to influence the choice. Wingate's dislike of Indian Army officers and in particular officers of Gurkha battalions also worked against Lentaigne. He objected to the appointment after he learned of it but was unable to do anything about it. On Wingate's death, Lentaigne took over command of the Chindit organization. He was the senior most officer in the Chindits and also had the most command experience. General Slim described the problems involved in replacing Wingate within the Chindits: 'To step into Wingate's place would be no easy task. His successor had to be someone known to the men of Special Force, one who had shared their hardships and in whose skill and courage they could trust'. Again, "British Commanders" states "the inevitable choice for the new chief of the Chindits was Major General Lentaigne. He was one of Wingate's closest disciples and a veteran of the Burma fighting." Amongst his rivals for the position including Mike Calvert and Derek Tulloch there was criticism of this decision. They alleged that Lentaigne was the Chindit leader least in tune with Wingate's methods and tactics. They also pointed out that he had commanded 111 Indian Brigade in the field for only a few weeks. After the war, certain of his rivals used the comments of his Brigade Major John Masters with regard to Lentaigne's age out of context to attack him. Lentaigne had been a distinguished battalion commander who had fought during the 1942 Burma campaign. The other Chindit brigade commanders were unknown quantities lacking Staff College qualifications or significant time in command of even a battalion-sized formation. Additionally, there was no clear successor to Wingate even among his closest followers. Each of them thought that they would have been (or were) Wingate's obvious successor. Field Marshal Lord Slim wrote in his memoirs of the Burma War, Defeat into Victory, that after Wingate's death, at least three officers went to him, and told him, separately and confidentially, that Wingate had designated each of them as the divisional commander, in the event of his death. Post-war career In his book Red Coats to Olive Green, Colonel V. Longer has listed Lentaigne as one of the handful of British general officers to be offered attachment to, and service in, the post-independence Indian Army. Among the others were General Sir Rob Lockhart, Lieutenant General Sir Dudley Russell, and Major General H. Williams, who, as engineer-in-chief, was