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The Dissertation Committee for Joseph G. D. Babb certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: The Harmony of Yin and Yank: The American Military Advisory Effort in China, 1941-1951 Date approved: April 25, 2012 ii THE HARMOMY OF YIN AND YANK: The American Military Advisory Effort in China, 1941-1951 By Joseph G. D. Babb Professor J. Megan Greene, Advisor The American military personnel assigned to advise and assist China's armed forces, from the most senior officers to junior enlisted servicemen, endured, persevered, and despite tremendous obstacles, made steady progress in their efforts to improve the operational capabilities of that nation's military. This dissertation examines the United States military’s advise and assist effort in China beginning just before America’s entrance into World War II through the re- establishment of a security assistance mission to the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan. This narrative history examines the complex relationship between the American military advisors and their Chinese counterparts during a dynamic decade of international war and internal conflict. While providing the overarching strategic, political, and diplomatic context, this study focuses on the successful rebuilding of selected elements of the Chinese armed forces by American advisors after its series of costly and humiliating defeats by the Japanese military before the United States officially entered the war. This program of training, equipping, and advising these forces not only contributed to their successful participation in the campaign to retake Burma, but also enabled their defense of the Nationalist wartime capital, and facilitated their planned offensive against the Japanese at the end of the war. These American sponsored units went on to conduct extended operations against the Communists in the eastern and northeastern China until nearly the end of the Chinese Civil War. This study also discusses American military support to the post-WW II reoccupation of eastern China, repatriation of Japanese military and civilian personnel, and national reconciliation efforts between the Nationalists and the Communists. The narrative concludes by examining the reduced post- negotiation American military advisory efforts during the expanded civil conflict beginning in early 1947 through the defeat and retreat of the Nationalist government and military. This study concludes with a brief discussion of the May 1951 reestablishment of the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group to Taiwan. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In preparing this dissertation, I owe a great deal to family members, fellow instructors, and colleagues at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, and especially, the faculty of the Department of History at the University of Kansas. I am also indebted to the United States Army for my selection as a China Foreign Area Officer. This allowed me to learn the language; study the history, culture, and politics; and serve in China and Asia. I offer my sincere appreciation to the following member of my family who supported my military career. First, my wife Melissa, who never failed to encourage me to complete this extended intellectual journey. A school librarian, she provided immeasurable assistance in her chosen field. My son Nate, who deployed to Iraq as a Captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps whose duties included advising Iraqi military lawyers, was a very real reminder of the potential value of my study. As I complete this dissertation and the doctoral degree requirements, my daughter, Carrie, an elementary school art teacher, has earned her master's degree in education. I could not be more proud of them, their educational accomplishments, and am sincerely appreciative of all their support. I would be remiss not to mention my father, Colonel Philip E. Babb, USA (Ret), a World War II Infantryman. He sent me off to Bowdoin College to a life of scholarship and service to this nation, a future that was the furthest thing from my mind when I left Washington County, Maine. My acquired love of the study of history, war and conflict, and international relations owes much to his example, patience, and encouragement. I have had the privileged to teach at the Command and General Staff College for more than twenty years. Several fellow instructors at CGSC provided wise counsel and assistance throughout this long process. The Director of the Department of Military History, Dr. Jim Willbanks, sets a standard few can meet, but to which all should aspire. Dr. Gary Bjorge, iv Dr. John Curatola, and Dr. Joseph Fischer have all provided invaluable advice on conducting historical research, organizing, and writing. Dr. Nick Riegg, a retired State Department Foreign Service Officer in the Department of Joint, Interagency, and Multinational Operations, who had served in China, was a great sounding board for ideas. LTC Stan Henning, USA (Ret), my China FAO mentor, was a constant reminder of how knowledgeable a military officer could become about another country through dedication, study, and hard work. I would also like to acknowledge Colonel Bob Ulin, USA (Ret) and the USACGSC Foundation that provided support and funding for my research trip to China. Dr. Andrew J. Birtle's work on contingency operations at the Center of Military History initially inspired this topic. I reserve to the end of this acknowledgement my sincere appreciation to my professors at the University of Kansas. First, I am truly indebted to Dr. Megan Greene, who inherited this older retired military officer from former senior China scholar, Dr. Dan Bays. The completion of this dissertation owes much to her patience and scholarly advice. Two other professors provided immeasurable encouragement and assistance over the years. Dr. Ted Wilson's unmatched knowledge of military and diplomatic history was always available as was his support. Dr. Bill Tsutsui, the consummate Japan scholar, is the model for a college teacher. He widened and broadened my horizons in Asian history. I could not be more appreciative of their instruction, patience, and encouragement. v LIST OF ACRONYMS AAC Army Air Corps AGFRTS Air Ground Force Resources Technical Staff AMMISCA American Military Mission to China AVG American Volunteer Group CAF China Air Force CAI Chinese Army in India CAMCO Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company CBI China Burma India Theater of Operations CCC Chinese Combat Command CCP Chinese Communist Party CDI China Defense Industries CDS China Defense Supply Company CEA Chinese Expeditionary Army COMINTERN Communist International CT & CC Chinese Training and Combat Command GMD or KMT Guomindang or Kuomintang ICD India China Division IJA Imperial Japanese Army ITC Infantry Training Center IIIAC Third Marine Amphibious Corps JICA Joint Intelligence Collection Agency JUSMAGCHINA Joint United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of China MAC Marine Amphibious Corps vi NRA National Revolutionary Army OSS Office of Strategic Services OWI Office of War Information PLA People's Liberation Army PRC People's Republic of China ROC Republic of China RTC Ramgarh Training Center RA Red Army SACO Sino-American Cooperation Organization SCAP Supreme Command Allied Powers SEAC Southeast Asia Command SOS Service of Supply SWNCC State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee USAAF United States Army Air Force USFCT United States Forces China Theater USMC United States Marine Corps vii LIST OF MAPS TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM 1942-1943. 122 CBI THEATER . 128 ICHIGO PLAN . 184 SITUATIN IN CHINA OCTOBER 1944 . 186 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACCEPTANCE PAGE . ii ABSTRACT . iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . iv LIST OF ACRONYMS . vi LIST OF MAPS . viii PREFACE . x CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION . 1 2. AMERICA'S HISTORIC MILITARY INVOLVEMENT WITH CHINA, 1840-1940 . 27 3. THE AMERICAN MILITARY MISSION TO CHINA . 72 4. THE CHINESE-BURMA-INDIA THEATER OF OPERATIONS . 113 5. THE EVOLVING CHINA THEATER . 160 6. THE POST WAR ADVISE AND SUPPORT EFFORT . 219 7. CONCLUSION . 254 POSTSCRIPT . 269 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 272 ix Preface One of the decisions for anyone writing about China is what Romanization system to use. Most current works on China written in the United States use the widely accepted People's Republic of China's system called Pinyin, and this study is no exception. However, because this study covers the period from 1941-1951, before the Pinyin system was implemented, there are many references in documents, maps and sources in earlier Romanization systems. The author will make every attempt to aid the reader in being able to locate place names mentioned on maps (generated both during the period of the study and subsequently) and keep the key historical personages names consistent. Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong) and Chou En-lai (Zhou Enlai) are not a problem as the spellings are not significantly different. However, Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi) is significantly different in Pinyin. To mitigate this problem the first time a name or place is used the Pinyin will be given in parenthesis immediately following the original Chinese name, title, or geographic location as above. Thereafter, in the remainder of the text the Pinyin is used. The second issue in this study is the ambiguous meaning of the term "military advisor." The current Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (Joint Pub 1- 02, 15 Nov 2011) does not include a definition of advisor or military advisor. This study generally uses the description found in Chapter 2 of the United States