Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945

by Rana Mitter

Did Stilwell’s failed strategy in Burma destroy a key defense for the Nationalist government? The alternative, a retreat to north Burma—advocated both by the National Government and by the British—might still have seen the region overrun by the Japanese and the loss of the Burma Road. But Stilwell’s highly risky gamble was much more likely to fail than succeed. It led to the death or injury of some 25,000 Chinese troops along with over 10,000 British and Indian troops (with only 4,500 Japanese casualties).72 Retreat might have meant that more of the Fifth and Sixth Armies were saved for the defense of China. Whatever the alternative, the reality was that by the spring of 1942 there was no further possibility of Nationalist China being supplied through Burma. The political and financial consequences of Stilwell’s choice would rebound on Chiang’s government for years to come. The ending of the Burma supply route also put another opportunity in Stilwell’s hands. Some 45,000 tons of Lend-Lease supplies intended for China were now instead assigned to the Nationalist armies that had made it to India.73 Throughout the war Stilwell would retain control over the