|
"This humorous and at times harrowing book tells the story of Arthur Harry Isaac. During World War 2 Arthur was a member of the Chindits, a long range penetration group. The Chindits were an extremely brave and resilient bunch of men operating in the Jungles of Burma in 1944, often in small groups with little or no support watching and disrupting the Japanese deep within enemy territory.
The conditions were horrendous, the personal discomfort was unimaginable, ill health and fighting not only the weather but also the host of dangerous wildlife that inhabited this inhabitable environment.
Surviving the Imperial Japanese Army and a sadistic Senior NCO Arthur returned humbly to the UK, Arthur then joined the Royal Air Force and eventually ended up stationed at RAF Boscombe Down near Salisbury in Wiltshire until 1959.
Arthur’s fitness and determination was then channelled through his love of athletics where he became a champion athlete in the RAF and also with Salisbury Athletics club.
The book is a fascinating personal account of Arthur’s life and a tremendous insight into a little known and often overlooked period in British Military history.
A short but engaging read, well written and informative."
Squadron Leader Nick Keep RAF (retired), 30th November 2021
"This is a gripping and informative tribute to one man’s key role in the Second World War. Arthur Isaac was a Chindit, a member of the Burma Campaign formed to put into effect Major-General Wingate's guerrilla warfare tactic of penetration behind Japanese lines to damage and disrupt communications and supply lines. His first-hand account evokes the beauties of the natural world in Burma and its dangers, both natural and man-made. The concise but graphic description of his engagement in violent surprise enemy action and subsequent survival makes compelling reading. In coping with such demanding conditions, and in fighting recurrent malaria and other threats to good health, his stamina and perseverance were impressive. Keeping fit and active as a runner not only helped his wartime service but provided a positive focus on his return to UK after years in Asia and during his time in the RAF after leaving the army."
John Cox - Retired Teacher, Salisbury U.K, August 2017 |
|
|
|
"One man's war in Burma"
Click here to read the reiview in the Salisbury Journal by Mr David Falcke - Retired Military Officer - The Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's own), Salisbury U.K, November 2017
|
"I enjoyed the book very much. ‘Enjoy’ is probably a bad choice of words. It is a book which compels attention. But many of the experiences it records are dark and disturbing. It is a no-frills personal recollection of the Burma campaign told through the eyes of a foot soldier catapulted deep into Japanese positions and the subsequent horrors endured while grappling with the task of disrupting or destroying enemy lines of supply and communication. Because it is personal it has a power not found in a formal campaign history. In his preface, Arthur Isaac states his intention to pay tribute to the sacrifices of all those who took part, the ‘forgotten army’ as it is sometimes called. Yet oddly the book contains no conventional heroes. Almost the opposite is true. Under stress even fellow soldiers could behave badly towards each other as evidenced towards the end of the account. Certainly there is courage. But ultimately the book is not, in my opinion, so much about individuals as about the dogged universal will to survive, to keep going under appalling conditions whatever the hardship encountered or atrocities witnessed. Success is often a matter of luck.
The author demonstrates a fresh and natural writing style. There are many vivid descriptions, notably of the two distinct enemies he confronts: the Japanese who fully live up to their wartime reputation as aggressive and brutal opponents, and the jungle which is alive with natural hazards: snakes, leopards, insects, disease and, during the monsoon rains, mud capable of drowning a pack mule. The Burmese people also occasionally shine through the text as a glimmer of warmth amidst the destruction wreaked upon them by the Japanese. In the 1980’s I had the opportunity to visit Burma and so can recognize the same smiling, hospitable and cultured people Arthur Isaac encounters, yet who, decades later, were still living on the verge of subsistence, by then under the yoke of a self-isolating and oppressive Marxist military dictatorship. The human capacity to inflict misery on itself seems undefeatable.
Behind Enemy Lines makes salutary reading and is a valuable addition to the understanding the reality of the war in the Far East."
Dermod Hill - Ministry of Defence Chief Information Officer (rtd), July 2015
"Appreciation of the book - Behind eneny lines, Burma 1944.
Military history books usually cover the strategic and command levels of a campaign. The fascinating side to this book about Arthur's time in Burma, and partof the Chindits, is the description of the experiences of a private soldier in the jungle facing a deadly enemy over a period of time. It tells of the awful conditions, the fear, the dangers, the courage needed daily, and the time spent waiting, then, rushing and then carefully moving through the jungle.
General Orde Wingate was a very charismatic leader. He needed the 'Arthurs' selected for the Chindits to carry out the planned operations behind the Japanese lines and eventually beat them.
The book is very readable and will form a valuable account, when future military historians come to view and dissect the Burma Campaign. A copy ought to be given to the Imperial War Museum."
A.J.A Rea, October 2015 |
