A historical study of the Stilwell Road

• Main Author: Thomas, Gordon Cornelius
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarly Commons 1949
• Subjects: World war; 1939-1945 Burma; Asian Studies; Chinese Studies; East Asian Languages and Societies; History; Japanese Studies; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/1086; https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2085&context=uop_etds

The problem investigated in this thesis is the history of the Stilwell Road, from its beginning in 1920, as the old Burma Road, to its completion, re-naming, use in 1945, and death in 1946 . The study of this problem justifies itself for various reasons, namely: (1) The Stilwell Road was severely needed by China as the only thoroughfare to the outside world. Chinese needs were of morale , equipment and arms- both large and small, and the training and advisory leadership of existing man-power. China having stood alone against the Japanese since 1937 needed the psychological boost that was given by the Road--the thought that someone strong still stood at her side to see her through . Without the Road, it would have been impossible to transport to China the large amounts of arms , equipment and supplies that found their way into the country. How well these supplies were used is a question for dispute, but it is known that with American supervision in distribution, the Chinese did receive some of the tools to put up a greater struggle to free themselves from the Japanese.