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Recollections.
John
Carver
The
3rd Carabiniers POW Dragoon Guards in Burma
The following is a resume of the Burma Campaign as I can remember it in
relation to my own involvement. The events quoted refer to situations which
were, in my mind, memorable and not necessarily battle stories.
Our draft into Burma was
in the charge of Lt Barrow. The first memory was when we had to take a
train from Calcutta, up to Dum Dum, which had a large military aerodrome from
which we were due to embark. According to our information, Dum Dum was a
couple of stops up the line. The train was just about to start from the first
stop, when someone shouted out bloody
hell, this is Dum Dum,
with that, the communication cord was violently pulled by several members of
the party and we started throwing our kit out of the carriage windows. Even
with all that, the train still started to gather speed until Lt Barrow
charged up the platform drew his pistol and fired a shot over the
engine drivers head. I have never seen a train screech to a halt as quickly as
this one did.
Our flight was made into Imphal, which was cut off in all directions
and, as we made our approach, we could see the flashes from the guns where
there must have been an engagement. We landed safely, and heard the news that
there was a battle going on at a hill called Numshigum
The Regimental HQ was in Oyster box, from there we were posted to our
Squadrons. Imphal only had two armoured regiments One was the 7th Indian Light
Cavalry which had Stuart tanks and our own Regiment which had the American Lee
tank.
My first posting was to A Squadron where we were involved in the
battle for Potsangbam (known as Pots and pans to the troops) I was then used
as the 75mm gun loader. After that, I was sent to join B Squadron on the
Silchar track,
The Regiment did not fight as a single unit, because it had to use
each squadron separately in order to cover different areas where their
support was required. B squadron was covering the Silchar track
area where there was a lot of activity going on. Gradually B squadron
moved on down the Imphal plain to Bishenpur where there
was again a lot resistance to overcome. After Bishenpur, we moved on
down the road to Ningthoukong.
During this period, the monsoon rains were one of our biggest problems because
the ground was soon churned up, resulting with the tanks having to plough
through mud which came well above their tracks. This however did not deter us.
It
was on the 12th June and we were on early morning stand to in the
village of Ningthoukong when Lt Allen came back to the tank and ordered us to
start up as there was some enemy activity just down the road. We then had to
proceed south down the road where the activity was. We had not gone far before
we were struck by an anti tank shell which was fired from a captured British
anti-tank gun. This shell penetrated the hull jamming the steering so that we
were unable to go forward or reverse in a straight line. This stopped us in
our tracks. Seconds later, an enemy tank came out of the bush and landed a
shot between the sponson and the track. The result was that our wireless was
put out of action and there was damage to the Homelite the battery charging
machine. Seconds later, another shell landed in practically the same spot and
ignited the petrol from the charger. All of the crew managed to bale out with
Lt Allen being severely wounded, Trooper Marshall had a tank rivet buried in
his chest and his right arm was badly smashed I escaped with burns and splash
wounds. That put me out of action for a bit. It was here that Ganju Lama of
the 7th Ghurkha Rifles won his VC. He knocked out the enemy tank in
question with his piat gun thus saving us from any further disaster.
The Regiment proceeded south engaging in many battles.
C Squadron made history by having a tank engagement above the
clouds on Kennedy Peak.
Another experience which we found rather hair raising, was when the
tanks were loaded on transporters to make our way through the Kabaw valley.
This road was very tortuous, being cut into the hillside, with a sheer cliff
on one side and a precipitous drop on the other and no room to manoeuvre.
It had extremely sharp bends, so much so that many times, some of the
wheels of the transporters were actually hanging
over the edge unsupported. The valleys below were littered with
vehicles which did not make it for some reason or another. What made it worse
was that the tank crews had to stay on their tanks and were not allowed to
dismount.
When I returned to the Regiment, after being patched up, I rejoined
B Squadron and the advance continued with the squadron being involved in
several conflicts. There was another incident, which will forever be a major
memory. It was the night before Christmas eve, and we were lying up in a
chaung (dried up river bed). 2nd Div had already broken through at
Kohima and we now had the benefit of the support of their men and equipment
which was very morale boosting. There was a full moon which reflected on the
silver sand on the ground and made it look like snow.
In such an atmosphere, singing carols was a natural expression of the
high morale which was enjoyed by us all.
The bubble burst the very next day, Christmas eve, when we ran into an
enemy ambush. Our Squadron Leader Major Huntley Wright had to leave his tank
to discuss the situation. Sadly it was during this meeting that he was badly
shot up and was killed. Naturally,
it was a tragic blow to the squadron as the major was an extremely liked
and respected officer. One month afterwards, on the 24th
January, Lt Barrow was killed by a snipers bullet. He was a very courageous
and dedicated officer, who was also highly regarded by his men.
Luckily the Regiment was well supplied with food and materials. A lot
of the time this was accomplished with air drops. However, we never wasted the
opportunity to forage for the extra change in our diet. One opportunity came
when we were in a mopping up situation close to the Irrawaddy river. There was
a tributary close to our box which ran into the main river so a few of us
decided to go fishing. As we
had no fishing tackle, it was decided that two or three mills 36 grenades
would be used. The outcome was successful as we caught sufficient fish to feed
the squadron. On our return to camp, we passed a solitary fisherman using
normal tackle. We drew his attention to our catch which was threaded on two
long bamboo poles. The comeback to this event was that orders were issued to
the effect that the 36 grenade was to be used only when engaging the enemy and
not for any other non combatant use.
Burma
was a land of extremely varied terrains. From the mountainous jungle covered
hills to the open plains where
the oilfields were situated, we went through it all right down to Rangoon. It
was at a Rangoon dockside that we gave up our tanks in preparation to our
return to India. Being 3rd Carabiniers POW Dragoon Guards, We did
not just dump the tanks on the dockside willy nilly. No, they were stripped of
the machine guns breach blocks with firing mechanisms were removed the tanks
lined up precisely as if they were on a Generals inspection and
the gun barrels dipped in salute. Typical Regimental pride in
everything we accomplished.
The Regiment returned to India on the SS Llanstephen Castle and we
disembarked in Madras .