The British 11th Army Group was the main British Army force in Southeast Asia. It was activated in November 1943 upon the formation of South East Asia Command (SEAC). Its commander was General George Giffard, who had formally been Commander-in-Chief West Africa Command and Commander, Indian Eastern Army. Its main subordinate formations were Fourteenth Army and the Ceylon Army. Its headquarters was situated in New Dehli, eventually moving to Ceylon. It would have been logical for 11th Army Group to have the Northern Combat Area Command under its control as well, so that the whole front in Burma would have been under a single commander, but General Joseph Stilwell the NCAC operational commander, (who was also Deputy Supreme Commander South East Asia and therefor Giffard's superior,) refused to serve under Giffard's command. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during World War II. The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir Archibald Wavell, initially as head of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command... General is a military rank used by nearly every country in the world. ... The British Fourteenth Army, in spite of its name, was a multinational force: most of its units were from the Indian Army and there were also significant contributions from East African divisions within the British Army. ... British Army in Ceylon was known as the Ceylon Army during World War II in the South-East Asian Theatre under the command of South East Asia Command (SEAC) and formed part of the British 11th Army Group. ... The Northern Combat Area Command or NCAC was a mainly Sino-American formation that held the northern end of the Allied front in Burma during World War II. For much of its existence it was commanded by the acerbic General Joseph Stilwell. ... Stilwell with Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. ...

During the advance to be made in Northern combat area from Ledo to Myitkyina to cover the building of the Ledo Road, it was essential that this attack was co-ordinated with the attacks further south to prevent the Japanese concentrating large numbers of reserves for a counter attack on any one front. Myitkyina is the capital of the Kachin State in Burma (Myanmar). ... The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could continue to supply the Chinese after the Japanese cut the Burma Road. ...

The initial idea was that as General Stilwell would be commanding several Chinese divisions which would attack out of India from the West and with the large but amorphous Yunnan armies attacking out of China from the East, he would be commanding a large army. So his command should be placed under 11th Army Group at the same level as the Fourteenth. The attacks could then be co-ordinated at Army Group level.

Stilwell, however bitterly resisted it,...To watch Stilwell, when hard pressed, shift his opposition from one of the several strong-points he held by virtue of his numerous Allied, American and Chinese offices, to another was a lesson in mobile offensive-defence.^[1]

In a meeting to solve the problem of command, Stilwell, under intense pressure from the Supreme Allied Commander of SEAC Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten astonished everyone by saying "I am prepared to come under General Slim's [officer commanding Fourteenth Army] operational control until I get to Kamaing"^[2]. Rather than sack him, Mountbatten reluctantly agreed to this, but it was a dangerous compromise. It created a complicated chain of command where Slim theoretically had to report to two different commanders. Giffard for Fourteenth Army actions and Mountbatten for Stilwell's formations. Under a general less gifted than Slim this could have caused serious problems if Slim had not been able to command Stilwell at an operational level with out disagreement (which given vinegar Joe's proven track record was more than likely). But at an operational level Slim was able to work with Stilwell and "this illogical command set-up worked surprisingly well".^[3] Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma (June 25, 1900 – August 27, 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... Field Marshal Sir William Slim (pictured here as a Major General) Field Marshal William Joseph Slim, 1st Viscount Slim (6 August 1897 - 14 December 1970), British military commander and 13th Governor-General of Australia, was born near Bristol, Gloucestershire. ...

Allied Land Forces South East Asia

11th Army Group remained a in existence until 12 November 1944. It was redesignated Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA), still under SEAC. Lieutenant General Sir Oliver Leese succeeded Giffard in command. 11th Army Group was redesignated because it was felt that an inter-Allied command was better than the purely British headquarters that 11th Army Group was. Command problems with General Joseph Stilwell and his interactions with the Joint Chiefs of Staff had precipitated the change. It was made just after Stilwell was recalled to the U.S. and Lieutenant General Daniel Sultan became commander of the U.S. Forces, India-Burma Theater (USFIBT) and commander of NCAC. November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Sir Oliver Leese (27 October 1894 - 22 January 1978) was a British general during World War II. Leese attended Eton College and when the First World War broke out he enlisted in the Coldstream Guards. ... Stilwell with Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff is a panel comprising the highest-ranking members of each major branch of the armed services in any particular country. ... General Daniel Isom Sultan, (December 9, 1885 – January 14, 1947) was born Oxford, Mississippi and died in Washington, D.C., while on active duty. ...

The Burma Front was growing in size and complexity so it was agreed that the senior commanders of the three fronts would report to ALFSEA. Lieutenant-General Sultan's command, NCAC was unequvicably placed under ALDSEA and took responsibility for the Northern Front. The Indian XV Corps under, the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Philip Christison, remained on the Southern (Arakan) Front, but it was hived off from the Fourteenth Army and was placed directly under ALDSEA. The Fourteenth Army still under the command of General Slim was responsible for the Central Front and was by far the largest component of ALDSEA. The Indian XV Corps was a part of the Fourteenth Army during World War II. It was responsible for the southern part of the Armys front in the Arakan region. ... General Sir Alexander Frank Philip Christison (November 17, 1893 - December 21, 1993) was a major British military figure of the Second World War. ... Arakan is a state in the North Western part of Myanmar, formerly Burma. ...

References

1. ^  "Defeat into Victory" by Field Marshall Sir William Slim. (page 205-207)
2. ^  ditto
3. ^ ditto

Ditto may mean of several things: ditto marks like are used to mean repeat the above info here likewise, ditto means I agree (I repeat your sentiment), or use the same answer from the last question (as in what do I do with item one?, throw it away... what about...

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