893.00/15181
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 18.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a copy of despatch No. 63 of September 15, 1943, from the Secretary on detail at Sian83 in regard to the military strength of the Chinese Communist forces.
Summary. According to civil and military sources at Sian, the regular military forces of the Chinese Communists, incorporated in the 18th Group Army under General Chu Teh, total about 200,000 men. They are said to be well trained, well led, well disciplined, experienced and hardy and with good fighting spirit. There is little or no illiteracy among them. About 30,000 of these troops are stationed in the Shensi–Kansu–Ninghsia Border Region under Generals Lin Piao and Ho Lung while the remainder are scattered through Hopei, Chahar, Shantung, north Honan, Anliui and north Kiangsu. Guerrilla units numbering about 300,000 engage in activities within or near Japanese occupied areas but their training, leadership and equipment is inferior [Page 373] to that of the regular troops. Local militia units, with practically no real military training or equipment, are found throughout north China.
Military equipment is old and worn and not uniform and has been generally acquired from the Japanese or National Government forces. The Communists are estimated to have more than 200,000 rifles of various kinds and a few thousand machine guns but very little artillery or ammunition for such guns and no tanks or airplanes. They are able to manufacture a few rifles, machine guns, hand grenades and ammunition.
In spite of their weakness in matériel, the Communists have managed to maintain their footholds in north China where the mountainous terrain, with practically no modern means of communications, gives them great advantages. Military officials at Sian tend to make light of Communist military strength and apparently believe that the Central Government could easily and quickly liquidate the Communist forces in the north Shensi area. End of Summary.
Chinese Communist sources at Chungking assert an “official figure” of 500,000 Communist regulars divided between the 18th Group Army and the new Fourth Army, the latter commanded by General Chen I with headquarters in north Kiangsu. They also state that there are an additional 2,000,000 guerrilla and partisan units half of which have military weapons of some kind. They describe Communist equipment as consisting of rifles, light machine guns, mortars and hand grenades. The partisans are said to be equipped chiefly with spears and knives.
Chinese Communists at Chungking seem reluctant to give definitive figures for their armed strength and state that the totals given are the “official figures”. It is believed, therefore, that the actual military strength of the Communist forces lies somewhere between the figures obtained by Mr. Drumright from Central Government sources in Sian and those alleged by the Communists at Chungking.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩