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What We Are Reading Today: Behind Japanese Lines

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Photo/Supplied
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Updated 30 July 2023

What We Are Reading Today: Behind Japanese Lines

Photo/Supplied

Author: Richard Dunlop

In early 1942, with WWII going badly, US 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.
“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, according to a review on Goodreads.com.

It 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 the danger, tension, and drama of secret warfare.