China Burma India - Theater Operations - 10AF

   

341st Bombardment Group

Constituted as 341st Bombardment Group (Medium) on 14 Aug 1942. Activated in India on 15 Sep 1942. Equipped with B-25's. Entered combat early in 1943 and operated chiefly against enemy transportation in central Burma until 1944. Bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. Moved to China in Jan 1944. Engaged primarily in sea sweeps and attacks against inland shipping. Also bombed and strafed such targets as trains, harbors, and railroads in French Indochina and the Canton-Hong Kong area of China. Received a DUC for developing and using a special (glip) bombing technique against enemy bridges in French Indochina. Moved to the US in Oct 1945. Inactivated on 2 Nov 1945.

Redesignated 341st Bombardment Group (Light). Allotted to the reserve. Activated on 27 Dec 1946. Inactivated on 27 Jun 1949.

Squadrons. 10th: 1947-1949. 11th: 1942-1945. 12th: 1947-1949. 22d: 1942-1945. 490th: 1942-1945; 1947-1949. 491st: 1942-1945; 1947-1949.

Stations. Karachi, India, 15 Sep 1942; Chakulia, India, 30 Dec 1942; Kurmitola, India, Jun 1943; Kunming, China, 7 Jan 1944; Yangkai, China, 13 Dec 1944-unkn; Camp Kilmer, NJ, 1-2 Nov 1945. Westover Field, Mass, 27 Dec 1946-27 Jun 1949.

Commanders. Col Torgils G Wold, 15 Sep 1942; Col James A Philpott, 21 Sep 1943; Col Torgils G Wold, 2 Nov 1943; Col Morris F Taber, 23 Nov 1943; Col Joseph B Wells, 11 Apr 1944; Col Donald L Clark, c. 1 Dec 1944; Col James W Newsome, 16 Apr 1945-unkn.

Campaigns. India-Burma; China Defensive; China Offensive.

Decorations. Distinguished Unit Citation: French Indochina, 11 Dec 1944-12 Mar 1945.

Insigne Shield: Per fess nebuly azure and argent a semee of stars in chief of the last, over all in pale a sheathed sword proper (white, silver gray shading and deep gray outlines), the rim of the sheath and winged hilt and pommel or (outline and detail deep gray); the blade entwined with a girdle of the last; the sword point downward between two bolts of lightning radiating upward gules; over all, in base a branch of olive vert, detail vein lin or. Motto: Pax Orbis Per Arma Aeria - World Peace through Air Strength. (Approved 5 Jun 1957.)

490th Bombing Squadron (M) "Burma Bridge Busters"

341st Bomb Group, 10th and 14th Air Forces China-Burma-India Sep 1942 - Oct 1945

This distinctive insignia was designed by Eugene Clay an artist, engineer and friend of Col. James A. Philpott, first commander of the 490th. This "winged skull" adorned the nose of the Lockheed Hudson that Col. Philpott ferried to China after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

When the initial cadre organized the 490th they need an insignia and the design seemed the natural choice. The emblem was approved for use by the 341st Bomb Group commander in late 1942 and adorned the forward fuselage of the Mitchells belonging to the Squadron during the time it saw action against the Japanese in India, Burma and China. It was never officially approved by the USAAF, however, the emblem adorns a "Morale Badge" of the current 490th Missile Squadron, the descendant of the 490th Bomb Squadron, at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana.

The 490th Bombardment Squadron (M) was constituted and authorized to be made active, pursuant to War Department letter dated 14 Aug 42. On 16 Sep 42, General Order No. 42, Headquarters, Tenth American Air Force, New Delhi, India activated the Squadron at Karachi, India.

The 490th was assigned to the 341st Bombardment Group, along with the 11th, 22nd and 491st Squadrons. Prior to this point, the WW II history of the 490th is the history of the 11th Bombardment Squadron which was split in half to form the new squadron. The unit received personnel and equipment and trained with B-25Cs/Ds during Sep-Dec 1942.

Moving to Camp Moire; Ondal, India, 5 Jan 43, the squadron entered combat on 18 Feb 1943, striking targets in central Burma to delay the movement of supplies from southern Burma to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. As well as Camp Moire, the Squadron operated from Chakulia (20-25 May 43) and moved to Kurmitola, India, 25 May 43. During this time they struck at bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, trackage and rolling stock in central Burma, in the Monywa-Mandalay-Goktteik region, and ranged as far north as Myitkyina and as far south as Thazi.

In Jan 1944 the 341st Group moved to China, leaving the 490th remaining under control of the Tenth Air Force. The Squadron's success in effectively 'glip' bombing bridges earned them the nickname of "Bridge Busters".

Between 20 May and 30 Jun 44, the Squadron carried supplies and ammunition from Chittagong, India to Allied units at Imphal, during the Japanese offensive into India. During the 1944 Allied summer offensive against the Japanese in Burma, the 490th assisted the ground troops by providing low-level air support.

They strafed and bombed enemy troop concentrations; in particular striking at the bridges leading into Myitkyina which was being besieged by the Allies. The squadron moved and began operating from Dergaon, India, 26 Aug 44; from Moran, India, on 20 Oct 44; and from Warazup, Burma, on 29 Nov 44.

Beginning in Jan 1945, they dropped leaflets (nicknamed the "Burma Mail") for the U.S. Office of War Information. The 490th moved to Hanchung, China, 13 Apr 45 coming under the control of the 312th Fighter Wing, 14th Air Force. With detached operations from Hsian, China, 16 Apr - 4 Aug 45, they continued attacks against bridges and rail yards, while also continuing to drop propaganda leaflets on occupied portions of China until war's end.

With the 341st Group, the squadron returned to the U.S., Sep-Oct 1945 and was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, NJ, 1 - 2 Nov 45. The 490th has been reactivated, and redesignated the "490th Missile Squadron", at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, assigned to the 341st Missile Wing, formerly the 341st Bomb Group.

Source: US Air Force Patches, Mr. Ray Fincham (490th Missile Squadron) EXCERPT FROM THE "HISTORY OF THE 490th MISSILE SQUADRON"

490th BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (MEDIUM)

The 490th has a proud and distinguished history dating back to its beginning in India on 15 September 1942, when the 490th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) was activated. The first combat mission was flown on 18 February 1943 in B-25 Mitchell bombers bearing the now famous "Skull and Wings" insignia, an adaptation of the personal insignia of the commanding officer at that time, Major James A. Philpott. The squadron's aircraft bombed bridges, locomotives, railroad yards, and other targets to delay the movement of supplies to the Japanese troops fighting in northern Burma. Many bridge-bombing missions were initially unsuccessful. High-level, low-level, dive bombing, and skip-bombing all proved ineffective against these difficult targets.

The 490th changed all that on New Years Day, 1944, when Major Robert A. Erdin, squadron leader for the day, accidentally discovered a very effective method for destroying bridges. Once perfected, his hop-bombing technique became so successful that the 490th earned the nickname "Burma Bridge Busters" from the commanding general of the Tenth Air Force. In the words of one war correspondent, the 490th became "one of the most specialized bombardment squadrons in the world." After the war ended, the squadron came home to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, where it was deactivated on 2 November 1945. During its three years of activities, the fighting 490th destroyed 191 major bridges in Burma, Thailand, and southwest China; received 1280 individual citations; and was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations. These achievements cost the squadron 185 crew members killed in action.

Source: Source: Mr. Ray Fincham

China Burma India Theater (CBI)

         

China Burma India Theater (CBI) covered the following locations: China, Burma, India (also Thailand, French Indochina).

China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officially the responsibility of the Supreme Commanders for South East Asia or China. However, US forces in practice were usually overseen by General Joseph Stilwell, the Deputy Allied Commander in China; the term 'CBI' was significant in logistical, material and personnel matters; it was and is commonly used within the US for these theaters.

U.S. and Chinese fighting forces in the CBI included the Chinese Expeditionary Force, the Flying Tigers,^[1] transport and bomber units flying the Hump, including the Tenth Air Force, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built the Ledo Road, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), popularly known as 'Merrill's Marauders', and the 5332d Brigade, Provisional or 'Mars Task Force', which assumed the Marauders' mission.

U.S. strategy for China

Japanese policy towards China had long been a source of international controversy. Western powers had exploited China through the open door policy, advocated by United States diplomat William Woodville Rockhill, while Japan intervened more directly, creating the puppet-state of Manchukuo. By 1937, Japan was engaged in a full-scale war of conquest in China. The infamous Rape of Nanking galvanized Western opinion and led to direct financial aid for the Kuomintang (Nationalists) and increasing economic sanctions against Japan.

In 1941, the U.S. made a series of decisions to support China in its war with Japan: Lend Lease supplies were provided after President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the defense of China to be vital to the defense of the United States. Over the summer, as Japan moved south into French Indo-China, the U.S., Britain and the Netherlands instituted an oil embargo on Japan, cutting off 90% of its supplies. The embargo threatened the operations of the Kwantung Army, which had over a million soldiers deployed in China. Japan responded with a tightly co-ordinated offensive on 7/8 December, simultaneously attacking Pearl Harbor, the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, Guam, Wake Island, and Thailand.

Japan cut off Allied supplies to China that had been coming through Burma. China could be supplied only by flying over the Himalaya mountains ('The Hump') from India,^[2] or capturing territory in Burma and building a new road—the Ledo Road.^[3][4]

Burma

In 1941 and 1942, Japan was overextended. Its naval base could not defend its conquests, and its industrial base could not strengthen its navy. To cut off China from Allied aid, it went into Burma and captured Rangoon on 8 March 1942, cutting off the Burma Road. Moving north, the Japanese took Tounggoo and captured Lashio in northern Burma on 29 April. The British, primarily concerned with India, looked to Burma as the main theater of action against Japan and wanted Chinese troops to fight there.^[5] The United States conjured up visions of millions of Chinese soldiers who would hold the Japanese then throw them back, while providing close-in airbases for a systematic firebombing of Japanese cities. Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek realized it was all fantasy. On the other hand, there were vast sums of American dollars available if he collaborated. He did so and managed to feed his starving soldiers, but they were so poorly equipped and led that offensive operations against the Japanese in China were impossible. However, Chiang did release two Chinese armies for action in Burma under Stilwell. Due to conflicts between Chiang, the British, Stilwell, and American General Claire Chennault, as well as general ill-preparedness against the more proficient Japanese army, the Burma defense collapsed. Stilwell escaped to India, but the recovery of Burma and construction of the Ledo Road to supply China became a new obsession for him.^[6][7]

'On April 14, 1942, William Donovan, as Coordinator of Information (forerunner of the Office of Strategic Services), activated Detachment 101 for action behind enemy lines in Burma. The first unit of its kind, the Detachment was charged with gathering intelligence, harassing the Japanese through guerrilla actions, identifying targets for the Army Air Force to bomb, and rescuing downed Allied airmen. Because Detachment 101 was never larger than a few hundred Americans, it relied on support from various tribal groups in Burma. In particular, the vigorously anti-Japanese Kachin people were vital to the unit's success.'^[8]

Detachment 101's efforts opened the way for Stilwell's Chinese forces, Wingate's Raiders, Merrill's Marauders, and the counter-attack against the Japanese Imperial life-line.^[9]

Allied command structure

U.S. and Allied land forces

US forces in the CBI were grouped together for administrative purposes under the command of General Joseph 'Vinegar Joe' Stilwell. However, unlike other combat theaters, for example the European Theater of Operations, the CBI was never a 'theater of operations' and did not have an overall operational command structure. Initially U.S. land units were split between those who came under the operational command of the India Command under General Sir Archibald Wavell, as the Commander-in-Chief in India, and those in China, which (technically at least) were commanded by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek,^[10] as the Supreme Allied Commander in China. However, Stilwell often broke the chain of command and communicated directly with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on operational matters. This continued after the formation of the South East Asia Command (SEAC) and the appointment of Admiral Lord Mountbatten as Supreme Allied Commander.

When joint allied command was agreed upon, it was decided that the senior position should be held by a member of the British military because the British dominated Allied operations on the South-East Asian Theatre by weight of numbers (in much the same way as the US did in the Pacific Theater of Operations). Admiral Lord Mountbatten was appointed as the Supreme Allied Commander of South-East Asia forces in October 1943.

Gen. Stilwell, who also had operational command of the Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC), a US-Chinese formation, was to report in theory to Gen. George Giffard – commander of Eleventh Army Group – so that NCAC and the British Fourteenth Army, under the command of General William Slim, could be co-ordinated. However, in practice, Gen. Stilwell never agreed to this arrangement. Stilwell was able to do this because of his multiple positions within complex command structures, including especially his simultaneous positions of Deputy Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, and Chief of Staff to Chinese leader Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. As SEAC's deputy leader, Stilwell was Giffard's superior, but as operational commander of NCAC, Giffard was Stilwell's superior. As the two men did not get on, this inevitably lead to conflict and confusion.

Stilwell, however, bitterly resisted [taking orders from Giffard] ... 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.
— William Slim^[11]

Eventually at a SEAC meeting to sort out the chain of command for NCAC, Stilwell astonished everyone by saying 'I am prepared to come under General Slim's operational control until I get to Kamaing'.^[11] Although far from ideal, this compromise was accepted.^[11]

Although Stilwell was the control and co-ordinating point for all command activity in the theater, his assumption of personal direction of the advance of the Chinese Ledo forces into north Burma in late 1943 meant that he was often out of touch with both his own headquarters and with the overall situation.^[10]

Not until late 1944, after Stilwell was recalled to Washington, was the chain of command clarified. His overall role, and the CBI command, was then split among three people: Lt Gen. Raymond Wheeler became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia; Major-General Albert Wedemeyer became Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek, and commander of US Forces, China Theater (USFCT). Lt Gen. Daniel Sultan was promoted, from deputy commander of CBI to commander of US Forces, India–Burma Theater (USFIBT) and commander of the NCAC. The 11th Army Group was redesignated Allied Land Forces South East Asia (ALFSEA), and NCAC was decisively placed under this formation. However, by the time the last phase of the Burma Campaign began in earnest, NCAC had become irrelevant, and it was dissolved in early 1945.

U.S. Army and Allied Air Forces

After consultation among the Allied governments, Air Command South-East Asia was formed in November 1943 to control all Allied air forces in the theater, with Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Peirse as Commander-in-Chief.^[12] Under Peirse's deputy, USAAF Major General George E. Stratemeyer, Eastern Air Command (EAC) was organized in 1943 to control Allied air operations in Burma, with headquarters in Calcutta.^[13] Unlike the strained relations and confusion encountered in coordinating Allied ground force commands, air force operations in the CBI proceeded relatively smoothly. Relations improved even further after new U.S. military aid began arriving, together with capable USAAF officers such as Brigadier General William D. Old of CGI Troop Carrier Command, and Colonels Philip Cochran and John R. Alison of the 1st Air Commando Group.^[14] Within Eastern Air Command, Air Marshal Sir John Baldwin commanded the Third Tactical Air Force, originally formed to provide close air support to the Fourteenth Army. Baldwin was later succeeded by Air Marshal Sir Alec Coryton. U.S. Brigadier-General Howard C. Davidson and later Air Commodore F. J. W. Mellersh commanded the Strategic Air Force. In the new command, various units of the Royal Air Force and the U.S. Tenth Air Force worked side-by-side. In the autumn of 1943 SEAAC had 48 RAF and 17 USAAF squadrons; by the following May, the figures had risen to 64 and 28, respectively.^[13]

At Eastern Air Command, Gen. Stratemeyer had a status comparable to that of Stilwell.^[15] Coordinating the efforts of the various allied air components while maintaining relations with diverse command structures proved a daunting task. Part of Stratemeyer's command, the Tenth Air Force, had been integrated with the RAF Third Tactical Air Force in India in December 1943 and was tasked with a number of roles in support of a variety of allied forces. Another component, the US Fourteenth Air Force in China, was under the jurisdiction of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek as China theater commander. Although the India-China Division of the AAF's Air Transport Command received its tonnage allocations from Stratemeyer as Stilwell's deputy, ICD reported directly to Headquarters ATC in Washington, D.C.

In the spring of 1944, with the arrival of command B-29s in the theater, another factor would be added to air force operations. XX Bomber Command of the Twentieth Air Force was tasked with the strategic bombing of Japan under Operation Matterhorn, and reported directly to the JCS in Washington, D.C. However, XX Bomber Command remained totally dependent on Eastern Air Command for supplies, bases, ground staff, and infrastructure support.

After a period of reshuffling, Eastern Air Command's air operations began to show results. In August 1944, Admiral Mountbatten noted in a press conference that EAC fighter missions had practically swept the Japanese air force from Burmese skies. Between the formation of SEAAC in November 1943, and the middle of August 1944, American and British forces operating in Burma destroyed or damaged more than 700 Japanese aircraft with a further 100 aircraft probably destroyed.^[16] This achievement considerably reduced dangers to Air Transport Command cargo planes flying in support of the Hump airlift operation. By May 1944, EAC resupply missions in support of the Allied ground offensive had carried 70,000 tons of supplies and transported a total of 93,000 men, including 25,500 casualties evacuated from the battle areas. These figures did not include tonnage flown in the Hump airlift missions to China.^[16]

USAAF Order of Battle

Tenth Air Force

• 1st Air Commando Group (1944–1945)
  Burma, India (B-25, P-51, P-47, C-47)
• 1st Combat Cargo Group (1944–1945)
  Burma, India, China (C-47, C-46).
• 2nd Air Commando Group (1944–1945)
  Burma, India (P-51, C-47)
• 3d Combat Cargo Group (1944–1945)
  Burma, India (C-47).
• 4th Combat Cargo Group (1944–1945)
  Burma, India (C-47, C-46).
• 7th Bombardment Group (1942–1945)
  India (B-17, B-24).
• 12th Bombardment Group (1944–1945)
  India (B-25).
• 33d Fighter Group (1944–1945)
  India (P-38, P-47)
• 80th Fighter Group (1943–1945)
  India, Burma (P-38, P-40, P-47)

Transferred in 1944 to Fourteenth Air Force:

• 311th Fighter Group (1943–1944)
  India, Burma (A-36, P-51)
• 341st Bombardment Group (1943–1944)
  India, Burma (B-25)
• 443d Troop Carrier Group (1944–1945)
  India (C-47/C-53)
• 426th Night Fighter Squadron (1944)
  India (P-61)
• 427th Night Fighter Squadron (1944)
  India (P-61)

Fourteenth Air Force

68th Composite Wing

• 23d Fighter Group (1942–1945) (P-40, P-51)
  Formerly American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers".

69th Composite Wing

• 51st Fighter Group: 1942–1945 (P-40, P-38, P-51).
• 341st Bombardment Group 1944–1945 (B-25).

312th Fighter Wing

• 33rd Fighter Group: 1944 (P-38, P-47).
• 81st Fighter Group: 1944–1945 (P-40, P-47).
• 311th Fighter Group: 1944–1945 (A-36, P-51).

Chinese-American Composite Wing (Provisional) (1943–1945)

• 3rd Fighter Group (Provisional) (P-40, P-51)
• 5th Fighter Group (Provisional) (P-40, P-51)
• 1st Bombardment Group (Medium, Provisional) (B-25)

Other assigned units:

• 402d Fighter Group:
  May – July 1943. Assigned but never equipped.
• 476th Fighter Group:
  May – July 1943. Assigned but never equipped.
• 308th Bombardment Group:(B-24)
  March 1943 – February 1945

From Tenth Air Force in 1944–1945:

• 341st Bombardment Group: (B-25)
  January 1944 – November 1945
• 443d Troop Carrier Group: (C-47/C-54)
  Aug – November 1945
• 426th Night Fighter Squadron: P-61)
  1944 – 1945
• 427th Night Fighter Squadron: (P-61)
  1944 – 1945

Twentieth Air Force
(Attached To CBI 1944–1945)

• XX Bomber Command (1944–45)
  (Kharagpur, India)
  • 1st Photo Squadron
  • 58th Bombardment Wing
    (Chakulia, Kharagpur, Hijli AB, India) (B-29)
    • 40th Bombardment Group
    • 444th Bombardment Group
    • 462d Bombardment Group
    • 468th Bombardment Group

Twentieth Air Force XX Bomber Command (XX BC) combat elements moved in the summer of 1944 from the United States to India where they engaged in very-long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombardment operations against Japan, Formosa, China, Indochina and Burma. While in India, XX BC was supported logistically by Tenth Air Force and the India-China Division of the Air Transport Command. B-29 groups moved to West Field, Tinian, in early 1945.

Timeline

Early 1942 Stilwell was promoted to lieutenant general and tasked with establishing the CBI.

25 February 1942 Stilwell arrived in India by which time Singapore and Burma had both been invaded by the Japanese Army.

10 March 1942 Stilwell is named Chief of Staff of Allied armies in the Chinese theatre of operations.

19 March 1942 Stilwell's command in China is extended to include the Chinese 5th and 6th Armies operating in Burma after Chiang Kai-shek gave his permission.

20 March 1942 Chinese troops under Stilwell engage Japanese forces along the Sittang River in Burma.

9 April 1942 Claire Chennault inducted into U.S. Army as a colonel, bringing the AVG Flying Tigers squadrons under Stilwell's nominal authority.

16 April 1942 7,000 British soldiers, and 500 prisoners and civilians were encircled by the Japanese 33rd Division at Yenangyaung.

19 April 1942 The 113th Regiment of the Chinese Expeditionary Force's New 38th Division led by General Sun Li-jen attacked and defeated the encircling Japanese troops rescuing the encircled British troops and civilians. This is historically called Battle of Yenangyaung.

2 May 1942 The commander of Allied forces in Burma, General Harold Alexander, ordered a general retreat to India. Stilwell left his Chinese troops and began the long evacuation with his personal staff (he called it a 'walk out') to India. Most of the Chinese troops, who were supposed to be under Stilwell's command, were deserted in Burma without knowledge of the retreat. Under Chiang Kai-shek they made a hasty and disorganised retreat to India. Some of them tried to return to Yunnan through remote mountainous forests and out of these, at least half died.

24 May 1942 Stilwell arrived in Delhi.

New Delhi and Ramgarh became the main training centre for Chinese troops in India. Chiang Kai-shek gave Stilwell command of what was left of the 22nd and 38th Divisions of the Chinese Army. 1 December 1942 British General Sir Archibald Wavell, as Allied Supreme Commander South East Asia, agreed with Stilwell to make the Ledo Road an American operation.^[17] August 1943 US creates a jungle commando unit, similar to the Chindits, to be commanded by Major General Frank Merrill; it is informally called 'Merrill's Marauders'.^[18] Exhaustion and disease led to the early evacuation of many Chinese and American troops before the coming assault on Myitkyina.^[19]

21 December Stilwell assumed direct control of operations to capture Myitkyina, having built up forces for an offensive in Northern Burma.

24 February 1944 Merrill's Marauders, attacked the Japanese 18th Division in Burma. This action enabled Stilwell to gain control of the Hakawing Valley.

17 May 1944 British general Slim in command of the Burma Campaign handed control of the Chindits to Stilwell.

17 May 1944 Chinese troops, with the help of Merrill's Marauders, captured Myitkina airfield.

3 August 1944 Myitkina fell to the Allies. The Marauders had advanced 750 miles and fought in five major engagements and 32 skirmishes with the Japanese Army. They lost 700 men, only 1,300 Marauders reached their objective and of these, 679 had to be hospitalized. This included General Merrill who had suffered a second-heart attack before going down with malaria.

Some time before 27 August 1944, Mountbatten supreme allied commander (SEAC) ordered General Stilwell to evacuate all the wounded Chindits.

During 1944 the Japanese in Operation Ichi-Go overran US air bases in eastern China. Chiang Kai-shek blamed Stilwell for the Japanese success, and pressed the US high command to recall him. October 1944 Roosevelt recalled Stilwell, whose role was split (as was the CBI): Lieutenant General Raymond Wheeler became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia. Major General Albert Wedemeyer became Chief of Staff to Chiang Kai-shek and commander of the U.S. Forces, China Theater (USFCT).^[20] Lieutenant General Daniel Sultan was promoted from deputy commander to become commander of US Forces India-Burma Theater (USFIBT) and commander of the Northern Combat Area Command

12 January 1945, the first convoy over the Ledo Road of 113 vehicles led by General Pick from Ledo reached Kunming, China on 4 February 1945. Over the next seven months 35,000 tons of supplies in 5,000 vehicles were carried along it.^[5]