Z Special Unit in Borneo - With Gavin Mortimer
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- Опубліковано 21 кві 2022
- Z Special Unit in Borneo
With Gavin Mortimer
Part of Raids and Operations Week on WW2TV
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Gavin Mortimer is a best-selling writer, historian and TV consultant whose books have been published in Britain and the USA. Gavin is the leading authority on WW2 special forces having interviewed over 100 veterans from the UK, USA, Germany and elsewhere. His histories of the SAS, SBS, the Long Range Desert Group and Merrill's Marauders have been critically acclaimed.
gavinmortimer.com/
Gavin's previous appearance on WW2TV
David Stirling SAS - • David Stirling (SAS in...
Gavin Mortimer joins us to tell the origin story of a wartime special forces unit that defied the odds. Z Special Unit, one of the most intrepid but arguably the most unsung of Allied Special Forces of the Second World War waged a guerrilla war against Japan for two years in the south-west Pacific. On some of their 81 operations Z Special Unit slipped into enemy harbours in canoes and silently mined ships before vanishing into the night; on others they parachuted into the dense Borneo jungle to fight with headhunters against the Japanese and on one occasion they landed on an Indonesian island and smuggled out the pro-Allied sultan from under Japanese noses. The Japanese weren't the only adversary that Z Special Unit encountered in the brutal terrain of the Pacific. In the mango swamps of Borneo and the dense jungle of Papua New Guinea they were faced with venomous snakes, man-eating crocodiles and deadly diseases. But it was the enemy soldiers who proved the most ruthless foe, beheading those Z Special Unit commandos who fell into their hands.
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Z Special Unit: The Elite Allied World War II Guerrilla Force by Gavin Mortimer
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Great show👍🏻 .. I am dayak from sarawak🙏🏻😊 .. One of the elders in my village was part of the sender of this operation z information at that time and at that time he was still a teenager .. He sent information to the bario village .. His name is Pak Tagal and he is still alive until now .. My village is in buduknur bakelalan ..
My Dad was in the Z force during WW2. Unfortunately, he didnt discuss it until after the 50th Anniversary Top Secret Classification was lifted and he passed away 2 months later. His war records have now been reclassified for a further 50 years.
This was really interesting…
My father was a member of Z-Special during WW2.
Not in the Jaywick crew, but in the back-end unit intelligence spanning Australia, Malaya, Borneo and the Celebes (Phillipines).
He was promoted to Captain of Artillery in his early twenties (very young!)- then immediately moved across to Z’s back end intel team.
As a family we had some happy days cruising Pittwater on the Krait during the late 60s.
It was an honour meeting and learning about the wartime adventures from half a dozen of those original heroes!
I recall a few of his stories about encounters with the enemy deep in the jungles.
Terrifying, but real boy’s annual stuff.
Thanks for sharing
My headhunter granduncle fought alongside Z Special Unit in 1945 with Semut IV in Borneo. He’s on the cover of the book “Australian Commandos: Their Secret War Against the Japanese in WWII
@@DarBaby89 please come to Sarawak
Good show Woody and Gavin.
This unit is largely forgotten in Australia these days.
The lessons learned would have been passed on to our SAS and Commando units who operated in Borneo during the Fifties.
What’s really surprising, is the Z records were only officially declassified in the last decade or so! Even now, I can only find very sparse records of my dads wartime history.
In some cases, I actually sent documents to the War Memorial archives upon their request !
Great info! Thanks guys.
I work at cemeterys in Brisbane Australia and found a plaque of a "z" special unit soldier! It sparked my interest and it bought me here. 👍
Welcome to the channel Donald, hopefully you will peruse our other content
Hello. Do you remember the name of that Z special unit soldier you found? The Father of a Brisbane friend was in that unit, so am wondering whether that is him. His name was Joh Ryan. Thanks.
I have the utmost respect for these amazing people who carried out jungle warfare in places that were so remote and dangerous. Spectacular!
A great presentation. I had never heard of this unit. It is always great to learn something new.
In my readings about the Force 136 Chinese Canadians who were going to be inserted just north of Hong Kong on Operation Oblivion, I discovered that after the op was cancelled, five of the team opted to join SRD (Z Force) and were later inserted into Borneo by Catalina to join Operation Hippo under Bill Sochon. I scanned Gavin's book, but didn't find any mention of them, so will have to return to it later. However, I did find reference to them in a 2021 book, "Semut", by Christine Helliwell.
I just received Helliwell's book, so haven't read it yet. But picking up on what Gavin said about hearts and minds, I would wholeheartedly agree that having someone with Tom Harrisson's local knowledge is essential, especially when wanting to operate in territory that is unfamiliar and in a culture one doesn't understand. Interestingly, Helliwell is an emeritus professor of anthropology at Australia National University who has lived among the Dayak, so I look forward to reading her perspective on a military operation.
As Gavin said, Semut is a good example of what can be achieved when you treat the locals as equals, gain their respect, and strive to learn from them - quite astonishing that none of the SRD team was killed. I believe another good example of this is what SOE achieved in Burma, as described on this channel by Richard Duckett (whose book is also in my reading queue). It's unfortunate that the importance of these "soft skills" has been lost in an number of post-WW2 conflicts, like Afghanistan and Iraq. How can one hope to achieve their objectives if troops can't even recognize friend from foe, stay separate from the locals in walled bastions? Clearly, grabbing them by the balls does not make their hearts and minds follow.
Excellent program! Fascinating history and details about this special force and jungle warfare. A nephew has been so "involved" in "modern times" so I'm always keen for more historical insight and Mr. Mortimer delivers it in spades.
This program also had me thinking a lot about the Chindits, which Mr. Mortimer mentions.
Today's Program and Mr. Mortimer's Book together with Tony Redding's show here on WW2TV about the Chindits in Burma 1943 - 1944 and his Book of the same name, is an excellent combination for learning about the unsung, far flung and lesser known special ops and jungle war.
if you watch ww2tv then you will always be learning!
@@loreleikomm5802 Indeed!
Thanks for a very interesting talk about the work of Z Special Forces in Borneo. It put me in mind of the Green Beret working in the hills of South Vietnam with the Montagnard Tribes during the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam Conflict. Earning the respect of the Tribal Elders was very important to gaining the trust of the tribes. Excellent material well presented.
Did gliders take Australia troops in to Borneo
Look up ‘Tiger Man of Vietnam’ mate,The Aussies were right there with the Montagnards with CIA because of most Aussie diggers spoke Malay.Any how the. Say Barry Peterson was the catalyst to Colonal Walter in Apocalypse Now movie.A great read.
@@MadDingo303 will do. Thanks for the tip, and I didn't know about the speaking Malay bit. I imagine that Aussies can speak many regional languages to some degree?
My Dad was Flight Seargent in the RAAF, and was assigned to Leyburn QLD, where he carried out the services on the Liberators which took the Z Special Unit to Borneo. Post-war, he didn't tell us about the mission. Eventually, he suffered from dementia and it was at this point in time that the WarSecrets Act expired. He was unable to tell us about his work, however the family carried out our own research to find out what he was involved in. There were many brave men who worked behind the scenes in order for these persons to carry out their missions in Borneo. Sadly, we were unable to celebrate the story until after my father died.
Thanks for sharing your story
Well that augments the stories of Force Z nicely as they did get a mention on one of the earlier shows you did during commando week. I hope we will see Gavin again. A really great presentation about little known operations that were occurring amidst all the other operations. I'll have to watch this again as I was only able to listen while I was working
Thank you for this detailed presentation Gavin, when I was at sea, I went to the island of Labuan off Borneo in an old steamer in 1976. Boy the humidity was oppressive, and working in an engine room. I cannot praise the bravery and stamina those guys and the local tribes went through against the Japanese. Brilliant another book to buy. Thanks again Gavin and Woody
Brilliant!
I read and enjoyed Tom Harrison's book, World Within, many years ago. I live in Sabah (old North Borneo) and the annual commemorations and memorials keep the stories alive locally for us older folk but are buried in the mists of time for the youngters. Sabah now has several good Japanese restaurants as well as a Japanese supermarket. Sake is sold in several places. It seems the world has moved on, thankfully.
Excellent presentation from Gavin as usual. Thank you
Top notch presentation! I would have gone my entire life without any knowledge of this story/operation/fine example of what human beings can accomplish when all abandon their prejudice, delusions of superiority, and realize how limiting a life adheaering to a worldview solidified in high school is. Thanks to Gavin and to WW2TV for helping me expand my mind with consistently remarkable content.
great show as always. Thank you Gavin and Paul.
Gday all, i was taught to Scuba dive by Jack Sue back in 1978 before I Joined the RAN in 1979
My brother in laws dad Drew Colgate served with Jack in Z Special Unit, Drew has passed away and we spread his ashes off Garden Island Dockyard, off Rockingham Western Australia, All Very Brave Men Lest We Forget......
Great show
suicide by alligator? wow, I think that's a first for ww2tv.
Interesting video and awaiting his book. Alas his statement about mainly Brit officers is very incorrect. He names most of the Brit officers. The book 'They Came Unseen' by Neil Smith based on unit Routine Orders of all of the personnel posted to Z Special Unit and proprtionally there were many more Australin and New Zealand than Brits albeit in the HQ there were numerous Brits and this also caused issues with MacArhurs' US HQ . Also the operations he covers are the ones which have been frequently covered in previous publications. I was hoping to see more coverage of the of the other 300+ other Australian based SO in the South Pacific theatre. Looking froward to teh book to seeif there is any new materail from UK Archives.
Excellent. These exploits where the stuff of legends. My brother visited the island to dive, maybe thirty years ago. He noted they were proud of their fearce history and contribution in WWII.
Great video
Daddy told me it was an Umbrella where they Pulled People together for these Missions / He was a Member.
Like All these People I Just Loved Him.
It's indeed Interesting to hear about Z Special Unit's Mission in Borneo, especially in the Bario Highland for example becos I'm from Miri, Sarawak, Borneo myeslf.
Thank you so much for your thought and sharing. Love this.
Early, but effective Psy-Ops. Fascinating talk by Gavin.
Great shows Woody, congrats from a Yank student of WW2 ! Suggestion, if I may ? Please cover the smaller forces in Operation Overlord, such as Free French, Norwegian, Polish, New Zealand, etc etc. Thanks ! Steve from Florida
Silent Feet by G B Courtney List all their Raids / Missions
Love it.
Onya Gavin
You should come to Sarawak
My great grandfather serviced in broneo
My late father was an British naval officer in the Z Special Unit. Unfortunately I know little of the actual part he played. Can you help me find out.
I suggest reaching out to Gavin Mortimer via Twitter twitter.com/phoneymajor
Not a fan sat back while the Japanese finished off the last POWs from Sandakan with a death march AFTER JAPAN SURRENDERED . Also tuned out almost immediately with talk of Z Special Unit being predominantly British .
Gavin was referring to the officers on the Borneo raids rather than throughout Z Special Unit
It's a shame operation King Fisher was cancelled 1 Australian parachute battalion was all set to go in to maybe they would have put a stop to that tragedy.
The three Sandakan Death Marches occurred before the Japanese surender
Only the few POWs who remained alive at Ranau were murdered after the date of the Japanese surender
The Japanese in Borneo had lost communications with mainland Japan and were possibly unaware of the surender or refused to believe they had lost the war
Later a Japanese prince flew to Borneo with orders for them to lay down their arms
If you'd like an accurate account of the Sandakan POWs find a copy of Don Wall's book "Sandakan Under Nippon The Last March" 1988
Another excellent account of the Sandakan story is "From Hell To Eternity" by Peter Firkins 1979
For more about Operation Kingfisher read Athol Moffitt's book "Operation Kingfisher"
I haven't read it for some time but from memory by the time a rescue could've been attempted at Sandakan operatives sent in to assess the situation found the POWs had been removed and the camp was empty
Earlier there was a possibility the POWs could've organised their own recovery, they'd built a radio receiver and we're building a transmitter and were collecting weapons and receiving assistance from local contacts outside the camp
If they had been able to communicate with the allies by radio it would have been possible to organise assistance and a recovery, at the time there weren't that many Japanese at Sandakan and it was near the coast and at this point in the war it was the most forward Japanese POW camp
Unfortunately they were betrayed by pro Japanese Indians at Sandakan
Those directly involved were executed and others were sent to Outram Road Gaol Singapore and most of the other officers at Sandakan were sent to Kuching on the other side of Borneo and conditions at the camp became much harder for the POWs with decreased rations and harsher treatment
And you're wrong to blame "Z" Special Force for Sandakan without them there may have been only two survivors
At wars end my father was in hiding and close to death in the jungle in Japanese occupied central North Borneo having survived Sandakan the first Death March and escaping from the extermination camp at Ranau and was recovered by "Z" Special Force operatives
I wouldn't be here without "Z"
@@WW2TV
I've met some Zs one was a big Dutch fella a family friend Bill Sheno, and I met Skeet Haywood one of the radio operators and I thanked John "Lofty" Hodges for my existence
I was introduced to a Z Special man in Alice Springs in 1984. All he would say was that he had killed a lot of people.
Abu bin Kassim is buried in Karrakata Perth his grave is not marked this needs fixing
👀
I heard they helped Nick the American King in Borneo!
LOL.
I do like Nolte.
Farewell to the King ?
@@hodaka1000
yabba dabba doo
You win a prize.
@@RUHappyATM
I love that movie, it reminds me of my father's war
At wars end he was in hiding and close to death in the jungle in Japanese occupied central North Borneo having survived Sandakan and the Death March and escaping from the extermination camp at Ranau he was assisted by heroic "Dusun" hill people and was recovered by "Z" Special Force operatives
@@hodaka1000
Thanks for his service.
Sad that these Dayaks weren't really thanked for their services.
Australia is the largest island in the world
It is, but not sure why that's relevant
@WW2TV watch the documentary and you will pick it up
@@amennamaste9173 I did watch it, I'm the host
My apologies...absolutely great documentary by way
Borneo and Papua new Guinea where mentioned as the two biggest islands in the world ...unless I misinterpreted.
But loved the documentary otherwise
Semantics@@highcountrydelatite Australia is a Country and a Continent and an island
The local Dayaks would also shrink the heads of the Japanese they'd taken and wear them on their belts and would also shrink the heads of the Japanese killed by the Zs who would also wear them on their belts
I read one account of an attack on a Japanese river boat and the heads taken were quickly shrunken and the Zs and Dayaks then went on to capture the village the boat had just left wearing the heads of the Japanese who were immediately recognised to the horror of the pro Japanese inhabitants of the village
Excuse me? Dayak wore heads on their belts? No. Yes, some did revived their old headhunting tradition during the “Japanese War” but heads captured in battle were not worn on their bodies. Heads were smoked over fires, treated ritually and placed in significant places in their longhouses and used in religious rituals.
@@creatireci2859
I'm quoting from a book written by one of the Z Force fellas who was there with the head hunters, he was "the man with the money" who paid the bounty on the heads
The heads were prepared in the jungle sometimes at the sites where they were taken and they WERE carried on their belts
Do you live there ?
Have you ever met a member of "Z" Special Force who served in Borneo ? I have
Have you ever met one of the Dayaks who worked with the Z Special Force operatives ?
Have you ever heard of the Sandakan Death March ?
My father was one of the six survivors, one of the four recovered from jungle near Ranau by "Z"
We are not talking about traditional Dayak head hunting
They were paid a bounty for Japanese heads, they weren't taking each head back to their village for smoking and a religious ceremony
At times villagers would bring heads to "the man with the money" taken from local people and Chinese for the bounty but the man with money could tell the difference
@@creatireci2859
.. those heads of local villagers and local Chinese were not taken in battle they were the heads of murder victims killed by unscrupulous people hoping to pass them off as Japanese heads to claim the bounty offered