSS in Burma: Jungle War against the Japanese (Modern War Studies) Hardcover – April 18, 2013

by Troy J. Sacquety (Author)

25 ratings

Part of: Modern War Studies (121 books)

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"One could not choose a worse place for fighting the Japanese," said Winston Churchill of North Burma, deeming it "the most forbidding fighting country imaginable." But it was here that the fledgling Office of Strategic Services conducted its most successful combat operations of World War II. Troy Sacquety takes readers into Burma's steaming jungles in the first book to fully cover the exploits and contributions of the OSS's Detachment 101 against the Japanese Imperial Army.

Functioning independently of both the U.S. Army and OSS headquarters—and with no operational or organizational model to follow—Detachment 101 was given enormous latitude in terms of developing its mission and methods. It grew from an inexperienced and poorly supported group of 21 agents training on the job in a lethal environment to a powerful force encompassing 10,000 guerrillas (spread across as many as 8 battalions), 60 long-range agents, and 400 short-range agents. By April 1945, it remained the only American ground force in North Burma while simultaneously conducting daring amphibious operations that contributed to the liberation of Rangoon.

With unrivaled access to OSS archives, Sacquety vividly recounts the 101's story with a depth of detail that makes the disease-plagued and monsoon-drenched Burmese theater come unnervingly alive. He describes the organizational evolution of Detachment 101 and shows how the unit's flexibility allowed it to evolve to meet the changing battlefield environment. He depicts the Detachment's two sharply contrasting field commanders: headstrong Colonel Carl Eifler, who pushed the unit beyond its capabilities, and the more measured Colonel William Peers, who molded it into a model special operations force. He also highlights the heroic Kachin tribesmen, fierce fighters defending their tribal homeland and instrumental in acclimating the Americans to terrain, weather, and cultures in ways that were vital to the success of the Detachment's operations.

While veterans' memoirs have discussed OSS activities in Burma, this is the first book to describe in detail how it achieved its success—portraying an operational unit that can be seen as a prototype for today's Special Forces. Featuring dozens of illustrations, The OSS in Burma rescues from oblivion the daring exploits of a key intelligence and military unit in Japan's defeat in World War II and tells a gripping story that will satisfy scholars and buffs alike.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University Press of Kansas
Publication date

April 18, 2013
Dimensions

6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
ISBN-10

0700619097
ISBN-13

978-0700619092
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This outstanding book provides long overdue recognition to this underappreciated and little-known aspect of World War II and the OSS."--OSS Society Journal

"The OSS in Burma is an outstanding contribution to the history of special operations, the China-Burma-India Theater, and the Second World War."--Army History

"The definitive account of Detachment 101."--The Journal of Military History

"Sacquety's vivid and fascinating tale depicts Detachment 101's evolution from an idiosyncratic, dysfunctional outfit conducting small-scale sabotage to a disciplined and effective clandestine organization running major guerrilla operations behind Japanese lines."--Edward J. Drea, author of Japan's Imperial Army: Its Rise and Fall, 1853-1945

"An excellent account that finally gives this overlooked yet important chapter of the Pacific War the recognition it deserves."--Dixee Bartholomew-Feis, author of The OSS and Ho Chi Minh: Unexpected Allies in the War against Japan

"Sacquety's wide-ranging research, insightful analysis, and entertaining writing make for a great read."--Brian McAllister Linn, author The Philippine War, 1899-1902

About the Author

Troy J. Sacquety is a historian with the United States Army Special Operations Command. He previously worked for the CIA and has been the historian for the OSS Detachment 101 Association for many years.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Kansas; 1st Edition (April 18, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0700619097
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0700619092
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.01 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,455,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,540 in Southeast Asia History
- #3,859 in Political Intelligence
- #3,967 in Japanese History (Books)

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Choclab

Well Done Operational History of a Small Military Unit That Contributed Greatly to the “Forgotten Theater”

Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2021

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My Father, Technical Sergeant William H. McClare Jr. was a liaison pilot with Detachment 101. As a young boy I remember his war experience stories were few and generally would consist of what he learned in flight school and the absolute steadfast admiration he had for the Kachin Rangers In Burma. I think the only time I ever saw this tough man get emotional was a story of a Kachin saving his and another OSS man’s life. After the war he served in the new CIA until the late sixties. He passed away in 1970. We discovered in an old leather US Army folio two Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Air Medal and several lesser awards. I have since added the Presidential Unit Citation to the display as well as a Kachin Ranger shoulder patch. Seeing my nephew graduate from SF Q school after Detachment 101 was mentioned as part of the new Green Berets lineage closed the circle for our Family. Mr. Sacquety for providing another well written history and tribute to this amazing unit!

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Whiskey River

This Is History~Not Hemingway

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2020

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This is an historical account of operations in East India/Southeast Asia during World War Two by special operations units of the United States Office of Strategic Services........ It's not a novel, it's not written with the smoothness or romantic drama of a Steinbeck or Hemingway. It's just a factual expose'............ of tough bastards. Suck on it, or throw it away..... it doesn't matter. Because great men, hard men, resourceful men; will continue to do extraordinary things, regardless of the times, the politics, or the degradation of seemingly stable societies......... if that angers you; they have succeeded....... LOL!!! Take from this, FACTS. It was the only reason it was published.

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P.D. Kelchner

Great informative and well written book.

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2022

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A great well written book. I like that it has pictures of my cousin that I haven't seen in other books. I love reading about what he did and had to endure while serving in Burma during the little known part of WW II

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M. Pitcavage

A stem without the rose

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2013

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My grandfather used to like to tell an old joke about cooking carp. "How do you cook a carp?" he'd ask. Then he would answer his own question: "You cook it on a wooden board until it is nice and brown, then you throw away the carp and eat the board." The humor comes from the implication that carp is so awful, you'd be more grateful for the board.

But that joke would never work if the fish were, say, a fresh, succulent trout. And therein lies the problem with "The OSS in Burma: Jungle War against the Japanese," by Troy J. Sacquety. Sacquety caught himself a fresh, succulent trout and cooked it up right, but has tried to feed us the board instead.

Let me explain what I mean. "The OSS in Burma" is a history, of sorts, of Detachment 101, an OSS unit that successfully raised and organized a massive force of guerrilla fighters in Burma. At first, the guerrillas consisted of Kachins, but more ethnicities were eventually brought into the force composition as time went on and the unit's campaigns left the main Kachin areas of Burma. By 1945, Detachment 101's guerrillas were so successful that they were actually able to transition from guerrilla to conventional warfare and engage in offensive battles against the Japanese Army in northeast and eastern Burma. It was one of the remarkable guerrilla warfare successes of World War II, equaled in the Pacific only by some of the best of the Fil-American guerrilla forces on Luzon in the Philippines (primarily those under Russell Volckmann).

The U.S. Army's Official History volumes of the China-Burma-India theater neglect these guerrillas, as do many other accounts of fighting in Burma. There have been several good memoirs written by participants in these struggles, notably Roger Hilsman's American Guerrilla, Richard Dunlap's Behind Japanese Lines, and William Peers' Behind the Burma Road, but no overall history based on original records. Thus "The OSS in Burma" had the potential to fill a large gap on a fascinating subject.

Does it fill such a gap, however? Sadly, no. "The OSS in Burma" has one massive, fatal flaw. It is not a general history of Detachment 101 or even a combat history of Detachment 101. It is, rather, an organizational or bureaucratic history of the unit.

Think about that for a second. Imagine how you might feel, purchasing a book about, say, the Flying Tigers or Merrill's Marauders or the Chindits (to give some other Burma-related famous units), only to find out that the book doesn't really talk about the unit's operations at all, but only about its organizational structure. Would you be disappointed? In all likelihood you would, whether you are a casual reader or a scholar. That is, however, what we have here. Sacquety has taken a fascinating unit that engaged in combat that, if not unique, was quite rare in the Pacific War, and then not given the reader any of that.

Obviously, some organizational history is important in a history of any unit. And it certainly is appropriate for starting off a history of Detachment 101, which took a long time to form and find its way. Explaining to the reader how it was structured and how the structure changed over time is quite important.

Eventually, however, the reader begins to discover that Sacquety never actually stops discussing organization and structure and starts discussing what the unit actually did and how it operated. The subtitle of the book is "Jungle War against the Japanese," but "war," or even whiffs of gunfire, come far and few between in this account. I say this from memory, as I do not have the book at hand at the moment, so I hope that I am not misremembering, but I believe the book does not have a single map in it.

Oh, the reader will get the *impression* that stuff is going on. Sacquety does mention the first few failed attempts at long range penetration. But by and large, Sacquety simply asserts to the reader that Detachment 101 is doing things, while not actually describing or analyzing those things. For example, the reader learns that part of Detachment 101 was decoding large numbers of Japanese messages. What any of those messages were, how those messages were used, and whether or not they were useful (or what portion of them might have been), is simply not discussed.

More importantly, Sacquety almost entirely leaves out description or analysis of the military operations engaged in by the guerrillas of Detachment 101, whether the early small-scale guerrilla forays, or the much larger conventional actions of 1945. This is really unforgivable. The reader learns about extremely few Detachment 101 officers (including their background or their performance [other than Eiffler, the first commander, or Peers, his successor]), much less the Kachins. I think there may have been only one named Kachin in the entire book. Perhaps there were one or two more, but the Kachins (and all the other guerrillas) are largely non-existent.

This is particularly disappointing, since there is so much to say about these things. Detachment 101 allowed relatively junior officers to organize and lead large numbers of men in combat (more than they typically would have with a regular army unit). Did they rise to the occasion? Were they good or bad? What problems did they encounter? How did they solve them? Detachment 101 also had the unusual situation of American officers commanding men of very different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. How did they do this? How were they effective? What problems emerged?

Then, too, there are the questions about how Detachment 101 fought. How was it armed, to begin with? How was it able to transition into more conventional warfare? In so doing, did its tactics and armaments change? From OTHER sources, but not this book, we learn about how inventive they were, such as airdropping "disposable" 4.2" chemical mortars to use as on-the-spot artillery when needed.

And Sacquety does little more than provide the barest of outlines (again, with no maps) about the Detachment's 1945 campaign. Instead of tracing the history of this rather intriguing military campaign, he almost ignores it, tracing it in a most sketchy and rudimentary fashion.

I would like very much to have been able to recommend this book. The subject, Detachment 101, is a fascinating subject well worthy of a history. That history, alas, remains to be written. All this book does is provide the structural/organizational framework of the unit that may help inform some future historian who will write a true history. The sooner, the better. In the meantime, readers interested in this subject will be far better off seeking some of the memoirs mentioned above than purchasing this volume.

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Phillip R Gonzales

Good read, good reference

Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2015

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Well researched book. Had a chance to meet the author, Troy Sacquety, at Fort Bragg Historical Department. Fascinating to hear how much research went into writing the book. They have Eiflers uniform and document there in the officer. I also purchased Behind the Japanese lines and found descriptions from the Det. 101 medics interesting. I will have to read more by Peers in the future. Good read, good reference...

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2018

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As expected with solid historical and personal details.

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2015

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This book deals with the OSS Detachment 101 headquarters, NOT with the operational teams in the field. It is interesting to see what it takes to exist and support the those field teams and to gather intelligence. So far this is the only book I have seen that covers that subject.

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JM Dubs

Dr. Sacquety is an engaging and knowledgable historian who ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2017

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Dr. Sacquety is an engaging and knowledgable historian who is well placed the know the history of the OSS and how it relates to ARSOF in today's world. Worth the read and your money!

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Steve the history buff

I enjoyed this history of World War two in a largely ...

Reviewed in Australia on December 17, 2014

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I enjoyed this history of World War two in a largely forgotten theatre.I didn't realise that the US played such a large role in the liberation of Burma.Interesting story.

Client d'Amazon

Livre passionnant et très complet sur les opérations de l'OSS (précurseur de la CIA) en Birmanie

Reviewed in France on December 23, 2013

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A côté de son statut d'auteur, Troy Sacquety est le gestionnaire du site Internet de l'OSS / Detachment 101 qui a opéré en Birmanie de 1943 à 1945. Son ouvrage absolument passionnant et extrêmement intéressant est le plus complet qui ait jamais été publié sur le sujet (et aucun autre ne pourra rivaliser avec lui, selon toute probabilité). Le luxe de références qu'il indique peut servir à d'autres. Il m'a fourni quelques indications et des photos complémentaires à ce que je possédais déjà, destiné à paraître au printemps 2014 dans deux numéros du mensuel français 39-45 Magazine, avec beaucoup de photos toutes inédites.
Alain HENRY de FRAHAN

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