811.20 Defense (M)/8179: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 8 [9?]—7:51 a.m.]
921. Your 699, August 5, 4 p.m.83 Both Stilwell and Currie have left for India. Currie mentioned to me that he proposed to make the inquiry of Milo Perkins84 contained in my 907, August 4,83 but I was given no confidence by Currie as to his conversations with Stilwell and the Generalissimo. I made telegraphic facilities available to him without questioning his messages.
[Page 126]I have understood that Stilwell favors an American-British-Chinese expedition under American High Command to retake Burma in order to reopen Burma Road and to supply and energize China theater for air attacks on Japan proper and on Jap communications through Formosan channel; also to strike at Indo-China and Thailand. He has no more than mentioned the subject to me very casually but I learned from others that he was considering making a recommendation to train several Chinese divisions in India where they could be given full equipment from Lend-Lease supplies now there, including field pieces and other relatively heavy arms which cannot be moved into China at this time for lack of transport. There are already several thousand Chinese troops in India who came from Burma. The balance of any Chinese force would have to be sent to India from China by car. I do not know how far, if at all, the matter was discussed with Generalissimo. I have been told that Stilwell went to India with Currie so that they might see Wavell85 together.