740.0011 Pacific War/8–442
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Davies)81
Mr. Currie opened the conversation with a question regarding the course of hostilities in southwestern Russia. The Ambassador discussed the situation in this theater in some detail and admitted that it was very serious.
Mr. Currie then inquired whether in the opinion of the Ambassador the Chinese could be counted upon to continue resistance despite the reverses which the United Nations are currently suffering and continued Japanese pressure on China. The Ambassador replied in the affirmative and the Military Attaché nodded in agreement.
The next question dealt with a possible Chinese-British-American attempt to re-take Burma. In the event of such an effort, Mr. Currie asked, did the Ambassador think that there would be a tendency on the part of the Chinese to hold back and let the British carry the brunt of the fighting? The Ambassador indicated that he thought the Chinese would fight (it was not clear, however, that the Ambassador fully understood the question). The Military Attaché, on the other hand, appeared to understand the question as phrased in English and as Mr. Currie spoke shook his head, seeming to signify that he had misgivings over the likelihood of the Chinese being willing to carry their share of the load.
[Page 124]Out of this discussion there arose the question of unified command. The Military Attaché was emphatic in the need for centralized authority in any joint campaign.
Mr. Currie asked the Military Attaché if he thought that a foreign military officer could successfully command Chinese troops. The Military Attaché replied with confidence that such an arrangement would not work. A system of advisers, however, could serve a useful purpose. But such a system calls for advisers in all of the various units, from armies and divisions on down. The ranking adviser must have at his disposal his own channel of information from and advice to the smaller units. Asked whether the Chinese were willing to accept advice, the Military Attaché shrugged his shoulders and said that yes they would, usually.
The Military Attaché stated, when asked by Mr. Currie about exchange of information between the Russian and American military officers in Chungking, that there was no close cooperation and that the American officers were not inclined to talk frankly.
- This conversation took place at the Soviet Embassy in Chungking and the following were present: Lauchlin Currie, the Soviet Ambassador, the Soviet Counselor, the Soviet Military Attaché a Russian interpreter, and Mr. Davies. There is no indication on the file copy as to how it was transmitted to the Department.↩