Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270
Minutes of Meeting Between General Marshall and General Yu Ta-wei at No. 5 Ning Hai Road, Nanking, July 17, 1946, 9:30 a.m.
| Also present: | Col. Caughey |
General Marshall stated that General Chou En Lai had cleared with Mr. Todd the idea of dispatching a field team of Executive Headquarters to assist in resolving discrepancies which exist concerning the Yellow River project. General Yu said he would have to take up this matter with the Waterways Commission.
General Yu Ta Wei stated that he had given his last information to General Marshall through Colonel Caughey yesterday. He further stated that he was getting a report from the field commanders and would get those facts to General Marshall as soon as possible. In general he said that the National Government had approximately six brigades defending the area recently attacked by the Communists in Kiangsu. Three of these brigades were disposed along the line Liu-ho–Tai-hsien, and three brigades disposed along the line Tai-hsien–Tai-hsing. General Yu added that the attack had been beaten off and the Communist forces were retreating eastward. General Yu had no additional figures with respect to the casualties but stated the fighting apparently had been very heavy since he knew of one division which had lost 600 casualties in one day of fighting. General Yu stated that the situation was rather serious and, since the Government has no assurance that the Communists will not attack again or in other places, it would appear that the Communists must accept all consequences. [Page 1370] General Marshall informed General Yu Ta Wei that a continuance of that attitude would inevitably lead to civil war.
General Marshall stated that General Chou had told him yesterday of the National Government advances in the vicinity of Wen-hsi. General Marshall added that a combination of this particular activity would no doubt evidence itself in Communist attacks in the vicinity of Tatung.
General Marshall told General Yu Ta Wei that he had given General Chou En Lai yesterday a proposal with reference to the settlement of the civil administration problem which involved a status quo within the local hsiens as of VJ day but that General Chou gave no indication of acceptance. General Marshall added that this had been given to him by Dr. Wang Shih Chieh.
General Marshall stated that failure to reach an agreement soon in the present negotiations will mean an outbreak of civil war in all of China, in which both sides will have to accept the consequences. General Marshall stated that besides a lull in the negotiations, Executive Headquarters appeared to be out of business. This idea was contained in the radiogram from Mr. Robertson33 the previous day, a copy of which had been seen by General Yu Ta Wei. General Marshall continued by referring to an additional message for [from?] Executive Headquarters this date34 in which the thought was expressed, particularly on the Communist side, that sporadic fighting would exist in China until snow falls. General Marshall added that he was trying his utmost to cause both sides to reach an agreement and he was willing to make a last desperate effort.
At this point, General Marshall read to General Yu Ta Wei extracts of a letter which had been given to him by a non-Chinese source.34 This letter purported to be a report from a high Government official to General Chen Cheng, Chief of Staff, and contained a recommendation that the National Government should prepare plans to defeat the enemy in Shantung and along the coast; to wipe out the bandits in Shensi, Shansi and Chahar; to occupy key localities and exterminate enemy resistance; and, at the same time, to continue peace negotiations.
In an off-the-record comment, General Yu Ta Wei stated that he wished to withdraw from participation in the Committee of Three. He stated that he could no longer influence the Generalissimo. For instance, General Yu pointed out that he had assured the Generalissimo about 11 July that the Communists would not attack in Kiangsu Province; that on 13 and 15 July they appeared to launch an all-out [Page 1371] offensive. General Yu stated that since this happened his advice and opinion were no longer heeded by the Generalissimo or other military authorities in the Government.