793.94/17001³⁄₅
Mr. Owen Lattimore, American Political Adviser to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, to Mr. Lauchlin Currie, Administrative Assistant to President Roosevelt 26
Dr. Lauchlin Currie: Just returned from Yunnan. Military potentialities there worry provincial as well as central authorities. Governor Lung Yuan [Yun] told me he had not been seriously alarmed hitherto but now urged me to entreat Generalissimo for greatly increased aid, small food reserve combined with transport slowness meaning that large scale military activity would cause grave complications. Consequently in Yunnan even mountainous terrain would cause Chinese defense more disadvantage and less advantage than elsewhere and medium size Japanese offensive well covered by air force and backed by transport might succeed in deep penetration. Control of air is decisive factor.
Returned from Kunming with Mowrer27 who reported British Malaya[,] Burma air forces very confident their superiority to Japanese. Australian land and air forces would even like to undertake preventive intervention in Thailand. However divided councils among British with some much more passive than others. Duff Cooper28 especially critical of Home Government lack of initiative. He told Mowrer that three days before fall of Konoye Cabinet Craigie wired Mecca29 approximately “Time now suitable for real peace with Japan. Hope this time American cynicism will not be allowed to interfere with realistic statesmanship.” Personally consider pivot of Southeastern Asia for immediate future is Yunnan not Thailand. Politically the key is immediate American initiative in coordinating defense of Yunnan against threat to Burma Road. Without American initiative danger that British will do too little and do it too late. With America and Great Britain becoming active central government could rapidly overcome remaining provincial and internal organizational difficulties on Burma Road and traffic would greatly increase.
- The Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck) on November 3 submitted this message to the Secretary of State: “Herewith another message from China bearing on the suggestions made in the message received by the President on October 30 from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. This message has come to Mr. Currie from Lattimore, under date Chungking, November 2.” (FE Files, Lot 244.)↩
- Edgar Ansel Mowrer, Chicago Daily News war correspondent.↩
- Alfred Duff Cooper, British Minister for Information.↩
- Presumably London.↩