Journeys in Time 2010-08-18 The Chinese Expeditionary Force (4)- Recuperating in Ramgarh

Intro:
Today we’re continuing with our major series, about the Chinese Expeditionary Force dispatched to Burma during World War Two. The force, sent in early 1942, was ordered to assist British forces in holding back the Japanese and safeguard the vital supply route into China’s southwest. However, the allies suffered a series of setbacks. In some disarray, the various armies were forced to retreat from Burma. Some of them – including the Chinese 22nd and 38th divisions – made their way into India. There, at the Ramgarh Cantonment in Bihar, the Chinese forces were brought up to three-Division strength, and re-equipped and re-trained by American instructors. 

The soldiers in Ramgarh were relatively well provisioned, with uniforms, food and medicine. Along with the American supplies there also arrived a large contingent of American army officers. Stilwell had arranged for them to take command of the Chinese army from the battalion level up. But would the plan work?

Apart from bring well supplied with new weapons, the Chinese expeditionary force in India enjoyed another key advantage; the quality of its officers and men. A large proportion of the Chinese soldiers were school graduates. And once they had gone through training, the Chinese soldiers were reckoned to be as effective on the battlefield as any of their British or American counterparts.

Outro:
By the spring of 1943, the Yunnan-Burma Road had been blocked by the Japanese for almost a year. There was a desperate need for another route to be opened, along which international aid could be sent into China. This need made it imperative to launch a counter-attack into Burma and open up a road from India to China. Under the command of General Sun Liren, the Chinese expeditionary force, now fully armed and provisioned, left Ramgarh and headed for Ledo in India.