The information given in this document is not to be communicated either directly or indirectly to the press or to any person not holding an official position in the service of the Government of India/ State Government of the Union of India. PRE STAFF COURSE - 2015 MIL HISTORY AUTOBIOGRAPHY FIELD MARSHALL THE VISCOUNT WILLIAM SLIM PUBLISHED BY THE DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF MILITARY TRAINING (MT-2) INTEGRATED HEADQUARTERS OF MoD (ARMY) i MIL HISTORY AUTOBIOGRAPHY FIELD MARSHALL THE VISCOUNT WILLIAM SLIM TABLE OF CONTENTS S No Chapter Contents Page No 1. Chapter 1 Introduction 1-2 2. Chapter 2 Early Life till the Burma Campaign: 3-12 Opportunities And Lessons Learnt (1891-1942) 3. Chapter 3 The Burma Campaign: Retreat (15 January to 13-24 15 May 1942) 4. Chapter 4 The Burma Campaign: Rebuild (16 May 1942 25-30 to 15 October 1943) 5. Chapter 5 The Burma Campaign: Redemption 31-73 (16 October 1943 to 14 August 1945) 6. Chapter 6 Evaluation of Slim as a Military Leader 74-82 7. Chapter 7 Conclusion 83-86 8. Chapter 8 Questionnaire 87 ii ILLUSTRATIONS S No Sketch Page No 88 1. Sketch 1- Map of Gallabat, 1940 2. Sketch 2- Map of Deir-Ez-Zor, 1941 89 3. Sketch 3- Burma And South-East Asia, December 1941 90 4. Sketch 4- Japanese Onslaught, December 1941-May 1942 91 5. Sketch 5- Japanese Ha-Go Offensive, February 1944 92 6. Sketch 6- Operation Thursday, February 1944 93 7. Sketch 7- Japanese Thrust on Imphal-Kohima 94 8. Sketch 8- Capital and Extended Capital 95 9. Sketch 9- Advance To Rangoon 96 1 CHAPTER - 1 INTRODUCTION 1. „Who‟s who‟ has him thus : Slim, I Vice (1960, U.K.), Field Marshal Sir William Joseph Slim, K.G, G.C.B, G.C.M.G, G.C.V.O, G.B.E, D.S.O, M.C. Out of all the above decorations he valued most the Military Cross. This decoration was won by him for extraordinary gallantry as a young subaltern in the First World War; and this gives an insight into the man himself - a “fighting soldier”, a “soldier‟s soldier” through and through. 2. Field Marshal Sir WJ Slim was one of the greatest field commander produced by any country during the Second World War. As a man he possessed charms of manner, a high degree of moral integrity, and a quiet self-effacing style. He was a natural gentleman sensitive to others feelings and was selfless to a fault. This helped him to identify himself with all types of men and lead them by example. As a soldier, he was first and foremost a professional who believed and insisted upon highest standards. The driving force of his military character was his instincts which were enhanced by his immense operational experience and soldiering. He possessed a fine judgment of what was practical. His genius leadership qualities, by which he won loyalty and respect of his men who fought under him, he was indeed one of the greatest military leader and a field commander. 3. Though Slim rose to the highest rank in the British Army, the Chief of Imperial General Staff, he was basically a field Commander who wanted to remain with his troops more than anything else in the world as illustrated by the following incident :- “Slim had been summoned to the Whitehall. Usually, when he returned from such occasions he would sit down with his wife and quietly give her the gist of his visit. But this time he remained silent, bemused. His air was so disconcerting that she asked him if anything was wrong. He said, “I will no more be with my men - they have made me the Commander-in-Chief.” 4. Though all the world knows him as the Commander of the British 14th Army which smashed the Japanese on the bloody plains of Imphal and drove them all the way to Rangoon and then out of Burma. Yet, not many people are aware that he was once an office boy, a school teacher, and the foreman of a testing gang in an engineering works: also a lance corporal in the Royal Warwicks and was, “busted” down to “Private”: and, was severely wounded at Gallipoli and discharged as “Unfit for further Military Service” but reappeared in Mesopotamia by un divulged means. 5. Slims life was multifaceted and intriguing. He hailed from a poor family with a burning ambition to be an officer in the army. However his father was unable to support his son since joining Sandhurst alone was not sufficient. The reasons were social and economic, for in 1890s the son of a man modestly engaged in the wholesale hardware trade had no respect for becoming an officer. Thus Slim was compelled to begin his career with a meager employment in industry. Against such a background the odds were heavily against him. Nevertheless his achievements in his distinguished military career demonstrated his resolve to withstand adverse situation and his will to win despite heavy odds. Since his commissioning into the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, Slim displayed a variety of attributes of an accomplished officer, among which leadership remained the most impressionable. 2 This quality displayed during his initial military adventures on the Gallipoli Peninsula, during World War I underwent tremendous refinement during the subsequent years, including the period between the world wars. Slims exploits in Burma during the second World War were a culmination of display of refined leadership qualities which played significant role in dislodging the Japanese from Burma. Thus it would be prudent to assess Slim‟s leadership qualities spanning his outstanding military career, since this attribute became almost synonymous with the life and achievements of Field Marshal WJ Slim. 6. The study of biography of such a military leader is of immense value to all of us to inculcate in us some of his good qualities. The military career of Slim cannot be divorced from the Burma Campaign. Hence the two can be found intermingled in the course of this study at one point or the other. 3 CHAPTER - 2 EARLY LIFE TILL THE BURMA CAMPAIGN: OPPORTUNITIES AND LESSONS LEARNT (1891-1942) 1. To critically analyze a specific period in one‟s life or career, it is necessary to review their past. This is especially true in analyzing military leadership. There are many factors that influence a person‟s leadership ability, style, and philosophy. These include family, religion, education, relationships with others, and prior experience and opportunities. In the case of Field Marshal William Slim, all of these factors influenced how he approached his leadership actions while commanding the British 14 Army during World War II‟s Burma Campaign. This chapter focuses on these factors and how they combined to shape Slim‟s leadership style and philosophy prior to his assumption of command of the 14 Army. 2. In summarizing the life of William Slim from 1891 to 1942, two related concepts come to mind, opportunities, and lessons learned. These opportunities and subsequent lessons learned are critical and intriguing in three aspects. First, is Slim‟s ability to create opportunities for himself? Slim‟s sheer determination and desire created opportunities seemingly unavailable to him. Second, is his good luck or fortune in having opportunities come to him. The old adage, being in the right place at the right time, applied for Slim a few key times in his life. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Slim seems to have made the most out of these opportunities. This chapter will stress the fact that win or lose, Slim learned from each opportunity and drew on these lessons to shape his leadership and decision-making during the Burma Campaign. 3. It is always interesting to discover that many historic military leaders had at an early age the ambition of becoming a Soldier. Once again, this is the case with Slim. From early on, his ambition was to become an officer. Perhaps, the spark for this interest was nightly reading by his father to him. In particular, Slim had great interest in a journal called British Battles by Land and Sea. This is reinforced by a comment he made later in his life when he was asked about when he first began taking an interest in soldiering and the impact of the journal. He states, “Almost every battle, from Saxons and Normans lambasting one with great axes at Hastings to Wolseley-helmeted British soldiers firing steady volleys into charging Fuzzy-Wuzzies in the Sudan, I was there. I pored over these pictures and through them I first began to daydream of myself as a soldier. In my childishly romantic visions I saw myself plunging forward in the most desperate assaults, while somewhere in the background bands played, men ” cheered and colours waved. 4. Unfortunately for Slim, it appeared his dream of becoming an officer would go unfulfilled. In relative terms, it was a matter of simple economics and social standing. First, Slim came from a family of very modest means. The traditional way of becoming an officer at the time was attendance at Sandhurst. Sandhurst‟s tuition was too expensive for his family and most, if not all slots, had heavy family influence, so this door was shut. Second, it was essential for an officer to have a private means of supplementing his officers pay, so he could experience a standard of living expected of an officer during the period. Again, his family could not afford any type of stipend to assist in a young British officer‟s lifestyle. It appeared the opportunity for an officer‟s commission was not feasible for Slim.