893.00/8–2145
Memorandum by the Secretary of the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee (McCarthy) to the Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (McFarland)
- 1.
- Reference is made to SM–2964, dated 21 August 1945, to the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee.47
- 2.
- By informal action on 22 August 1945, the State-War-Navy
Coordinating Committee agreed that the following message, prepared
by the Assistant Secretary of State,48 should be forwarded by General
Wedemeyer to Chu Teh, principal Chinese Communist Military
Commander, in his discretion and after consultation with the
American Ambassador:
“I have received your message of . . . . . As you know, I am not only Commander of the American Forces in China, but also Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the Chinese Army. It is my earnest hope in both capacities that we shall enjoy the fullest cooperation of all Chinese in effecting, in accordance with arrangements worked out by the Supreme Allied Commander,49 the surrender of Japanese forces and their evacuation from Chinese soil. These arrangements, which have been approved by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, provide that Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, as Allied Commander in Chief of the China Theater, shall receive the surrender of the Japanese armed forces in China, under the terms of the Potsdam Declaration made jointly by China, the United States and Great Britain and subscribed to by the Soviet Union in its declaration of war on Japan. I have informed my Government of your message and have received its approval for this reply.”
- 3.
- Consideration is being given to the issuance of a quadripartite declaration designating the commanders to receive local surrenders and defining the areas assigned. It is anticipated that this declaration will be processed for your comment prior to negotiation with other Governments.