[SMARTY]

Gen. Stillwell was sent to China to assist against the Japanese invasion there. At no time was the General given what he fully needed to accomplish this... what is more, the Chang Ki Check gov't. in China was shamelessly coddled by FDR in it's plan to subvert American assistance and fight instead it's own war against the Chinese communists instead of co operating with Stillwell against the Japanese. It was a frustrating effort for Stillwell.

It should be noted that the British did as little as possible to assist, because the last thing they wanted after the war was a strong unified China next door to their colony, India.

Stillwell was cast to the wolves. FDR's Europe First policy also cut the ground out from under American 'efforts' against the Japanese in Asia.

[Tallguy]

There is information suggesting that the Soviets actually supported Chang Kai Shek until it became apparent that Mao's forces had the upper hand. Chang, apparently, was more in line with Soviet-style socialism than Mao's peseant revolution. That FDR also supported Chang speaks volumes.

[Theodore R.]

Thanks, Smarty, now as "Uncle Walter" would say, "This is the way is was":

Joseph Warren Stilwell (March 19, 1883 - 1946) was a United States Army four-star general known for his service in China. His military career was unique: throughout it he rarely commanded troops, worked on mostly his own, and still managed to reach the rank of four-star general. He spent most of his career outside the United States in China and, a very capable linguist, spoke Chinese and Japanese fluently.

Vinegar Joe, as he was called, famously lacked tact and a capacity for conventional diplomacy. In spite of this, he tried to convince Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to cede command of his armies to the American military. He intensely hated the Generalissimo, a feeling which was reciprocated, and only managed to keep working together through the tireless diplomacy of Chiang's wife, Soong May-ling.

Like many other Americans involved in Chinese affairs, Stilwell's diplomatic efforts were obliterated with the rise to power of the Communist Party of China and retreat of the Kuomintang government to Taiwan in the Chinese Civil War. Biographer Barbara W. Tuchman very fittingly chose the metaphor "sand against the wind", to characterise the futile nature of Stilwell's efforts.

Late in the war, he was reassigned from China to command the Tenth Army during the final stages of the Battle of Okinawa after the Tenth Army's commander was killed by enemy fire.

He was the subject of a noted biography by Barbara W. Tuchman.