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APPRvV.AL SI-Th"'ET Title of Thesis : The United States Army's Con tribution to the Marshall Mis sion in China January 1, 1946 , to March 1, 1947 Name of Candidate: Thesis and Abstract 'd • .,_· rofessor History Date approved: If✓ ///? f THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S CONTRIBUTI ON TO THE MARSHALL MISSION IN CHINA JANUARY l, 1946,TO MARCH 1, 1947 by Wesley Carlton W..ilson Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland in partial fulfillment of t he requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 1957 LIBRARY UNIV~ITY Of NARYLNID OOU.EGE PAR~ MD. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. 1945: JAPANESE .ARMY SURRENDER EXPLODES CHINESE NATIONALIST AND COMMUNIST PARTY ARMI ES • l II. EFFORTS OF THE U.S. TO KEEP CHIN.A IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR • •..•. 11 III. GENERAL MARSHALL ' S CONCF.PT OF HIS MISSION TO CHINA • . • • . • . • • . 22 IV. THE TOOLS OF THE OPERATION . 29 V. TEAM PARTICIPATION IN THE FIELD AND EVENTS AT PEKING • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 40 VI. TRUCE TFAM TEN •••.••. 59 VII. CONFLICT AND REPA TRIATION . 74 VIII. ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL . - . 90 IX . RECOGNITION OF DEFEAT •.•• . 99 X. WITHDRA WAL OF THE MISSION. • 112 APPENDIX A . TRUMAN LETTER DECEMBER 15, 1945 •• • • • • 121 APPENDI X B. MARSHALL STATEivIFNT MARCH 16, 1946. • 128 APPFNDIX C. TRID/fAN CHINA POLICY DECEMBER 18, 1946 •.• 132 APPENDIX D. MARSHALL ' S REPORT ON CHI NA . 141 APPENDIX E. LIST OF MAPS • . • 146 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY •• . 147 LIST OF MAPS Map page 1. China, Railroad Network ii 2. Hsin Hsiang Area 61 U. ARMY o k vei Ii., E I NEERS J ~ J 1,000,000 Con Tori ii CHAPTER I 1945: JAPANESE ARMY SURRENDER EXPL ODES CHINESE NATIONALIST ANTI COMMUNIST P.ARTY ARMIES The formal surrender of the Japanese on the deck of the U. s. Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan, on September 2, 1945, was the signal for the Na tional Government Forces and the Communist Party Forces in China to expand and grab territory with great vigor and resource. 1 On order of the Supreme Command of the Allied Powers i n Tokyo, the Chinese National Republic of Generalissimo Chiang Ka i Shek was designated as the a ent of the .Al lies to t ake over the surrender of the Japanese and the Japanese Controlled Forces on the Chinese Mainland.2 The Japanese Commanders carried out their orders with precision and detail . .A t the same time, General Chu Teh - the Commander in Chief of the Communist Party Armies, whose head quarte~s was --------------- 1"Move in North China," The Times (London) , August 21, 1945, P • 4. 2F. c. Jones, Hugh Borton, and B. R. Fearn, The Far East 1242-1247, (New York: Oxford University Press, 195)) p. 499. l 2 located in Yenan, Shansi Province - ordered the Jap anese to turn over their arms and equipment to the Commu.nist Forces. 3 This order was issu.ed because it was a part of Chinese Communist strategy in 1945 to secure all the military supplies possible in order to increase their strength against the day when they would challenge Chiang Kai Shek for supremacy in China. As early as .1939 in his book, 'tMy Country and My Peo ple", Lin Yutang had suggested that the future of China would be resolved between these two opp osing forces. He says: "The in ternal political system of China will take a middle road fought out between the Kuomi ng tang and the Chinese Communist Party, or between Chiang Kai She k and the Eighth 4 Route Army, Generals Chu Teh and Mao Tse Tung." In spite of General Chu Teh' s order, the Japanese would not and did not turn over their arms to the Chinese Communists. Teams of United States Army officers were designated as observers to witness the surrender of J apanese military e quipment to Chinese Nationalist Forces. These were dis patched from Kunming and Chungkirtg to all areas occupied b5r the Japanese Anny on the mainland of China with the exception of uni ts in Mancil uria and the Russian sphere of action. Colonel W. C. Wilson was one of the u. s. 3Harley F. MacNair and Donald F. Lach, Modern Far Eastern International Relations, (New York: TI. Van Nostrand Company, fnc., 1950T, p. 637. 4Lin Yutang, Ml Countrl and Ml Peo~l~, New York: The John Day Company, Inc., 19)9, p. 41. 3 Army officers del egated to witness the surrender of the 12th Japanese Arm.sr Group at Chenghs hi en, Honan Provinc e , on Sep tember 9, 1945. 5 The Chinese Commander of the First War Zone, General Hu Tsu Nan, was the com mander disar ming the Japanese Armies in the a rea of Chenghshien on the Yellow River. 6 This city some times referred to a s Chengchow, is in Honan Province and is the junction of the Lunghai and Peiping- Hankow Railroads. The surrender was effected in a ceremony which took place in a p leasan t courtyard of a l arge Chinese administra tors home. The Japanese Command er in Chief presented his sword to General Hu Tsu Nan and his Chi e f of S taff presented a listing of the officers, men, rif les, guns, and i mp edi menta to General HU 's representative. General Hu and his officers were so happy and excited over the turn of events wh ich had suddenly caused the J ap anese Army to give up , that t h ey could not contain t hemselves. After the ceremony, a second meeting was held with the Japanese Gen eral and his staff of ficers 7 and the u. s . Anny Team in wh ich duplica te lists of of ficers, men, and military e quipment wer e given to t he U. s . Army officer witnesses. The General e xplained to them t ha t his army had lived and maintained itself in the area fo r more than --------------- 5Private papers, Colonel W. C. Wilson, Sep tember 9, 1945. 6"Chinese Troops Continue t o Disarm J aps:' . The Chungking Re2or ter, Vol. I I , No. 27, September 6--;'""T945. 7search in files of Chief of U. S . Mi l itary History f a ils to r e veal name of J ap anese Gen eral. 4 a year. He announced t hat he did not unders tand why his nation was surrendering to China . He pointed out that he an::l his men and units performed a very great service because they provided _pea ce and protection for a ll the ci tizens to carry out t heir norma l pursuits. On his wall maps he showed t he Ame rican officers where g uerilla activities were centered and stated t ha t guerillas oc cupied a ll the country excep t the railroa ds and well 8 travelled roads. His words proved to be true. Wit hin Twenty-four hours after his troops marched aw ay from the Railroad Sta tions, the Civic Buildings, t he food warehouses, and distribution centers, pandemonium reigned. The pre vi ously orderly streets were a scene of confusion. Some shop keepers closed and boarded their places of busine s s . Crowds of country peopl e roamed wi t hout di rec ti on. Gro ups of soldi ers engaged i n altercations with civilians. Em rgency policemen made no attemp t to direct traffic an::1 keep the peace. After a day of such discord General Hu sent a messenger for Colone 1 James O. "fade, 9 t he senior of'fic er of the u. S . Army delegation that was t aking part in the surrender, and asked him to a ct a s a mediator with the --------------- 8 Private papers, Colonel V/ilson, Sep tember 9, 1945. 9rnterview with Colonel J ame s O. Wade, September 11, 1945. 5 Japanese General. He specifically wanted an immediate audience with the Japanese General. It was arranged in a short time and that afternoon the Chinese , the Ame r i cans and the Japanese met in t he dimly lighted room tha t the Japanese General used as a sititing room in his He ad quarters at Chenghsien. General Hu was agitated and upset. "I want you to lend me your forces to protect the property of the citizens and the National Government, 0 he said. The Japanese General was businessllie and polite. 0 0f course," he replied. "I' 11 do anything you des ire. My men are not very busy. We have put t h em to pl anting gardens because we do not know how long t hey will be here.nlO General Hu then explained to the group tha t the bandits in the outlying areas, the normal cutthroats, robbers and thugs in the city were not the real trouble, but that his own, the Chinese Division Commanders , were not controlling their men. The 19th Army had been given one area in the city and the 23rd Army had been given the ad jacent area. 1lhen the troops of both c ame to a ware house with particularly valua ble property, they took it over for their own generals and a pitched battle ensued which was as deadly as any engaged in during the past war. The Japanese Gen eral outlined t hat he would put guards on the areas who would r espect t he boundaries of the City as lOibid. 6 General Hu Tsu Nan prescribed them. General Hu gave up a map which showed the necessary information and the con ference was over.