The Chindits
Witness History3 Sep 2025

The Chindits

During World War Two, an unconventional special force was formed. Known as the Chindits, they fought behind enemy lines in Burma, now Myanmar during 1943 and 1944 in the war against Japan.

Their leader was the charismatic Orde Wingate, a British Army officer.

This programme is made in collaboration with BBC Archives. It contains outdated and offensive language.

Produced and presented by Gill Kearsley.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

This programme has been updated since the original broadcast to add additional context.

(Photo: The Chindits in 1944. Credit: Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur Temple

In 1983, Borobudur Temple in Indonesia reopened. The worlds’ largest Buddhist monument is in the shadows of an active volcano and was once lost to the jungle. In 1973, major restoration work started o...

12 Aug 202510min

The Santa Cruz Massacre

The Santa Cruz Massacre

On 12 November 1991, Indonesian troops opened fire on independence activists in East Timor's capital, Dili.During a protest march to the Santa Cruz cemetery after a memorial service for an independenc...

11 Aug 20259min

1965 Singaporean independence

1965 Singaporean independence

On 9 August 1965 Singapore announced it had left the Federation of Malaysia and become an independent sovereign state. Explaining the separation at a news conference, the prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew,...

8 Aug 202510min

Brazil’s biggest bank heist

Brazil’s biggest bank heist

In August 2005, a gang of theives tunnelled their way into a Brazilian bank vault in a heist straight out of the movies.Three months before, the thieves had set up a landscaping business, Grama Sintet...

7 Aug 202510min

The Assam-Tibet earthquake

The Assam-Tibet earthquake

On 15 August 1950, an 8.6 magnitude earthquake shook the Himalaya mountains – wiping out whole villages in Tibet and north-east India.The death toll was estimated to be about 4,800.The late British bo...

6 Aug 202510min

When Stalin silenced Shostakovich

When Stalin silenced Shostakovich

Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich was one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century. But in 1936, Joseph Stalin attended a performance of Shostakovich's opera, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. The Sovi...

5 Aug 202510min

Nagasaki bomb

Nagasaki bomb

On 9 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing at least 74,000 people. It led to the end of World War Two in Asia, with Japan surrendering to the Allies six day...

4 Aug 202510min

Trailer. 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

Trailer. 13 Minutes Presents: The Space Shuttle

The epic space story of a sci-fi dream that changed spaceflight forever. Told by the Nasa astronauts and team who made it happen. Our multi-award-winning podcast is back, hosted by space scientist Ma...

3 Aug 20253min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
alt-fortalt
aftenpodden-usa
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
popradet
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
wolfgang-wee-uncut
grenselos
fladseth
min-barneoppdragelse
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
krisemoter
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem