Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s2.t2: Chinese Army in India 1942-1945
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c14.s2.t2
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Chinese Army in India 1942-1945
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During World War II, India served as the temporary base for an elite Chinese military force. This force was trained in India to form part of the strike force for the eventual expulsion of the Japanese army from Burma. The existence of this Chinese Army in India (CAI), stationed at Ramgarh in Bihar province (present-day Jharkhand), was so secret that it was not made public until after the war.
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Troops from China had been sent to Burma from Yunnan to fight with the British army to hold off the Japanese forces. With their defeat at the hands of the Japanese in mid-1942, a large number of these Chinese troops were forced to retreat, fighting all the way into India. From July through September 1942, remnants of detachments of Chinese troops arrived in India one after the other. Some were from the 38ᵗʰ division of the 66ᵗʰ Army commanded by Lt. Gen. Sun Li-jen, while others from the 22ⁿᵈ Division of the 5ᵗʰ Corps were under Maj. Gen. Liao Yai-hsiang. The British Government of India made available a former prisoner of war camp at Ramgarh for them.
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Most of the Chinese soldiers who arrived in India initially were in a wretched condition on account of the privations they had suffered during the Burma campaign, and the arduous retreat that followed. However, the aim was not just to rehabilitate these soldiers in India, but also to retrain and re-equip them so as to turn them once again into an effective fighting force through the combined efforts of the Chinese, British and Americans. The Chinese military authorities on the spot took care of administration and maintaining discipline among the forces, the Government of India provided food and money to pay the soldiers, and the Americans took over the work of training and providing equipment. The ranks of the original 9,000 troops that arrived from Burma were increased by new batches of officers and men specially flown in from China. A total of 5,368 officers and 48,124 Chinese soldiers passed through the Ramgarh training camp, forming what eventually came to be known as the New Chinese 1ˢᵗ Army and the New Chinese 6ᵗʰ Army under the command of Generals Sun Li-jen and Liao Yao-hsiang, respectively.
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Even as new personnel from China continued to arrive in Ramgarh, divisions of the CAI began to move to Ledo to prepare for fighting in Burma as early as April 1943. The New 38ᵗʰ Division first took part in the campaign to repulse the Japanese troops from the India-Burma border. The combined forces of the New 38ᵗʰ Division and the New 22ⁿᵈ Division took part in the Hukawng Valley campaign, which ended in victory for the Allied forces in March 1944. The Chinese and American forces combined then expelled the Japanese from the strategically situated town of Myitkyina in August 1944. In the second phase of the campaign, Bhamo, Namhkam and Mongyu were retaken by January 1945, permitting the opening of the Ledo (Stilwell) Road, crucial for the transport of supplies and personnel between northeastern India and southwestern China. At Mongyu, troops of the CAI were reunited with Chinese troops from China. They went on to partake in the remaining part of the Burma campaign, following which they were airlifted back to China by the end of June 1945 to aid in the counter-offensive against the Japanese there.
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The Chinese Army in India during World War II was a significant instance of military cooperation between India and China in the modern era
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*(Madhavi Thampi)*