China‐Burma‐India Theater | Encyclopedia.com

The China‐Burma‐India (CBI) theater has been dubbed “the forgotten theater” of World War II. Once the United States entered the war, American strategy called ... SkiptomaincontentHistoryEncyclopediasalmanacstranscriptsandmapsChina‐Burma‐IndiaTheaterChina‐Burma‐IndiaTheateroxfordviewsupdatedChina‐Burma‐IndiaTheater(1941–45).TheChina‐Burma‐India(CBI)theaterhasbeendubbed“theforgottentheater”ofWorldWarII.OncetheUnitedStatesenteredthewar,AmericanstrategycalledforbuildingupChinaasasourceofmanpower,asabaseforbombersandtheeventualinvasionofJapan,andasapro‐Americanregionalpowerinthepostwarera.AfterJapaneseoccupationofBurmaandtheApril1942closureoftheBurmaRoad,China'slastoverlandlinkwithitsallies,twoyearspassedbeforetheAlliescouldmakeamajorefforttoreopentheroute.Vastdistances,ruggedterrain,fewroads,heavyrainfall,anddiseasesmadeBurmaahorrendousplaceforacampaign.Giventhe“GermanyFirst”strategy,theCBItheaterlayfardowntheAllies'listofpriorities.AlthoughtheBritishwantedtorecoverBurmaandtheirotherFarEasterncolonies,theysharedlittleoftheAmericansenseofurgencyforaidingChina.TheNationalistleaderChiangKai‐shek,anxioustoconservehisforcesforthepostwarshowdownwithMaoZedong'sChineseCommunists,waswaryofmajorcommitments.Consequently,theAmericansbuiltuptheirlogisticalstructureandexaminedalternativestrategies.FromairbasesnearDinjaninAssamProvince(northeasternIndian),C‐46andC‐47transportplanesflewsupplies500milesthroughtheHimalayasover“theHump”toKunming,China.InDecember1942,theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineerstookoverconstructionofaroadfromLedotojointheBurmaRoad.Searchingforalternatives,RooseveltandChiangweredrawntoMaj.Gen.ClaireChennault'sextravagantpromisethatwith150planesandpriorityon“Hump”tonnage,hecoulddefeatJapan.TheAlliesalsotiedintelligencegatheringtoKachinguerrillasrescuingdownedAlliedfliersbyDetachment101oftheU.S.OfficeofStrategicServices(OSS)anddeepraidsbyBritishBrig.OrdeC.Wingate's“Chindits.”AttheCairoConferenceinNovemberandDecember1943,Alliedleaderscouldnotagreeonamajor1944offensiveintoBurmabyAdm.LordLouisMountbatten'snewSoutheastAsiaCommand,butLt.Gen.JosephStilwellhadhisownideas.TheablebutacerbicStilwellwasAmericantheatercommander,Mountbatten'sdeputy,Chiang'schiefofstaff,andcommanderoftheChineseArmyinIndia.DeterminedtoproceedwithhisthreeU.S.‐trainedChinesedivisionsand“Merrill'sMarauders”—3,000air‐supplied,AmericanlightinfantrymenoriginallyassignedtoWingate—StilwellsenttheMaraudersondeepflankingmarchesintotherearoftheJapanese18thDivisionwhiletheChineseattackedinfront.Bymid‐April1944,Stilwell'sforceshadadvancedtosixty‐fivemilesfromMyitkyina,akeytransportationcenterandairbaseinNorthBurma.Tothesouth,adrivebythreeJapanesedivisionsintoAssamthreatenedStilwell'scommunications;butinJune,Lt.Gen.WilliamJ.Slim'sBritishFourteenthArmybadlydefeatedtheJapaneseatImphal.Meanwhile,theMaraudersseizedtheairfieldatMyitkyinainasurpriseattackon17May.Worndownbycasualtiesanddisease,theyandtheChinesecouldnottakethecity,whichheldoutuntil3August.InOctober,theAlliesresumedtheiroffensive.TheFourteenthArmyadvancedtotheChindwinRiver,andtheChineseandMarsTaskForce,includingtherevivedMarauders,pushedonBhamoandLashio.On20January1945,patrolsofthe38thChineseDivisionfromIndialinkedupwithChinesetroopsfromYunnanontheBurmaRoad,andon29JanuarythefirstconvoyfromLedopassedthelinkupenroutetoKunming.Bythen,thewarhadpassedbyCBI.SincetheCairoConference,RooseveltandhisadvisershadbecomeincreasinglydisillusionedwithChiangandhisinabilityorunwillingnesstodrivebacktheJapanese.AmericanstrategybecameorientedtowardthePacific,limitingCBI'srolelargelytodivertingJapanesedivisions.InJune1944,theTwentiethU.S.AirForcehadlaunchedB‐29raidsfromChengtu,China,againstJapan,butaftertenmonthsofdisappointingresultsandlogisticalproblems,theB‐29swereshiftedtotheMarianaIslandsinthePacific.Chennault'sstrategyalsoprovedadisappointment,astheJapaneseArmy,fulfillingStilwell'spredictions,seizedtheFourteenthAirForce'sbasesonceitsoperationsbegantoaffectthem.Stilwellcouldtakelittlesatisfaction,foron18October1944,Roosevelt,bowingtoincreasedpressurefromChiang,relievedhim.CBIsplitintoanIndia‐Burmatheaterwithabout184,000U.S.forcesunderLt.Gen.DanielI.SultanandaChinatheaterwithabout28,000AmericansunderGen.AlbertC.Wedemeyer,whopreparedambitiousplansforarejuvenatedChineseArmytodrivetotheChinacoastby1946.TocoordinateaChineseoffensiveagainsttheJapanese,anOSSdelegation,the“DixieMission,”evenvisitedMaoinYenanProvince,NorthwestChina,butU.S.AmbassadorPatrickHurley,fearingtheimpactonCommunist‐Nationalistnegotiations,vetoedcooperationwiththeCommunistforces.Wedemeyer'soffensiveinJuly1945cametoolatetoaffectthewar'soutcome.CBIproducedsomeofthemostimpressivefeatsofengineeringandlogisticsinAmericanmilitaryhistory.Yet,despitethebesteffortsofnumerousAmericans,itcontributedlittletoJapan'sdefeat,exceptperhapstokeepChinainthewarandtherebytieupsizableJapaneseforcesontheAsianmainland.[SeealsoChina,U.S.MilitaryInvolvementin;ChineseCivilWar,U.S.MilitaryInvolvementinthe,WorldWarII,U.S.AirOperationsin:TheAirWarAgainstJapan.]BibliographyCharlesF.RomanusandandRileySunderland,Stilwell'sMissiontoChina,1953.CharlesF.RomanusandandRileySunderland,Stilwell'sCommandProblems,1956.CharltonOgburn,Jr.,TheMarauders,1959.CharlesF.RomanusandandRileySunderland,TimeRunsOutinCBI,1959.BarbaraW.Tuchman,StilwellandtheAmericanExperienceinChina,1911–1945,1970.WarrenI.Cohen,America'sResponsetoChina:AnInterpretiveHistoryofSino‐AmericanRelations,1971.DavidW.Hogan,Jr.TheOxfordCompaniontoAmericanMilitaryHistory×CitethisarticlePickastylebelow,andcopythetextforyourbibliography.MLAChicagoAPA"China‐Burma‐IndiaTheater ."TheOxfordCompaniontoAmericanMilitaryHistory..Encyclopedia.com.25Apr.2022."China‐Burma‐IndiaTheater ."TheOxfordCompaniontoAmericanMilitaryHistory..Encyclopedia.com.(April25,2022).https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/china-burma-india-theater"China‐Burma‐IndiaTheater ."TheOxfordCompaniontoAmericanMilitaryHistory..RetrievedApril25,2022fromEncyclopedia.com:https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/china-burma-india-theaterLearnmoreaboutcitationstylesCitationstylesEncyclopedia.comgivesyoutheabilitytocitereferenceentriesandarticlesaccordingtocommonstylesfromtheModernLanguageAssociation(MLA),TheChicagoManualofStyle,andtheAmericanPsychologicalAssociation(APA).Withinthe“Citethisarticle”tool,pickastyletoseehowallavailableinformationlookswhenformattedaccordingtothatstyle.Then,copyandpastethetextintoyourbibliographyorworkscitedlist.Becauseeachstylehasitsownformattingnuancesthatevolveovertimeandnotallinformationisavailableforeveryreferenceentryorarticle,Encyclopedia.comcannotguaranteeeachcitationitgenerates.Therefore,it’sbesttouseEncyclopedia.comcitationsasastartingpointbeforecheckingthestyleagainstyourschoolorpublication’srequirementsandthemost-recentinformationavailableatthesesites:ModernLanguageAssociationhttp://www.mla.org/styleTheChicagoManualofStylehttp://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.htmlAmericanPsychologicalAssociationhttp://apastyle.apa.org/Notes:Mostonlinereferenceentriesandarticlesdonothavepagenumbers.Therefore,thatinformationisunavailableformostEncyclopedia.comcontent.However,thedateofretrievalisoftenimportant.Refertoeachstyle’sconventionregardingthebestwaytoformatpagenumbersandretrievaldates.InadditiontotheMLA,Chicago,andAPAstyles,yourschool,university,publication,orinstitutionmayhaveitsownrequirementsforcitations.Therefore,besuretorefertothoseguidelineswheneditingyourbibliographyorworkscitedlist.MoreFromencyclopedia.comJosephWarrenStilwell,JosephWarrenStilwell(1883-1946)wastheArmyofficerinchargeofU.S.affairsinChinaduringWorldWarII. JosephStilwellwasbornonMarch19,…Sino-japaneseWars,Sino-JapaneseWar,Second SecondSino-JapaneseWar,1937–45,conflictbetweenJapaneseandChineseforcesforcontroloftheChinesemainland.Thewa…RelationsWithChina,CHINA,RELATIONSWITH.AmericahasalwaysbeeninterestedinChina,butrarelyhasevidencedmuchunderstandingoftheMiddleKingdomorofthediffe…China,CompiledfromtheJanuary2007BackgroundNoteandsupplementedwithadditionalinformationfromtheStateDepartmentandtheeditorsofthisvolume.…BurmaRoad,BurmaRoadandLedoRoad BURMAROADANDLEDOROAD.OneofthelargestengineeringprojectsofWorldWarIIwastheconstructionofa400-milemilitar…ChiangKai-shek,ChiangKai-shek ChiangKai-shek(1887-1975)wasaChinesenationalistleader.For2decadeshewasheadofstateontheChinesemainland,andafter1…AboutthisarticleChina‐Burma‐IndiaTheaterUpdatedAboutencyclopedia.comcontentPrintArticleYouMightAlsoLikeChina,U.S.ArmedForcesinTheChinaLobbyChinaEnterstheWarChina,FirstOpiumWarto1945ShandongProvinceChin.China-U.S.RelationsandChineseAmericansWesternandEasternCulturalExchangeNEARBYTERMSchinawareChinatownConnectionChinatownAfterDarkchinastoneChinantecChinandegaChinampasChinamenChinamanChina:TotalCarbonDioxideEmissionsChina:HistoryofDressChina:ClimateandEnergyPoliciesChina-U.S.RelationsandChineseAmericansChina,U.S.ArmedForcesinChina,totheFirstOpiumWarChina,MySorrowChina,IntelligenceandSecurityChina,ForeignTradeChina,FirstOpiumWarto1945China,ChristianityinChina,BuddhistArtinChina,After1945China'sTelecommunicationsIndustry:TransformationandChallengesChina'sTaxRevenue,PublicGoods,andEconomicTransitionChina'sInstitutionalProgressduringtheTransitionChina‐Burma‐IndiaTheaterChinchaChinchaIslandsChinchaIslandsWarChinchaKingdomChinchillaMiranda,LauraChinchillaRats(Abrocomidae)ChinchillaRats:AbrocomidaeChinchilla,Short-tailedChinchillidaeChinchon,Ana,countessof(1576–1639)Chinchón,LuisJerónimoFernándezdeCabreraBobadillaCerdayMendoza,condedechinchonaChinchulín,PactofchinconaChindaswinthChinditChindwinChindwinnChinen,NateChinery,MichaelChineseAmericanMedicalSocietyChineseAmericansAfterWorldWarIIChineseAmericans,AlcoholandDrugUseamongChineseandJapaneseMathematicalStudiesofthe1700sChineseAstrology