Stillwell, Joseph Warren

Stillwell was born March 19, 1883 in the small town of Palatka ( Putnam County, Florida ), in a family of immigrants from the northern states. His parents were physician Benjamin Stillwell and his wife Mary Piney. In 1638, his distant ancestors arrived from England to America, and their descendants lived in New York until the birth of Father Joseph Stillwell; Joseph himself was already the representative of the eighth generation, who lived on American soil. Joseph (whom the family called Warren) grew up in New York under the strict supervision of his father, who paid great attention to religion. Subsequently, Stilwell admitted to his daughter that the fact that he was forced to go to church and Sunday school and see how little religion really brings good led him to the idea that all this husk should be discarded and common sense should be used instead.

Stillwell studied neatly at Yonkers High School, but after graduating, having been unattended by his father, he immediately showed his rebellious character, having put together a group of friends who were engaged in various joint tricks - from playing cards to stealing desserts from a 1900 high school ball. The latter case led to a brawl in which one of the school officials was hit, and the case ended with punishments and deductions for the entire company. Since Stillwell already had a diploma by that time, on the advice of his father, he was sent to the US Military Academy at West Point , and not to Yale University , as originally planned. Despite the fact that the deadline for receiving recommendations to the Academy from members of Congress by that time had already expired, Stillwell was still enrolled due to family ties, thanks to which he managed to reach President McKinley himself .

Stillwell subsequently described his first year at the Academy as “hell” because of bullying that reigned there, in which he was humiliated as a rookie. At the Academy, Stillwell showed good ability to learn foreign languages, especially French, in which he was the first in his group in his second year of study. In the field of sports, Stillwell is credited with appearing at the Basketball Academy; He also participated in cross-country cross-country and American football games . Stillwell graduated from the Academy, being in the final list of 32 out of 124 cadets.

Upon graduation, Stillwell began teaching at the Academy, and completed advanced training at the Command and Staff School in Fort Leavenworth ( Leavenworth County, Kansas ).

During the First World War, Stillwell was an intelligence officer in the 4th Corps of the US Army, and took part in the planning of the Saint-Miel attack . For service in France, he was awarded the medal “For Outstanding Merits” .

Stillwell's famous nickname was "Vinegar Joe." He received it while serving in Fort Benning ( Georgia ). In the field exercises, Stillwell often made rude comments, and his subordinates, suffering from his caustic remarks, once painted a caricature of him on which he climbed out of a bottle of vinegar. Finding a caricature, Stillwell pinned it to the wall, took a picture and sent it to friends. Another indicator of his attitude to life was the slogan “Illegitimi non carborundum” placed on his desk, which can be translated from pseudo-Latin as “Do not let the bastards sit on their necks”.

During the interwar period, Stillwell traveled to China three times, where he learned to fluently speak Chinese, and from 1935 to 1938 was a military attache at the US diplomatic mission in Beijing . In 1939-1940 he served in the 2nd Infantry Division, and in 1940-1941 he created and prepared the 7th Infantry Division in Fort Horde ( California ).

Before the US entered World War II, Stillwell was recognized as the best corps commander in the US Army, and was originally elected to prepare and conduct the Allied landing in North Africa. However, when it was necessary to prevent a high-ranking officer from sending China out of the war, the choice of President Roosevelt and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marshall fell on Stillwell. He became the chief of staff of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , the commander of the Sino-Indian-Burmese theater of war , responsible for deliveries to China under the Lend-Lease system , and later - the deputy commander of the Southeast Asian Command. Despite his status and position in China, he quickly became embroiled in conflicts related to US aid to the United States and Chinese political separatism.

The theater of operations, which was inherited by Stillwell, was comparable in size to those received by Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur , but its appointment was complicated by two circumstances: the need for delicate political balance, and the low priority of the theater of operations in terms of supply and reinforcements. The British and Chinese units were poorly equipped and were constantly beaten by the Japanese. In particular, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek , who commanded the armed forces of the Republic of China , was interested in preserving his troops and American aid to repel the unexpected Japanese offensive and to use them against the Communists in the inevitable further civil war. The generalissimo's suspicion intensified after observing the catastrophic results of the Allied actions against Japan in Burma. Having been fighting the Japanese for five years, the Chinese believed that the time had come for the Allies to take a more active part in the war.

Stillwell's first step was an attempt to reform the Chinese army. These reforms upset the delicate balance of political and military alliances in China, thanks to which the Generalissimo remained in power. Army reform meant the elimination of people supporting Chiang Kai-shek as commander in chief. Although Chiang gave Stillwell complete technical freedom to command some Chinese formations, he also feared that these units, led by the Americans, would become a new independent force beyond his control. Since 1942, representatives of the Chinese command prevented the use of Chinese units in Burma with the goal, they believed, of returning it to the British colonial empire. Chan took the side of General Claire Shannolt , who offered to fight the Japanese with a limited number of Chinese troops supported by aviation. The divergence in approaches to warfare has led Stillwell and Shannolt to compete for Lend-Lease deliveries received from British India via the Himalayas - an obstacle called the Hump. George Marshall in his biennial report, describing the period from July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1945, admitted that he gave Stillwell “one of the most difficult appointments” among all theater commanders.

Stillwell arrived in Burma just at the time of the collapse of the country's defense, which immediately cut off China's supply lines; he personally brought a headquarters convoy of 117 people from Burma to the Indian state of Assam : first by car, then by fishing boats, and the last part of the journey — 20 miles through the snake-ridden subtropical forest — people walked, walking the “Stillwell gait,” which was 105 steps per minute. In India, Stillwell soon became famous for his contempt for conventions. Its distinguishing features were the standard form without insignia, and a rifle instead of a pistol.

The passage of Stillwell from Burma to India has become a legend vyingly praised by the American press. However, his derogatory remarks regarding the incapacity of the " British troops", which were often repeated by his subordinates, did not find a positive response from representatives of Great Britain and the countries of the British Commonwealth.

After the Japanese occupied Burma, China was cut off from Lend-Lease , except for the risky flights of transport aircraft through the "Hump". Even earlier, Roosevelt gave American troops in other theaters of war a higher priority in supply issues. With the closure of the Burmese road, it became clear that even a simple replenishment of Chinese military losses would become an extremely difficult task. Therefore, the primary task of the Allies was to preserve China in the war against Japan by organizing a supply line.

Considering that a Chinese soldier is no worse than a soldier of any other nation, if he is well cared for and given a worthy commander, Stillwell organized two Chinese divisions in India, composed of soldiers who retreated there from Burma. The initial goal of Stillwell was to organize an offensive in North Burma to establish land communications with China, which would make it possible to supply the Chinese army, which, after reorganization and modernization, would be able to defeat the Japanese. Stillwell argued that, at that time, the Indian-Burmese-Chinese theater of operations was the only area in which the Allies had the opportunity to throw superior forces against a common enemy. Unfortunately, the only supply route leading from the United States to China via British India was the overhead bridge over the Hump, whose capacity was barely enough to support Shannolt's air operations and some compensation for the Chinese military losses. In addition, the supply critical for this theater was constantly redirected to pay off various crises in other regions. As a result, most Allied commanders in India (with the exception of Wingate and his Chindites ) focused exclusively on defensive measures. During his stay in India, Stillwell finally became disillusioned with the British troops, and did not hesitate to make harsh remarks about what seemed to him cowardly behavior.

Disagreements with Chiang Kai-shek and Other Allied Commanders

After Stilwell threw Chinese troops in Burma and fled to India, Chiang Kai-shek , who considered this desertion, began to doubt Stilwell's abilities as commander. However, instead of an open conflict with the general, or reporting his doubts to Roosevelt and Marshall, when, after the disaster in Burma, they requested Chan’s opinion about Stillwell’s abilities, he expressed the general “full confidence and support” to the general, while canceling some of Stillwell’s orders to the troops who obeyed as chief of staff. The outraged Stillwell began calling Chiang Kai-shek in his letters to Washington a “peanut,” while Chiang Kai-shek constantly expressed his displeasure to the American emissaries with the actions of Stillwell. Stillwell put pressure on the Chinese and the British, demanding immediate action in Burma, but Chiang Kai-shek demanded such a huge amount of military materials for the offensive that they could not be delivered, and the British did not give troops, relying on Churchill's First Europe Strategy. As a result, Stillwell began openly writing to Roosevelt that Chiang Kai-shek was saving up American military aid for the post-war battle with Mao Zedong , although in fact 98% of the incoming went directly to the 14th U.S. Air Force based in China.

Stillwell also constantly clashed with Field Marshal Archibald Wavell , and eventually came to the conclusion that the British in India were more concerned with protecting their colonial possessions than with helping China in the war against Japan. In August 1943, due to the constant hostility between the commanders of the Allies, and also due to the lack of the possibility of a unified strategy, the Joint Chiefs of Staff divided the Indian-Sino-Burmese theater of operations into separate Chinese theater and Southeast Asian theater.

Stillwell was outraged by the corruption that permeated the Chiang Kai-shek regime. Gradually, Stillwell’s confidence in the corruption and incompetence of the Generalissimo and his generals reached such an extent that he proposed to completely stop Lend-Lease deliveries to China. He even ordered the OSS officers to develop a rough plan for the assassination of Chiang Kai-shek, after he heard about Roosevelt's accidental remark that if Chiang Kai-shek fell from the hands of an internal or external enemy, he should have found a replacement so that China would continue to fight Japan.

Offensive on Myitkyina and its outcomes

After the formation of the Southeast Asian Allied Command in August 1943, he was led by Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten , and Stillwell became his deputy. On December 21, 1943, Stillwell received direct control over the planning of the offensive in North Burma, which was to end with the capture of the city of Myitkyon held by the Japanese. While preparations were underway, General Frank Merrill was instructed to send his "Marauders" to a distant raid through the jungle to cut off Japanese communications. The raid began in February 1944.

In April 1944, a decisive attack began on Myitkyina. Stillwell's plan was for the X Group, consisting of Chinese soldiers in India, to enter Burma from the North, and the Igrek group, consisting of Chinese troops in Yunnan , would enter Burma from the east, resulting in the Burmese road will be in the hands of the Allies. By the time the remnants of the Marauders, after two months of fighting in the jungle, merged with the X-Group, they had suffered significant losses; among the Marauders, there was a growing belief that Stillwell regarded them only as cannon fodder.

On May 17, 1944, the 1,310 looters who survived, along with two Chinese regiments, accompanied by a small group of artillery, attacked Myitkyi Airport. The airport was quickly taken, but the city, which, according to Stillwell’s intelligence, was fairly weakly protected, was actually occupied by a large number of well-equipped Japanese troops who quickly received reinforcements. The initial attack of the city by two Chinese regiments was repelled with heavy losses for the attackers. The "looters" did not have enough manpower to attack the city, and by the time additional Chinese forces arrived and took up positions to attack, there were already 4,600 Japanese soldiers in the city ready to defend it to the last drop of blood.

During the siege of Myitkyina, which took place in the midst of the rainy season, the commanders of the "looters" strongly recommended that the authorities take them to the rear for rest and recovery, because by that time most of the servicemen were suffering from fever and dysentery, which forced them to cut pieces of tissue from the back of their pants in order to shoot and lighten in battle at the same time. However, Stillwell rejected requests for evacuation, although he personally visited the front line. After the inspection, he ordered the medical staff to stop sending patients to the medical unit and return them to the front, giving them funds for fever. The feelings of the “looters” in relation to Stillwell are clearly visible in the then statement of one soldier: “He [Stillwell] was on my front sight. I could press - and no one would prove that it was not jap that removed this son of a bitch. ” Stillwell ordered that the inspectors appointed by his headquarters inspect the “looters” in hospitals; Staff inspectors recognized the majority of soldiers as fit for service and sent them to the front, but the front-line medical personnel immediately sent them from the front back to hospitals.

In the battles for Myitkyina, the Japanese resisted fiercely, fighting to the last man. As a result, Myitkyina fell only on August 14, 1944, when Stillwell was forced to throw thousands of Chinese reinforcements into battle. Later, Stillwell blamed the British allies for the siege, which, according to his version, did not provide him with all the necessary assistance.

A week after the fall of Myitkyina, the Marauders detachment, in which only 130 of the original strength of 2.997 remained, was disbanded.

The conflict between Generals Joseph Stillwell and Claire Shannolt (the commander of the famous " Flying Tigers ") was one of the largest conflicts of the war. As an adviser to the Chinese Air Force, Shannolt proposed launching a limited air attack in China in 1943 using a series of advanced air bases. Stillwell believed that no air campaigns could be launched until well-fortified airbases were created, protected by large infantry forces. Stillwell believed that all air resources should be directed to him in India for the quickest possible liberation of North Burma.

Following Shannolt’s advice, Chiang Kai-shek rejected Stillwell's suggestions; the British commanders supported Shannolt, believing that with the available forces they would be unable to organize a coordinated Allied offensive in Burma in 1943. In the summer of 1943, Stillwell’s headquarters concentrated on plans to prepare the Chinese army for an offensive in North Burma, despite Chiang Kai-shek's demands for supporting Shannolt’s air operations. Stillwell believed that having broken through the supply line through North Burma thanks to a powerful land offensive, he would be able to prepare and equip thirty Chinese divisions with modern weapons.

In 1944, the Japanese carried out a counteroffensive , quickly destroying the advanced air bases of Shannolt and, thereby, partially confirming the correctness of Stillwell. However, by that time, the number of cargoes transported monthly through the Hump’s airbridge had risen sharply, and Shannolt did not see the urgent need to open a land route through North Burma. However, this time, having received additional forces and worried about the approaches to India, the British military leaders supported Stillwell.

In the spring of 1944, Stillwell’s troops, in coordination with Chinese forces from Yunnan , led by General Wei Lihuan , launched an offensive in Burma. After heavy fighting, having suffered huge losses, two "claws" closed in January 1945. Stillwell’s strategy remained the same: the opening of a land supply line from India to China would allow the Allies to arm new Chinese divisions that could be used against Japan. The new road, called the Ledo Road , was supposed to allow 65,000 tons of cargo per month. Based on these figures, Stillwell argued that the new road would dramatically increase cargo flow compared with the air bridge over the Hump, but Shannolt doubted that such a long ground track running through the mountains and the jungle would be able to at least get closer to the aircraft bridge. served by modern transport aircraft. The construction of the Ledo Road was slow, and before the connection of the fronts in January 1945, it was not completed.

As a result, Stillwell’s plan to train thirty Chinese divisions was never fully implemented. As predicted by Shannolt, the tonnage of cargo transported by overland route did not nearly reach the tonnage transported via the air bridge over the Gorb - for example, in July 1945, 71,000 tons of cargo were delivered via the air bridge, while on the Road Ledo is only 6,000. By the time cargo flows along the Ledo Road reached noticeable numbers, operations on other fronts had already changed the entire military situation. In recognition of the merits of Stillwell, Chiang Kai-shek later renamed “Ledo Road” to “Stillwell Road”.

Seeing the collapse of the Chinese front as a result of the Iti-Go operation by the Japanese, Stillwell decided to take advantage of the situation to gain complete control over the Chinese armed forces, and managed through Marshall to make Roosevelt send Chiang Kai-shek an ultimatum that threatened to stop American aid to China if Chan Kai-shek “immediately” will not give Stillwell unlimited control over all Chinese troops. An excited Stillwell immediately handed over this letter to Chiang Kai-shek, despite a warning from Presidential Envoy Patrick Hurley recommending that the letter be postponed and that an agreement be worked out that would ensure that Stillwell was appointed in a more acceptable manner to the Chinese. Indeed, considering this step as the blatant humiliation of China, Chiang Kai-shek gave an official response, demanding the immediate replacement of Stillwell "with any other competent American general."

On October 19, 1944, Stillwell was recalled from his post by President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Partly due to the heavy losses suffered by the troops under his command in Burma, partly due to friction with the Chinese and English command, the return of Stillwell to the United States was not accompanied by the usual ceremonies in such cases. On arrival, he was met at the airport by two generals who warned him that he should not answer any press questions regarding China.

Stillwell was replaced by General Albert Wedemeyer , who received a telegram from Marshall on October 27, 1944, ordering him to leave for China and replace Stillwell as commander of the Chinese Theater of War. When Wedemeyer arrived at the former headquarters of Stillwell, he was discouraged by the fact that Stillwell intentionally left without meeting him, and at the same time did not leave a single scrap of paper with instructions. After searching the office, Wedemeyer was unable to find any records of plans or information about past and future operations. Then, Wedemeyer talked with officers from Stillwell’s headquarters, and learned from them that Stillwell “always wore everything in the back pocket of his trousers.”

Despite questions from the press, Stillwell never complained about either Washington or Chiang Kai-shek. Later, he led the Army Ground Forces, commanded the 10th Army during the final stages of the battle of Okinawa , and was the commander of the 6th Army.

In November 1945, he was appointed head of the commission on the development of recommendations for the modernization of the army in the light of the experience of war.

Stillwell died of stomach cancer on October 12, 1946 in Presidio (San Francisco). His ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean, and the cenotaph was placed at West Point Cemetery.

• Крест «За выдающиеся заслуги»
• Медаль «За выдающиеся заслуги» с дубовыми листьями
• Орден «Легион почёта» , легионер
• Bronze star
• Медаль «За филиппинскую кампанию »
• Медаль «За Мексиканскую экспедицию »
• Медаль Победы в Первой мировой войне
• Памятная медаль обороны Америки
• Медаль «За Азиатско-тихоокеанскую кампанию»
• Медаль Победы во Второй мировой войне
• Значок боевого пехотинца
• Орден Синего неба и белого солнца ( Китай )
• Медаль Солидароности ( Панама )
• Орден Почётного легиона , кавалер ( Франция )

• 4.5.1939 — бригадный генерал (постоянное звание)
• 1.10.1940 — генерал-майор (временное звание)
• 25.2.1942 — генерал-лейтенант (временное звание)
• 1.8.1944 — генерал (временное звание)

• Дж. Фенби . Генералиссимус Чан Кайши и Китай, который он потерял. — М. : «АСТ»-«Хранитель», 2006. — ISBN 5-17-032640-8