Y Force
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Y Force was the
South East Asia Command South East Asia Command (SEAC) was the body set up to be in overall charge of Allied operations in the South-East Asian Theatre during the Second World War. History Organisation The initial supreme commander of the theatre was General Sir ...
designation given to Chinese
National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; zh, labels=no, t=國民革命軍) served as the military arm of the Kuomintang, Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) from 1924 until 1947. From 1928, it functioned as the regular army, de facto ...
forces that re-entered Burma from
Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...
in 1944 as one of the Allies fighting in
Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...
of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. It consisted of 175,000 troops divided into 15 divisions.


1942

When the Japanese-Thai invaded Burma (in the first half of 1942), the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Burma, along with the other Allies forces, were forced to retreat back along their lines of communications. Most of the Chinese retreated into China but two divisions (38th and 22nd, plus fragments of three others) retreated into India where they were placed under the command of the American General
Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (19 March 1883 – 12 October 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India theater during World War II. Stilwell was appointed as Chief of Staff for Chiang Kai-shek, the Chine ...
.


1943/1944 campaign

After being re-equipped and retrained, the Chinese divisions designated X Force formed the majority of front line forces available to Stilwell when he advanced into Northern Burma in October 1943. His intention was to capture Northern Burma and reopen land communications with China via a new spur to the Burma Road called the
Ledo Road The Ledo Road () was an overland connection between British India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan. After the Japanese cut off the Burma Ro ...
. In support of Stilwell's offensive, in the second half of April 1944, Y Force mounted an attack on the Yunnan front. Nearly 75,000 troops crossed the Salween river on a front. Soon some fifteen Chinese divisions of 175,000 men, under General
Wei Lihuang Wei Lihuang () (16 February 1897 – 17 January 1960) was a Chinese general who served the Nationalist government throughout the Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War as one of China's most successful military commanders. First joining ...
, were attacking the Japanese 56th Division. The Japanese forces in the North were now then fighting on two fronts in northern Burma. By the end of May the Yunnan offensive, though hampered by the monsoon rains and lack of air support, succeeded in annihilating the garrison of Tengchung and eventually reached as far as Lungling. Strong Japanese reinforcements then counter-attacked and halted the Chinese advance. During the monsoon season there was a pause in major offensive actions and the fighting did not resume in earnest until later in 1944.


1944/1945 campaign

The Japanese Thirty-third Army, led by Lieutenant General Masaki Honda, defended Northern Burma against attacks from both Northern India and the Chinese province of Yunnan. The Japanese 18th Division faced the American and Chinese forces advancing south from
Myitkyina Myitkyina (, ; Jingpho language, Jinghpaw: ''Myitkyina'', ; , ''Sèna'') is the capital city of Kachin State in Myanmar (Burma), located from Yangon, and from Mandalay. In Burmese language, Burmese it means "near the big river", and Myitkyina i ...
and
Mogaung Mogaung ( ; ) is a town in Kachin State, Myanmar. It is situated on the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway line. History Mogaung or Möng Kawng was the name and capital (royal seat) of a relatively major one of the petty Shan (ethnic Tai) princ ...
which the British had secured in 1944, and the Japanese 56th Division faced the large Chinese Yunnan armies led by
Wei Lihuang Wei Lihuang () (16 February 1897 – 17 January 1960) was a Chinese general who served the Nationalist government throughout the Chinese Civil War and Second Sino-Japanese War as one of China's most successful military commanders. First joining ...
. Although Thirty-third Army had been forced to relinquish most of the reinforcements it had received the previous year, the operations of the American-led
Northern Combat Area Command The Northern Combat Area Command (NCAC) was a subcommand of the Allies of World War II, Allied South East Asia Command (SEAC) during World War II. It controlled Allied ground operations in northern Burma. For most of its existence, NCAC was com ...
under Lieutenant General Daniel Isom Sultan were limited from late 1944 onwards as many of its troops were withdrawn by air to face Japanese attacks in China. In Operation Grubworm, the Chinese 14th and 22nd Divisions were flown via Myitkyina to defend the airfields around
Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...
, vital to the airlift of aid to China, nicknamed
The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allies of World War II, Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from British Raj, India to Republic of China (1912- ...
. Nevertheless, the command resumed its advance. On the right flank of the command, the British 36th Division, advanced south down the "Railway Valley" from Mogaung to
Indaw Indaw (, ) is a town in northern Myanmar and is the principal town of Indaw Township, Katha District, Sagaing Region. It is located south-east of Indaw Lake. The rail junction at Naba is located about to the north-east of the town. History In ...
. It made contact with the Indian 19th Division near Indaw on 10 December 1944, and Fourteenth Army and NCAC now had a continuous front. On Sultan's left, the Chinese New First Army (Chinese 30th Division and Chinese 38th Division) advanced from Myitkyina to Bhamo. The Japanese resisted for several weeks, but Bhamo fell on 15 December. The Chinese New Sixth Army (Chinese 50th Division) infiltrated through the difficult terrain between these two wings to threaten the Japanese lines of communication. The New First Army made contact with Wei Lihuang's armies advancing from Yunnan near Hsipaw on 21 January 1945, and the Ledo road could finally be completed. The first truck convoy from India arrived in
Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...
on 4 February, but by this point in the war the value of the Ledo road was uncertain, as it would not now affect the overall military situation in China. To the annoyance of the British and Americans, Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek ordered Sultan to halt his advance at Lashio, which was captured on 7 March. The British and Americans generally refused to understand that Chiang had to balance the needs of China as a whole against fighting the Japanese in a British colony. The Japanese had already withdrawn most of their divisions from the northern front, to face Fourteenth Army in central Burma. On 12 March, Thirty-third Army HQ was also dispatched there, leaving only the 56th Division to hold the northern front. This division was also withdrawn in late March and early April. From 1 April, NCAC's operations stopped, and its units returned to China. The British 36th Division moved to Mandalay, which had been captured in March, and was subsequently withdrawn to India. A US-led guerrilla force, OSS Detachment 101, took over the military responsibilities of NCAC, while British civil affairs and other units such as the Civil Affairs Service (Burma) stepped in to take over its other responsibilities. Northern Burma was partitioned into Line-of-Communication areas by the military authorities.


See also

* Chinese Expeditionary Force (Burma)


Notes


References

* * *{{Citation , last1=Romanus , first1=Charles F. , last2=Sunderland , first2=Riley , year=1952 , editor-first=Kent Roberts , editor-last=Greenfield , title=United States Army in World War II: China-Burma-India Theater: Stilwell's Mission to China , chapter=Chapter IV: China's Blockade Becomes Complete , pages=118–148 , chapter-url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-CBI-Mission/USA-CBI-Mission-4.html C Military units and formations of the Republic of China in World War II Second Sino-Japanese War Units and formations of the National Revolutionary Army