Force 136

Force 136
Patch of the Allied South East Asia Command[1][2]
Founded	1941; 83 years ago (1941) (as India Mission) 1942; 82 years ago (1942) (as GSI(k)) 1944; 80 years ago (1944) (as Force 136)
Disbanded	1946; 78 years ago (1946)
Country	United Kingdom
Allegiance	Allied forces
Type	Wartime intelligence organisation for Far east Special forces[3]
Role	Airborne force Close-quarters combat Direct action Foreign internal defense Espionage HUMINT Intelligence assessment Irregular warfare Jungle warfare Long-range penetration Military intelligence Raiding Sabotage Special operations Special reconnaissance Targeted killing Unconventional warfare Urban warfare
Part of	Special Operations Executive
Headquarters	Kandy, Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka)
Mascot(s)	Phoenix
Engagements	World War II Japanese Invasion of Malaya Burma campaign French Indochina campaign
Commanders
Notable commanders	Colin Mackenzie

Force 136 was a far eastern branch of the British World War II intelligence organisation, the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Originally set up in 1941 as the India Mission with the cover name of GSI(k), it absorbed what was left of SOE's Oriental Mission in April 1942. The man in overall charge for the duration of its existence was Colin Mackenzie.

The organisation was established to encourage and supply indigenous resistance movements in enemy-occupied territory, and occasionally mount clandestine sabotage operations. Force 136 operated in the regions of the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II which were occupied by Japan from 1941 to 1945: Burma, Malaya, China, Sumatra, Siam, and French Indochina (FIC).^[4]

Although the top command of Force 136 were British officers and civilians, most of those it trained and employed as agents were indigenous to the regions in which they operated. Burmese, Indians and Chinese were trained as agents for missions in Burma, for example. British and other European officers and NCOs went behind the lines to train resistance movements. Former colonial officials and men who had worked in these countries for various companies knew the local languages, the peoples and the land and so became invaluable to SOE. Most famous amongst these officers are Freddie Spencer Chapman in Malaya and Hugh Seagrim in Burma.