The Chief of Staff (Marshall) to President Roosevelt 24
Support of General Stilwell
The Secretary of War and I have personally had lengthy discussions regarding General Stilwell. We feel that at least for the time being we should continue to support him in the accomplishment of what is an extraordinarily difficult mission. Our great objective is to re-occupy Burma sufficiently to open up a supply route into China. The British cannot do this alone; the Chinese certainly can’t manage it; neither side would admit of leadership by the other. So our only hope as I see it is to secure guidance by an American. He must be a troop leader rather than a negotiator or supply man who would only serve to promote harmony at Chungking. We have searched our resources and at the moment we do not see any officer with a sufficient knowledge of the Chinese and with sufficient standing as a troop leader to hope to secure either British or Chinese acquiescence for control of a campaign.
Stilwell has spent almost ten years in China. I believe an officer without some such experience would be utterly helpless in dealing with Chinese methods, particularly in resistance to Occidental methods.
I know that Mr. Currie feels that Stilwell should be relieved but I do not believe Mr. Currie realizes what this is going to mean towards the accomplishment of our military objective in Burma.
Clarification of the situation
It is hoped that your reply to the Generalissimo’s three demands, a draft of which I recently submitted for your approval, will go a long way towards clarifying the situation.
Officer en route to China
Colonel Timberman of the General Staff is departing by air today for China to survey the entire situation. He has had years of experience in China. I should not like to take any final action prior to his return.
It is therefore recommended that no action relative to General Stilwell should be taken at this time.
- Photostatic copy obtained from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, N. Y.↩