740.0011 Pacific War/3450
The Chargé in China (Atcheson) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 18.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s telegrams no. 1233, July 20, 11 a.m. and no. 1221, July 19, 9 a.m., in regard to the use of puppet troops in the fighting during May and June in the Ichang and the Tungting Lake regions, and to enclose an excerpt from a recent report by the Military Attaché (no. 375, August 24, 1943) on the subject of the strength and disposition of puppet troops in China.28
Contained in the excerpt is a discussion of the use of puppet troops in north China, in central China and in south China. According to the Military Attaché, while the main duties of puppet troops in north and central China are those of garrison and police activity, there have been reports of fighting between puppets and units of the Chinese New [Page 109] Fourth Army (Communist), especially in Shansi and eastern Hopei, and, as previously reported, puppet troops were employed in the May and June fighting. In south China, the Military Attaché states, another group of puppets has come into existence, following the Japanese occupation of Kwangchow-wan; these troops are used for defense purposes to secure the coast of Kwangtung for the protection of Japanese shipping. He states that in the May and June operations in the Tungting Lake region about two-thirds of the Japanese contingents were Manchurian or Korean puppets, although all officers and all machine-gunners were Japanese.
As regards the strength of the puppet troops, the Military Attaché states that no accurate figures are available but that a rough estimate would be about 100,000 for north China, 500,000 for Wang Ching-wei, and some 3,000 for south China, making a total of 603,000.
The Military Attaché points out that accurate information in regard to puppet troops, their designations, strengths, commanders, et cetera, is very difficult to obtain; that Chinese Intelligence agencies are reluctant to report on these units; and that Japanese reports monitored from radio broadcasts are colored for obvious propaganda purposes. He adds that it is, however, significant that Chinese Intelligence reports of late contain more information in regard to the activity of puppet troops—an indication that their use is assuming greater importance and that the reorganization of puppet units by the Japanese is beginning to bear fruit.
Respectfully yours,
- Enclosure not printed.↩