Y Force
Encyclopedia
Y Force was the SEAC
designation given to Chinese forces under the command of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
that re-entered Burma from Yunnan
in 1944 as one of the Allies fighting in Burma Campaign
of World War II
.
, along with the other Allies forces, were forced to retreat back along their lines of communications. Most of the Chinese retreated into China but two divisions retreated into India where they were placed under the command of the American General Joseph Stilwell
.
formed the majority of front line forces available to Stilwell when he advanced into Northern Burma in October 1943. His intention was to capture Northern Burma and reopen land communications with China via a new spur to the Burma Road called the Ledo Road
.
In support of Stilwell's offensive, in the second half of April 1944, Y Force mounted an attack on the Yunnan front. Nearly 40,000 troops crossed the Salween river on a 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) front. Soon some twelve Chinese divisions of 72,000 men, under General Wei Lihuang, were attacking the Japanese 56th Division
. The Japanese forces in the North were now then fighting on two fronts in northern Burma.
By the end of May the Yunnan offensive, though hampered by the monsoon rains and lack of air support, succeeded in annihilating the garrison of Tengchung and eventually reached as far as Lungling. Strong Japanese reinforcements then counter-attacked and halted the Chinese advance.
During the monsoon season there was a pause in major offensive actions and the fighting did not resume in earnest until later in 1944.
The Japanese Thirty-third Army, led by Lieutenant General Masaki Honda, defended Northern Burma against attacks from both Northern India and the Chinese province of Yunnan. The Japanese 18th Division
faced the American and Chinese forces advancing south from Myitkyina
and Mogaung
which the Allies had secured in 1944, and the Japanese 56th Division
faced the large Chinese Yunnan armies led by Wei Lihuang.
Although Thirty-third Army had been forced to relinquish most of the reinforcements it had received the previous year, the operations of the American-led Northern Combat Area Command
under Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan
were limited from late 1944 onwards as many of its troops were withdrawn by air to face Japanese attacks in China. In Operation Grubworm, the Chinese 14th and 22nd Divisions were flown via Myitkyina to defend the airfields around Kunming
, vital to the airlift of aid to China, nicknamed The Hump
. Nevertheless, the command resumed its advance.
On the right flank of the command, the British 36th Division, advanced south down the "Railway Valley" from Mogaung to Indaw
. It made contact with the Indian 19th Division near Indaw on 10 December 1944, and Fourteenth Army and NCAC now had a continuous front.
On Sultan's left, the Chinese New First Army
(Chinese 30th Division and Chinese 38th Division) advanced from Myitkyina to Bhamo. The Japanese resisted for several weeks, but Bhamo fell on 15 December. The Chinese New Sixth Army
(Chinese 50th Division) infiltrated through the difficult terrain between these two wings to threaten the Japanese lines of communication.
The New First Army made contact with Wei Lihuang's armies advancing from Yunnan near Hsipaw
on 21 January 1945, and the Ledo road could finally be completed. The first truck convoy from India arrived in Kunming
on 4 February, but by this point in the war the value of the Ledo road was uncertain, as it would not now affect the overall military situation in China.
To the annoyance of the British and Americans, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek
ordered Sultan to halt his advance at Lashio
, which was captured on 7 March. The British and Americans generally refused to understand that Chiang had to balance the needs of China as a whole against fighting the Japanese in a British colony. The Japanese had already withdrawn most of their divisions from the northern front, to face Fourteenth Army in central Burma. On 12 March, Thirty-third Army HQ was also dispatched there, leaving only the 56th Division to hold the northern front. This division was also withdrawn in late March and early April.
From 1 April, NCAC's operations stopped, and its units returned to China. The British 36th Division moved to Mandalay, which had been captured in March, and was subsequently withdrawn to India. A US-led guerrilla force, OSS Detachment 101
, took over the military responsibilities of NCAC, while British civil affairs and other units such as the Civil Affairs Service (Burma) stepped in to take over its other responsibilities. Northern Burma was partitioned into Line-of-Communication areas by the military authorities.
SEAC
The term SEAC can stand for:* Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, the senior non-commissioned member of the United States armed forces* South East Asia Command, a World War II Allied military command...
designation given to Chinese forces under the command of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
that re-entered Burma from Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
in 1944 as one of the Allies fighting in Burma Campaign
Burma Campaign
The Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II was fought primarily between British Commonwealth, Chinese and United States forces against the forces of the Empire of Japan, Thailand, and the Indian National Army. British Commonwealth land forces were drawn primarily from...
of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
1942
When the Japanese invaded Burma (in the first half of 1942), the Chinese Expeditionary Force in BurmaChinese Expeditionary Force in Burma
1st Route Expeditionary Forces - Lo Cho-ying [1]* Commander – US Army Lieut.-General JW Stilwell [4]* Chief of the Chinese General Staff Mission to Burma - Lieut.-General Lin Wei[4]...
, along with the other Allies forces, were forced to retreat back along their lines of communications. Most of the Chinese retreated into China but two divisions retreated into India where they were placed under the command of the American General Joseph Stilwell
Joseph Stilwell
General Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
.
1943/1944 campaign
After being re-equipped and retrained the Chinese divisions designated X ForceX Force
X Force was the name given to the portion of the National Revolutionary Army Chinese Expeditionary Force that retreated from Burma into India in 1942. Chiang Kai-shek sent troops into Burma from Yunnan in 1942 to assist the British in holding back the Japanese. These Chinese forces became broken...
formed the majority of front line forces available to Stilwell when he advanced into Northern Burma in October 1943. His intention was to capture Northern Burma and reopen land communications with China via a new spur to the Burma Road called the Ledo Road
Ledo Road
The Ledo Road was built during World War II so that the Western Allies could supply the Chinese as an alternative to the Burma Road which had been cut by the Japanese in 1942. It was renamed the Stilwell Road in early 1945 at the suggestion of Chiang Kai-shek...
.
In support of Stilwell's offensive, in the second half of April 1944, Y Force mounted an attack on the Yunnan front. Nearly 40,000 troops crossed the Salween river on a 300 kilometres (186.4 mi) front. Soon some twelve Chinese divisions of 72,000 men, under General Wei Lihuang, were attacking the Japanese 56th Division
56th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
IJA Fifty Sixth Division was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. It was also known as Ryuheidan meaning "Dragon Division".-History:The 56th Division participated in the Invasion of Burma during the Burma Campaign...
. The Japanese forces in the North were now then fighting on two fronts in northern Burma.
By the end of May the Yunnan offensive, though hampered by the monsoon rains and lack of air support, succeeded in annihilating the garrison of Tengchung and eventually reached as far as Lungling. Strong Japanese reinforcements then counter-attacked and halted the Chinese advance.
During the monsoon season there was a pause in major offensive actions and the fighting did not resume in earnest until later in 1944.
1944/1945 campaign
18th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call sign was the .-History:The 18th Division was formed in Kurume, Kyūshū on 13 November 1907, together with the 17th Division, as part of the post Russo-Japanese War expansion of the standing Japanese military...
faced the American and Chinese forces advancing south from Myitkyina
Myitkyina
Myitkyina is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar , located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese it means "near the big river", and in fact "Myitkyina" lies on the west bank of the Ayeyarwady River, just below from Myit-son of its two headstreams...
and Mogaung
Mogaung
Mogaung is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line.-External links:* Falling Rain Genomics, Inc.* Maplandia.com...
which the Allies had secured in 1944, and the Japanese 56th Division
56th Division (Imperial Japanese Army)
IJA Fifty Sixth Division was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. It was also known as Ryuheidan meaning "Dragon Division".-History:The 56th Division participated in the Invasion of Burma during the Burma Campaign...
faced the large Chinese Yunnan armies led by Wei Lihuang.
Although Thirty-third Army had been forced to relinquish most of the reinforcements it had received the previous year, the operations of the American-led Northern Combat Area Command
Northern Combat Area Command
The Northern Combat Area Command or NCAC was a mainly Sino-American formation that held the northern end of the Allied front in Burma during World War II. For much of its existence it was commanded by the acerbic General Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell, and controlled by his staff...
under Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan
Daniel Isom Sultan
General Daniel Isom Sultan, was an American General during World War II. He fought in the China-Burma-India theater at the last half of the war....
were limited from late 1944 onwards as many of its troops were withdrawn by air to face Japanese attacks in China. In Operation Grubworm, the Chinese 14th and 22nd Divisions were flown via Myitkyina to defend the airfields around Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
, vital to the airlift of aid to China, nicknamed The Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
. Nevertheless, the command resumed its advance.
On the right flank of the command, the British 36th Division, advanced south down the "Railway Valley" from Mogaung to Indaw
Indaw
Indaw is a town in northern Burma, in Sagaing Division, Katha District, Indaw Township. It is located about 2 km southeast of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about 6 km to the northeast of the town.-History:...
. It made contact with the Indian 19th Division near Indaw on 10 December 1944, and Fourteenth Army and NCAC now had a continuous front.
On Sultan's left, the Chinese New First Army
New 1st Army
New 1st Army was reputed as the most elite Chinese military unit of the Kuomintang. Nicknamed the "1st [Best] Army Under the Heaven" during the Chinese Civil War, it caused the most Japanese Army casualties during the Sino-Japanese War ....
(Chinese 30th Division and Chinese 38th Division) advanced from Myitkyina to Bhamo. The Japanese resisted for several weeks, but Bhamo fell on 15 December. The Chinese New Sixth Army
New 6th Army
New 6th Army was a Chinese combat command involved in the Burma Campaign of World War II, and later, the Chinese Civil War.They operated in the Shan States and the Karen State of eastern Burma...
(Chinese 50th Division) infiltrated through the difficult terrain between these two wings to threaten the Japanese lines of communication.
The New First Army made contact with Wei Lihuang's armies advancing from Yunnan near Hsipaw
Hsipaw
Hsipaw , is a town in Shan State, Myanmar on the riverbank of Myitnge River. It is 200 km northeast of Mandalay.-Shan Saopha:Hsipaw is perhaps one of the most well known and powerful saopha states of Shan State...
on 21 January 1945, and the Ledo road could finally be completed. The first truck convoy from India arrived in Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
on 4 February, but by this point in the war the value of the Ledo road was uncertain, as it would not now affect the overall military situation in China.
To the annoyance of the British and Americans, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
ordered Sultan to halt his advance at Lashio
Lashio
Lashio is the largest town in northern Shan State, Myanmar, about northeast of Mandalay. It is situated on a low mountain spur overlooking the valley of the Nam Yao river. The population grew from around 5000 in 1960 to 88,590 in 1983. It is currently estimated at around 130,000.Lashio is the...
, which was captured on 7 March. The British and Americans generally refused to understand that Chiang had to balance the needs of China as a whole against fighting the Japanese in a British colony. The Japanese had already withdrawn most of their divisions from the northern front, to face Fourteenth Army in central Burma. On 12 March, Thirty-third Army HQ was also dispatched there, leaving only the 56th Division to hold the northern front. This division was also withdrawn in late March and early April.
From 1 April, NCAC's operations stopped, and its units returned to China. The British 36th Division moved to Mandalay, which had been captured in March, and was subsequently withdrawn to India. A US-led guerrilla force, OSS Detachment 101
OSS Detachment 101
Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services operated in the China Burma India Theater of World War II. On January 17, 1946, it was awarded a Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation by Dwight Eisenhower, who wrote, "The courage and fighting spirit displayed by its officers and men in...
, took over the military responsibilities of NCAC, while British civil affairs and other units such as the Civil Affairs Service (Burma) stepped in to take over its other responsibilities. Northern Burma was partitioned into Line-of-Communication areas by the military authorities.