Merrill's Marauders is an account of the operations of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) in north Burma from February to May, 1944. The Marauders' effort was part of a coordinated offensive, the Allied reconquest of north Burma. Details of the offensive are summarized briefly to set the operations of the 5307th within the larger framework. On 10 August 1944 the 5307th was reorganized as the 475th Infantry Regiment.
The combat narrative is based mainly on interviews conducted by the historian of the 5307th after the operation and on information furnished the Historical Branch, G-2, War Department, by the Commanding General and several members of the unit. Few records were available because the Marauders restricted their files in order to maintain mobility while they were operating behind the Japanese lines. During the second mission a Japanese artillery shell scored a direct hit on the mule carrying the limited quantity of records and maps kept by the unit headquarters. During the third mission the heavy rains made preservation of papers impossible for more than a day or two. The unit's intelligence officer was killed at Myitkyina, and his records were washed away before they could be located.
The manuscript was submitted by the Historical Section of the India-Burma Theater. One photograph is by Acme Newspictures, Inc. (page 25); three are by Capt. Logan E. Weston (pages 35, 63, 85); two aerials are by the U. S. Army Air Forces (pages 38; 104); all others are by the U. S. Army Signal Corps. Readers are urged to send directly to the Historical Branch, G-2, War Department, Washington 25, D. C., comments, criticisms and additional information which may be of value in the preparation of a complete and definitive history of the operations of the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional).
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