893.00/11–2244
The Second Secretary of Embassy in China (Rice) to the Secretary of State 82
[Received December 18.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s despatch to the Department no. 3106, October 31, 1944 on the subject of reported clashes between forces of General Yen Hsi-shan and Chinese Communists, and further to report on that subject as follows.
Of the reported attacks, those alleged to have been made on Chiulin and Kangpinghsiang, Shensi, in September seemed to be perhaps the more important, as they appeared to be designed to cut General Yen’s line of communications between Sian and his headquarters at Ken-anpo. I accordingly alluded to the attacks during a conversation I had November 16 with a liaison officer of General Yen who is stationed at Sian. This officer seemed not to know of any such attacks having occurred in Shensi during September. However, after I repeated the substance of remarks relative to those attacks attributed to the Government spokesman in the news report the liaison officer declared heartily that such attacks had indeed occurred and that the Communists had been badly defeated but that he could not understand “why on earth” the Communists had wanted to capture the two villages. I gathered the impression from his reactions, as described above, that General Yen’s forces in Shensi had not actually been attacked. Moreover, several foreigners who recently traveled through the above-mentioned towns heard of no hostilities in the area, although they did notice that defence works were being constructed which local residents said were designed for use in case of Communist incursions.
A usually well-informed local newspaperman says that the Communists recently have launched no attacks in Shensi, but he quotes a [Page 715] member of the Shansi provincial Kuomintang as stating that six regiments of Communist troops during September made severe attacks on units of General Yen’s 61st Army near Howma, Shansi (111°20′ long., 35°35′ lat.). He also quotes the leader of a guerrilla band which operates in Shansi and is subject to the control of General Tai Li (and which presumably is specially constituted for anti-Communist work) as saying that the struggle with the Communists is a bitter one and that, both sides lacking sufficient ammunition, prisoners are sometimes buried alive. Judging from available reports it appears that many of General Yen’s troops have deserted to the Communists and that within the last six months he has lost control of two more hsien (districts)—whether to them or to the Japanese is not clear.
Respectfully yours,
- Approved by the Chargé in China for transmission to the Department.↩