Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The Far East: China, Volume IX

Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270

Draft Plan for Chinese Military Reorganization Prepared by the Staff of General Marshall⁹¹

undated

Basis for Reorganization of Communist Military Forces and Their Consolidation With the National Army of China

Article I—Command

Section 1. The President of the Republic of China shall be the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of China. He shall exercise his command through the Ministry of National Defense. The commander of each of the several armies, and the commander of each of the several areas herein provided for shall report to the Commander-in-Chief through the Ministry of National Defense. The Commander-in-Chief shall have the power to appoint and relieve all subordinate officers provided, however, that in the event it becomes necessary to relieve the Commander of any Communist-led unit or any Communist official holding other command in the Army, the Commander-in-Chief shall appoint in the place of the officer relieved an officer nominated by the senior Communist members of the government.

Article II—Employment

Section 1. The primary function of the army shall be to defend the Republic in time of war. In time of peace the principal function of the army shall be training. It may be employed[,] however, to quell domestic disorder, but only as provided in Section 2 of this article.

Section 2. When, in the event of domestic disorders, the governor of a province shall have certified to the Council of State that the local civil police and militia have been unable to cope with the situation, the President, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, shall, with the approval of the Council of State, employ the field forces to restore order.

Article III—Organization

Section 1. The field forces shall consist of armies of three divisions each with supporting troops not to exceed 15% of their total strength. At the conclusion of 12 months the field forces shall consist of . . . . . armies comprising . . . . . divisions of not to exceed 14,000 men. Of these, . . . . . shall be Communist-led.

Section 2. China shall be divided into 8 service areas under directors responsible to the Minister of National Defense for the following functions within their respective areas:

The supply, quartering and pay of all field forces which may be stationed within the area;

The reconditioning, storage and issue of the weapons and equipment collected from demobilized troops within the area;

The processing of demobilized officers and enlisted personnel within the area and the continued processing of demobilized officers and enlisted personnel passing through the area enroute to their homes or other designated destination;

The processing and elementary training of individual recruits received within the area as replacements for the field forces.

The supply and supervision of administration of service schools within the area [shall be?] under policies and procedures established by the Ministry of National Defense.

The service area directors shall have no authority or control over the field forces stationed within their areas and they are specifically prohibited from interfering with or influencing in any way whatsoever civil administration or affairs.

Each Army commander within a particular service area shall maintain in the service area headquarters his own representative to insure that the needs of the forces under his command are fully and expeditiously met. There shall be a meeting every second month within each service area and presided over by the service area director. These meetings shall be attended by the Army commander, or his duly appointed representative, of each Army garrisoned within that area. A representative of the Ministry of National Defense shall also be present. The instructions of the Ministry of National Defense and the state of supply and similar matters of the service area shall be presented and discussed.

Section 3. Service areas are as follows:

• North China
• 6th Service Area—Consists of Shensi, Shansi and Suiyuan Provinces with headquarters at Taiyuan.
• 7th Service Area—Consists of Shantung, Hopei and Chahar Provinces with headquarters at Peiping.
• Manchuria
• 8th Service Area—Consists of Manchuria and Jehol, with headquarters at Mukden.

Article IV—Demobilization

Section 1. During the 12 months immediately following the promulgation of this agreement the National Government shall demobilize all divisions in excess of 90 and the Communist Party shall demobilize all divisions in excess of . . . . . The demobilization shall start immediately and shall proceed at the rate of approximately one-twelfth of the total number to be demobilized during each month.

The National Government shall prepare within two weeks of the promulgation of these articles, a list of the 90 divisions to be retained and the order of demobilization of divisions during the first two months. The Communist Party shall submit to the Ministry of National Defense within two weeks of the promulgation of this order, a complete list of its military units stating character, strength, armament, names of brigades and higher commanders and location of units. This report shall include a list of the . . . . . divisions to be retained and the order of demobilization during the first two months.

One month after the promulgation of this agreement the Communist Party shall submit to the Ministry of National Defense a complete list of the organizations to be demobilized and the National Government shall prepare a similar list.

Section 2. The arms and equipment of organizations demobilized may be utilized to complete the arms and equipment of organizations to be retained in service. A detailed statement of such transfers will be submitted to the Ministry of National Defense by the Executive Headquarters. The surplus material will be stored as directed by that Ministry.

Section 3. In order to prevent large scale hardship or lawlessness arising as a result of the demobilization, the National Government and the Communist Party shall initially provide for the supply, movement and employment of their demobilized personnel. The National Government shall establish immediately a special commission to take over unified control of these matters as soon as practicable.

Section 4. During the 6 months following the first 12 months the National Army of . . . . . divisions shall be further reduced to a total of 60 divisions. Of the 60 divisions . . . . . shall be National divisions and . . . . . Communist divisions.

Article V—Deployment

Section 1. At the end of twelve months after the promulgation of these articles, the National and the Communist divisions shall have been combined into the . . . . . armies herein provided for; . . . . . of these armies shall be integrated: that is, shall have both National and Communist divisions within the army. The staffs of the integrated armies shall also have been integrated and shall consist of approximately one-half National and one-half Communist staff officers.

Section 2. The normal strategic deployment of the armies throughout China shall be as follows: Manchuria, . . . . . armies; North China, . . . . . armies; Central China, . . . . . armies; South China, . . . . . armies; and Japan, 1 army.

Section 3. The deployment of the armies at the end of the first twelve months shall be as follows:

• Manchuria—. . . . . armies consisting of 3 National divisions each, each army with a National commander, and . . . . . armies consisting of 1 Communist division and 2 National divisions each, each army with a National commander—total . . . . . armies.
• North China—. . . . . armies consisting of 3 National divisions each, each with a National commander; . . . . . armies consisting of 2 Communist divisions and 1 National division each, each with a Communist commander; and . . . . . armies consisting of 1 Communist and 2 National divisions each, each with a National commander—total . . . . . armies.
• Central China—. . . . . armies consisting of 3 National divisions each, each with a National commander; and . . . . . armies consisting of 1 Communist and 2 National divisions each, each with a National commander—total . . . . . armies.
• South China—. . . . . armies consisting of 3 National divisions each, each with a National commander—total . . . . . armies.
• Japan—1 army consisting of 1 Communist and 2 National divisions with a National commander—total 1 army.

Article VI—Militia

Section 1. Each province shall be authorized to maintain a small militia in proportion to the population of the province but the strength of the militia for any one province shall not exceed 15,000 men. After it has become apparent that the civil police of any province have been unable to cope with the situation, the governors of the several provinces are authorized to employ this militia to quell civil disorder.

Section 2. The armament of the militia shall be restricted to the pistol, the rifle and the automatic rifle.

Article VII—Special Provisions

Section 1. Executive Headquarters

The Executive Headquarters created in the agreement of the Committee of Three, signed 10 January 1946,⁹² shall be the agency through which these articles shall be implemented.

Section 2. Common Uniform

A common distinctive uniform for the reorganized military forces of China shall be adopted for wear by all officers and enlisted men of the Army of the Republic of China.

Section 3. Personnel System

An adequate personnel system shall be established and the name, rank and assignment of each officer of the Army shall be carried on a single list.

Section 4. Secret Military Forces

Neither the National Government or any political party or any group or association shall maintain, or in any way support, any secret or independent military force after the effective date of these articles.

Section 5. Political Affiliations

Members of the Army, while on active duty[,] are prohibited from holding any office or membership in any committee of a political party.

Section 6. Puppet and Irregular Troops

All troops which were maintained in China under the sponsorship, directly or indirectly, of Japan and all troops maintained by persons or factions other than the Government or Communist Party shall be disbanded and disarmed beginning immediately after the promulgation of this agreement.

Article VIII—General

Section 1. Upon approval of this agreement by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and Chairman Mao Tse-tung there shall be prepared and submitted to them for approval by the Military Sub-Committee a detailed plan of the schedules, regulations and specific measures to govern the execution of the agreements stipulated in this agreement.

Section 2. It is understood and agreed that the detailed plans above referred to shall provide for the start of the demobilization at the earliest practical date; that the organization of service areas shall be instituted gradually and that the initiation of the integration of armies shall start with one Army in the fourth month, two in the fifth month and three each month thereafter.

It is further understood and agreed that during the period of transition in the first three or four months, the Government and the Communist Party shall be responsible for the good order, the supply of their respective troops and for their prompt and full compliance with the instructions issued to them by the Executive Headquarters.

91. Staff work by Americans on this project resulted in 13 dated and numbered draft plans and at least 7 undated and unnumbered papers, together covering a period extending from January 21 to February 22. This draft, undated and unnumbered, was drawn after February 12 and in use on February 14; it was the paper used as the basis for discussion by the Military Sub-Committee, with General Marshall, in the decisive talks of February 14, 15, 16, and 18.
92. Ante, p. 127.