Sun Li-jen attacked and defeated the encircling Japanese troops rescuing the encircled British troops and civilians. This is historically called Battle of Yenangyaung. 2 May 1942 The commander of Allied forces in Burma, General Harold Alexander, ordered a general retreat to India. Stilwell left his Chinese troops and began the long evacuation with his personal staff (he called it a "walk out") to India. Most of the Chinese troops, who were supposed to be under Stilwell's command, were deserted in Burma without knowledge of the retreat. Under Chiang Kai-shek they made a hasty and disorganised retreat to India. Some of them tried to return to Yunnan through remote mountainous forests and out of these, at least half died. 24 May 1942 Stilwell arrived in Delhi. New Delhi and Ramgarh became the main training centre for Chinese troops in India. Chiang Kai-shek gave Stilwell command of what was left of the 22nd and 38th Divisions of the Chinese Army. 1 December 1942 British General Sir Archibald Wavell, as Allied Supreme Commander South East Asia, agreed with Stilwell to make the Ledo Road an American operation. August 1943 US creates a jungle commando unit, similar to the Chindits, to be commanded by Major General Frank Merrill; it is informally called "Merrill's Marauders". Exhaustion and disease led to the early evacuation of many Chinese and American troops before the coming assault on Myitkyina. 21 December Stilwell assumed direct control of operations to capture Myitkyina, having built up forces for an offensive in Northern Burma. 24 February 1944 Merrill's Marauders, attacked the Japanese 18th Division in Burma. This action enabled Stilwell to gain control of the Hakawing Valley. 17 May 1944 British general Slim in command of the Burma Campaign handed control of the Chindits to Stilwell. 17 May 1944 Chinese troops, with the help of Merrill's Marauders, captured Myitkina airfield. 3 August 1944 Myitkina fell to the Allies. The Marauders had advanced 750 miles and fought in five major engagements and 32 skirmishes with the Japanese Army. They lost 700 men, only 1,300 Marauders reached their objective and of these, 679 had to be hospitalized. This included General Merrill who had suffered a second-heart attack before going down with malaria. Some time before 27 August 1944, Mountbatten supreme allied commander (SEAC) ordered General Stilwell to evacuate all the wounded Chindits. During 1944 the Japanese in Operation Ichi-Go overran US air bases in eastern