USA National Archive -OSS - Declassified records of WWII - Chinese Troops, US War Command Office inside Indian Territory

Background

  Subject : Records of the United States Commission, United Nations War

Crimes Commission

On October 7, 1942, the United States and Great Britain issued simultaneous declarations

that a United Nations War Crimes Commission would be established to affix responsibility

of individuals guilty of war crimes and to collect and evaluate all the available evidence pertaining thereto. It was also stated that upon capitulation the enemy would be required to surrender war criminals within its jurisdiction. The declarations pointed out that it was not the intention of the United Nations to resort to mass reprisals but to punish “ringleaders responsible for the organized murder of thousands of innocent persons and the commission of atrocities which have violated every tenet of the Christian faith.”

To help identify war criminals, coordinate the war crimes investigations, and determine if there was sufficient evidence available to bring individuals to trial for war crimes, 17 Allied nations by diplomatic protocol created the United Nations Commission for the Investigation of War Crimes (subsequently the United Nations War Crimes Commission, or UNWCC). It was officially established in London on October 20, 1943, with authorization to compile lists of war criminals and to receive evidence against them submitted by representatives of the participating countries. Member nations were to cooperate by reporting all crimes committed against nationals of any of the United Nations, to decide what war crimes should be brought before the commission, and to supply the commission with the proof required for prosecution. If the commission found that there was a prima facie case against any

individual, it published his name in a list of alleged war criminals, thus preparing for his apprehension and prosecution by one of the National War Crimes Offices of the member states. The commission itself was not empowered to prefer charges.

The office of the United States Commissioner on the United Nations War Crimes Commission was held by Herbert C. Pell, Jr., October 1943 to May 1945; Col. Joseph V. Hodgeson, May 1945 to May 1946; and Col. Robert M. Springer, May 1946 to May 15, 1948 (when the Commission terminated). The commission had a Far Eastern Subcommission to investigate Japanese war crimes. The U.S. Representative on this body was George Atcheson, Jr. The main body was located in London while the Far Eastern Subcommission was located in Chungking and later in Nanking, China.

Records relating to the International Military Tribunal for the Far

East

The origins of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) can be traced to the Cairo Declaration of December 1, 1943, in which the United States, Great Britain, and China announced that their principal war aim in the Far East was “to restrain and punish the aggression of Japan.” The three allies amplified this statement in the Potsdam Declaration, July 26, 1945, which reads in part: “There must be eliminated for all time the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest…” and that “stern justice shall be meted out to all war criminals including those who have visited cruelties upon our prisoners.” On September 2, 1945, the Japanese government agreed by the Instrument of Surrender to carry out the provisions of the

Potsdam Declaration in good faith.

The IMTFE was established by a Special Proclamation issued January 19, 1946, by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP). As at Nuremberg, major offenders were to be prosecuted by an international agency before an international court. In conjunction with the special proclamation, General Headquarters (GHQ) SCAP issued General Order 1, which officially promulgated the charter of the Tribunal. This charter, later amended and published in General Order 10, GHQ, SCAP, April 25, 1946, outlined the Tribunal’s constitution, jurisdiction, functions, and procedure. Additional records relating to the IMTFE are among the records of the National Archives Collection of World War II War Crimes Records (Record Group 238) and the records of GHQ SCAP and its subdivision in the Records of Allied Operational and Occupation Headquarters, World War II (Record Group 331).

The records of military commissions in the Far East are included in the case files described in Entry 143; some records were kept in Japan, however, and were returned to Washington, D.C. when the United States ended its occupation of Japan in 1952. These records include reviews of sentencing in war crimes trials heard before 8th Army military commissions and transcripts and exhibits in the trials of Hiroshi Tamura and Soemu Toyoda, both tried before military tribunals in Tokyo.

Records of the Operations Division (OPD)

The War Plans Division (WPD), renamed the Operations Division (OPD) in March 1942, was responsible for preparing the Army’s strategical, logistical, and operational plans and for assisting the Chief of Staff in the coordination and direction of operations in the overseas departments, 1939-1942, and the theaters of operation, 1942-1945. The Operations Division coordinated, planned, and developed current and future operations in conjunction with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, on whose committees it was usually represented.

National Archives Collection of World War II War Crimes

Records

Record Group 238

Records of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East

(IMTFE) 1946-1948

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE) was established by a special proclamation of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), January 19, 1946. The IMTFE’s intent was to implement the Potsdam Declaration of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom (July 26, 1945, as accepted by the Japanese signatories of the Instrument of Surrender, September 2, 1945), which states that war criminals would be brought to justice. It was also established to act on the SCAP’s authority to issue all orders implementing the Japanese surrender terms. Such authority was given to SCAP by a declaration of the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, United States, and Soviet Union, issued from Moscow, December 27, 1945. In accordance with the IMTFE charter, promulgated by General Order 1, General Headquarters (GHQ) SCAP, January

19, 1946, and amended by General Order 20, GHQ SCAP, April 25, 1946, IMTFE consisted of 11 judges, appointed by SCAP, as the representative in nationality of the Allied signatories of the Instrument of Surrender, and of India and the Philippines. IMTFE heard cases against 28 defendants, April 29, 1946-January 12, 1948 and rendered judgments, November 4- 12, 1948, against 25 defendants (2 having died during the trial and 1 having been deemed incompetent to stand trial), with 7 sentenced to death, 16 to life imprisonment, 1 to 20 years’ imprisonment, and 1 to 7 years’ imprisonment.

Records of the Headquarters Southeast Asia Command (SEAC)

1943-1945

Headquarters Southeast Asia Command (SEAC) was established by Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) directive, CCS 308/3, August 21, 1943, implementing decision reached at Quadrant Conference, Quebec, Canada (August 14-24, 1943). SEAC became operational, November 16, 1943, with headquarters in New Delhi, India, and was responsible for planning and executing operations against Japanese forces in the southeastern Asia area that included Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Sumatra. SEAC moved to Kandy, Ceylon, April 15, 1944. Pursuant to decisions made at Terminal Conference, Potsdam, Germany (July 16-26, 1945), and conveyed in CCS directive to Supreme Commander Southeast Asia, CCS 892/2, July 20, 1945, as amended July 24, 1945, the area under SEAC expanded, effective September 2, 1945 (date of the formal Japanese surrender), to include Borneo, Java, Celebes, the western half of New Guinea, and that portion of Indo-China lying south of the 16th Parallel. U.S. participation in SEAC officially terminated November 1, 1945, leaving SEAC a wholly British command. SEAC abolished December 1, 1946, with command functions divided among commanders-in-chief of the three services, and a joint service headquarters established under chairmanship of a civilian.

Historic Cryptographic Collection, Pre-World War I Through World War II 1891- 1981 (0457-A1-9032)

Cryptographic records (including raw intercepts [often untranslated]) of decrypted radio communications) inherited by the National Security Agency (NSA) from its predecessor agencies, as well as materials gathered by NSA. The types of records found within the collection include raw intercepts (often untranslated) of decrypted Axis radio communications, captured technical handbooks and manuals, historical summaries and studies of signal intelligence, and interrogations of prisoners of war. The records relate to such broad topics as codes and ciphers of Allied, Axis, and neutral countries; signal equipment; the breaking of codes by both Allied and Axis countries; captured documents; and military operations. Most of the documentation pertains to German and Japanese encryption measures and associated signal intelligence activities during World War II, but also included are code and cipher intelligence relating to such countries as Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Haiti, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, the Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Yugoslavia. Arranged according to an agency-created alphanumeric

filing scheme. A document list is available. Since related records are scattered

throughout the collection, researchers should examine the entire finding aid to locate all available materials on a particular topic. Boxes 1-1479 location: 190/37/7/1.

Records of the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations, U.S. Army

(CBI)

United States Army Forces, China-Burma-India

Under Maj. Gen. Joseph W. Stillwell as theater commander, the headquarters of the

U.S Army Forces, China-Burma-India, usually known as Headquarters USAF, CBI, was established at Chungking in March 1942. Several command posts were located near the scene of combat operations. From March to May 1942, during the first Burma campaign, the forward command post was located at Maymyo, the rear echelon was at Lashio, and headquarters detachments were at Kunming and Calcutta. In May 1942, when the American-Chinese forces were driven from Burma to India, the rear echelon was relocated at New Delhi in order to direct United States forces in India and to operate supply lines in China. The forward echelon was set up at Chungking, to direct American military operations in China. Branch headquarters was located at Kunming. The Kunming branch was disbanded on December 31, 1943. On April 1, 1944, during the India-Burma campaign, the rear echelon at New Delhi was made the main headquarters, and the forward echelon remained at Chungking. On October 24, 1944, after the China-Burma-India Theater was

divided, the headquarters at New Delhi was redesignated as Headquarters U.S. Army

Forces, India-Burma Theater. The main headquarters at New Delhi included the Deputy Commander, the Chief of Staff, and the Deputy Chief of Staff; general-staff divisions G-2 to G-4; the usual special-staff sections; and boards and committees that supervised special activities.

Between March 1942 and October 1944, several major subordinate commands were set up under this headquarters. Headquarters provided some administrative and supply services to the Office of Strategic Services Detachments in the area; the India-China Division of the Air Transport Command; the Joint Intelligence Collecting Agency, CBI, which operated under the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the XX Bomber Command, which was controlled by Headquarters Army Air Forces.

Records of the India-Burma Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (IBT)

United States Forces, India-Burma Theater

U.S. Forces, India-Burma Theater, also known as USF, IBT, was established on October 24, 1944, under Lt. Gen. Daniel I. Sultan. In June 1945 Maj. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler became commanding general. The command comprised the U.S. Army air, ground, and service forces that operated in India, Burma, Ceylon, Thailand, the Malay States, and Sumatra. It had tactical jurisdiction over most of the old China-Burma-India Theater except China itself and over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and additional territory in Thailand. Its primary task was to continue the support of the Allied Forces in China. As the communications zone for the China Theater, it provided security and maintenance for land lines to China and supply services, material, and equipment for Allied operations in southern and central China. U.S. combat and service troop units of USF, IBT, also participated in and supported the operations of the Southeast Asia Command. They were under the operational control

of that Command and under the administrative control of Headquarters USF, IBT. This headquarters was discontinued in 1946.

Headquarters of this command was located at New Delhi from October 1944 until after the war. The organization of headquarters included the Deputy Theater Commander, the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff; general-staff sections, including Historical and Public relations Sections; and a varying number of attached boards and commissions, such as the local Foreign Claims Commission and the American Petroleum Committee. In May 1945 this headquarters took over the functions and personnel of Headquarters Services of Supply, India-Burma Theater.

Records of the Chinese Army in India (CAI IV)

After the collapse of Allied forces in Burma in mid-1942, two Chinese divisions, the new 22nd and the new 38th, withdrew to India. In October 1942 the Chinese Army in India (CAI), which was composed of all Chinese ground troops in India, was put under the command of General Stillwell, the Commanding General of U.S. Army Forces, CBI and the Chief of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek’s Joint Staff. During 1943 the New 30th Division was flown into India, and joined in April 1944 by the 14th and 50th Divisions. After October 24, 1944, the Chinese Army in India was transferred to General Sultan, commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces, India-Burma Theater. In December 1944, the New  22nd Division and the 14th Division were flown back to China, where they became part of the GHQ reserve. These divisions supported the Allied offensive in Burma by attacking southward from Yunan, helping to clear the Burma Road in January 1945. Another unit organized in India was the Sino-American First Provisional Tank Group which supported

American and Chinese operations in Burma.

Headquarters Records

General Headquarters CAI, a joint American-Chinese organization, was established at

Ramgarh, India, in June 1942, and was moved to Ledo about December 1944. It was

organized in the Chinese Army staff pattern, with the American theater commander as the Commanding General, a Chinese general as the Vice Commander until January 1943, and an American general officer as Chief of Staff for the General Headquarters.

Records of the China Theater of Operations, U.S. Army (CT)

U.S. Forces, China Theater, known as USF, CT, was organized on October 29, 1944, as one of the two successors of U.S. Army Forces, China-Burma-India. Its commanding general, Maj. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer, was also made Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai- Shek. It comprised the U.S. Army forces on the mainland of China and the adjacent islands and in Indochina. It continued the operations of its predecessor in that area, including the employment of U.S. air units for tactical, strategic, and ground support operations, the training of Chinese troops, and the logistical support of Chinese air and ground establishments.

Headquarters USF, CT, was located at Chungking. It continued in China the staff functions previous exercised by Headquarters U.S. Army Forces, China-Burma-India, March 1942- October 1944. General Wedemeyer was responsible to the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the control of all U.S. forces in China. As Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, he advised and assisted the Generalissimo and the Chinese general staff with respect to the training of Chinese troops and their employment against the Japanese forces in China. Headquarters USF, CT, collaborated with the corresponding headquarters in the India-Burma Theater on matters relating to supply, personnel replacements, and material in the China Theater and on matters relating to the  Chinese Army in India. Headquarters at Chungking included the Theater   Commander, the Chief of Staff, generalstaff sections G-1 to G-5; and the usual special-staff sections. The rear echelon of headquarters (also called the advance section) operated at Kunming from December 13, 1944 to July 1945; it too had general-staff and special-staff sections. The liquidation of USF, CT, was completed in 1946 by the Nanking Headquarters Command. The Nanking Command was discontinued in October 1946, and its remaining personnel were transferred

to the Joint United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of China.

Records of the Chinese Combat Command

The Chinese Training and Combat Command was activated in November 1944, shortly after the China-Burma-India Theater was divided. It concluded the work of the Y-Force and ZForce Operations Staffs, which had been responsible for providing American training and supply to Chinese divisions. The new command took over the training programs at the Yunnan and the Kweilin Training Centers and continued to assist the Chinese Expeditionary Force in its offensive in central and southern China. In January 1945 the Command was organized in two subordinate administrative commands, the Chinese Training Command (Provisional) and the Chinese Combat Command (Provisional). Under the Chinese Combat Command were six subordinate commands for liaison with the Chinese Army Groups and a liaison team for each Chinese Army or Division. These organizations exercised no tactical or operational control over the Chinese commands

Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS)

After the Allied Forces seized the offensive in the Southwest Pacific Area, the increasing number of prisoners and documents captured necessitated the consolidation and expansion of such Allied linguistic units as already existed. As a result, General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area, issued on September 19, 1942, a directive establishing the Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ATIS) as a centralized intelligence organization composed primarily of language personnel and designed to systematize the exploitation of captured documents and the interrogation of prisoners of war. An original group of 25 officers and 10 enlisted men expanded steadily as more linguists became available from the language schools set up under army, navy, and air force control in the United States,

Australia, Great Britain, and India. At its peak in 1945, ATIS was composed of more than 1,000 personnel. From October 1942 to June 1945, ATIS, SWPA, was located at Indooroopilly, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. In order to carry out its  responsibilities, ATIS was organized into various sections: Translation, Examination, Information, Production, Training, Records, and Philippine Islands Research. ATIS operated in the field through Advanced Echelons (attached to Corps and Armies) and Language Detachments (attached to Divisions). In March 1944 plans were developed for a forward ATIS to be located in closer proximity to combat operations. Accordingly, the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, directed on September

22, 1944, that Advanced Allied Translator and Interpreter Section (ADVATIS) be established in the immediate vicinity of General Headquarters at Hollandia. The unit was in effect a miniature ATIS, with various sections coordinating the production of translation and interrogation reports of immediate operation value and importance to units in the operational areas. In May 1945 ADVATIS followed the advance of General Headquarters into Manila. Base ATIS was closed at Brisbane on June 4, 1945, and established several weeks later in Manila. With the surrender of the Japanese, the Advanced Party of ATIS arrived in Tokyo on October

3, 1945. Base ATIS ceased operations in Manila in November 1945 and began operations in

Tokyo on November 17th.