Office of the Historian

J.C.S. Files

Memorandum by the British Quartermaster General (Riddell-Webster) and the Commanding General, United States Army Service Forces (Somervell)1

secret
Enclosure to C.C.S. 325
[Quebec,] 21 August 1943.

1. The opening of an overland route to China will greatly facilitate operations and may well assist in bringing hostilities to an earlier conclusion than would otherwise be possible. In addition to meeting requirements for 1943–1944 operations in Burma, and the short term projects which are necessary to make them possible, it is necessary because of the Herculean task ahead to make urgent preparations for completing the overland route and insuring an adequate supply of stores for delivery over the route when opened.

2. Preliminary studies of the possible opening date and capacity of the road from Ledo via Myitkyina–Paoshan to Kunming, together with [Page 1004] projected pipelines, disclose certain divergence of views as between the U.S. and British Staffs. It is not possible or necessary in this paper to assess which of the views is more nearly correct, but it is agreed by all parties that the project is urgent and should be carried out at the earliest possible date, subject to such operations as may be agreed by the Combined Chiefs of Staff.

3. Regardless of the date of opening of the route, which depends on the course of operations and on the major constructional problems that may arise, it is necessary now to examine the target requirement of tonnage to be carried over the route and to initiate urgent action for the expansion of the Assam L of C in preparation for this tonnage and that required for the maintenance of the route if development is not to be held up for lack of prompt action.

4. The present planned capacity of the Assam L of C to be reached by 1 November 1943 is 102,000 tons per month, including petroleum products, which will suffice only for minimum operational maintenance of essential ground and air forces, for an estimated air ferry delivery to China of about 10,000 tons per month and for road construction to keep pace with operational advances.

5. When the overland route is opened it is estimated that the additional requirement will be:

a. Increase of air route 10,000 tons per month
b. Increase for operational forces 13,000 tons per month
c. Stores for delivery to China by road 65,000 tons per month
d. Maintenance stores for route 30,000 tons per month

This represents an increase of 118,000 tons per month to be carried by the Assam L of C, exclusive of petroleum products for which two six-inch pipelines from Calcutta to Ledo are essential features and whose construction must keep pace with the development of the project.

6. We, therefore, recommend that the Combined Chiefs of Staff approve in principle the project for a supply route to China through Burma and Assam and that a directive (draft attached2) be issued to the Supreme Commander to initiate immediate action to increase the capacity of the Assam L of C to the following target figures:

1st November 1943 102,000 tons per month
1st May 1944 140,000 tons per month
1st July 1944 1st six-inch pipeline Calcutta to Ledo
1st January 1945 170,000 tons per month
1st May 1945 200,000 tons per month
1st July 1945
a.
a second six-inch pipeline Calcutta to Ledo
b.
balanced increase of tankage at Calcutta
1st January 1946 220,000 tons per month

[Page 1005]

7. The United States Chiefs of Staff have agreed to the provision of the special personnel, equipment and stores necessary to construct and operate the route Ledo–Kunming and, having due regard to agreed operational priorities, will make available such personnel, equipment and stores as may be necessary to achieve the increased tonnage on the Assam L of C in conformity with the plan recommended by the Supreme Commander. Pending the assumption of command by the Supreme Commander, the Commander in Chief India should be charged with the primary action in regard to the above.

  1. Circulated for consideration by the Combined Chiefs of Staff under cover of a note by the Secretaries of the Combined Chiefs of Staff (C.C.S. 325), August 21, 1943.

    The recommendations in this paper were approved at the 114th Meeting of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, August 21, 1943. See ante, p. 921.

    ↩
  2. Not printed.↩