893.20 Mission/10–1347
Memorandum by General Wedemeyer to the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Ringwalt)
The attached communication68 was referred to me the latter part of September, 1947. I have carefully considered the contents and have intentionally delayed my expression of views in the hope that the State Department would give some indication of policy with reference to China. Frankly it was my conviction that prompt action would be taken upon the conclusions and recommendations submitted to the President and the Secretary of State on September 18, 194769 inasmuch as the urgency of such action was pointed out both in the report [Page 893] and orally. In the absence of such action and in compliance with the Secretary’s request for my comments, I submit herewith the following views.
The assistance presently given by the Army Advisory Group in China is greatly restricted due to the lack of instructions clearly outlining the scope of such assistance. As I interpret the purpose of the Military Advisory Group in China, we Americans are striving to assist them in overcoming the critical economic and military situation existing there. It is recognized that these conditions are the natural aftermath of eight years of war and that these conditions have been greatly confounded by the penetration and infiltration of Communism.
There have been so many delays and restrictions with reference to such assistance the past several months, actually conditions have deteriorated to an alarming degree. If the Military Advisory Group is to be continued in China and if it is to be of real assistance as above suggested, a clarifying directive should be dispatched at once to that group, removing current restrictions with reference to the scope of its activities. My recent observation in China caused me to recommend that the Military Advisory Group be permitted to assist the Chinese as suggested by the memorandum submitted to the American Ambassador on June 28, 1947 by Major General John P. Lucas. The one restriction that I would include in any directive to Americans in the government service in China would be designed to preclude direct involvement in fratricidal warfare. It must be accepted that by indirection even today Americans are assisting the Nationalists in their struggle against the Chinese Communists, but I would not permit American military personnel in the operational areas of the current military conflict.
If our assistance to the National Government is to be timely and effective, the above ideas with reference to the Military Advisory Group should be implemented immediately, and further, instead of vacillating with reference to requests by the Chinese Government for military equipment, we should facilitate the sale and delivery of same.