A long list of friends, mentors, and colleagues talked through or read some or all of the manuscript (in a few cases more than once): Alan Schoenfeld, Patrick Radden Keefe, Mira Rapp-Hooper, Kurt Campbell, Harold Tanner, Gideon Rose, Jonathan Tepperman, Stuart Reid, Rebecca Lissner, Jacob Freedman, Jake Sullivan, John Gaddis, Mike Fuchs, Marc Dunkelman, Katharine Smyth, Dan Brook, Richard Feinberg, Tom Meaney, Dan Schwerin, Jim Kurtz-Phelan, Jared Leboff, Chris Heaney, Ryan Floyd, Liaquat Ahamed, Joshua Cooper Ramo, Arne Westad, Barry Machado, Mark Stoler, and Paul Barron.
My justly storied editor, Star Lawrence, got what I was trying to do from the beginning and patiently and expertly saw it through the end. Thanks also to Emma Hitchcock and Rachel Salzman at Norton. And the fantastic Tina Bennett not only relentlessly championed the book at every turn; she also seemed to always have a great idea or reassuring word at just the right moment.
My wonderful in-laws, Jessie and Jim, have been supportive and encouraging in countless ways, including by providing an idyllic Nova Scotia refuge for reading and writing. My sisters, Rachel and Abby, bolstered me when I needed bolstering. I owe my parents, Phyllis and Jim, more appreciation for more reasons than I can start to articulate (or even recognize)—but anyway, as they know, ingratitude may be the truest testament to good parenting.
Finally, and most of all, thank you to Darin, who talked me through every travail, read every word twice, and gave me the fortitude to start in the first place.
NOTES
Abbreviations in Notes
AW Albert Wedemeyer
CKS Chiang Kai-shek
Final report George C. Marshall, Marshall’s Mission to China, December 1945–January 1947: The Report and Appended Documents
FRUS United States Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States
GCM George C. Marshall
GCMRL George C. Marshall Research Library
Hoover Hoover Institution Archives
HST Harry S. Truman
HSTL Harry S. Truman Library
JHC John Hart Caughey
JM John Melby
KTM Katherine Tupper Marshall
LOC Library of Congress
Marshall
interviews George C. Marshall Interview and Reminiscences for Forrest C. Pogue, edited by Larry I. Bland
MC Marshall Carter
MHI Military History Institute
NARA National Archives
Papers The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, Vols. 1–6 edited by Larry I. Bland et al.; Vol. 7 edited by Mark A. Stoler
Prologue: Oh! General Marshall, We Communists Honor You
1 “I can tell” Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Statesman, 102; “The entire people” Li Tien-Min, Chou En-Lai, 261–262.
1–2 lost Gillem diary, 4 March 1946, Alvan Gillem Papers, MHI; side of a mountain Memoirs of Ivan D. Yeaton, 120, Ivan D. Yeaton Papers 1, Hoover; “long peace” Alexander V. Pantsov, Mao, 305.
2 6,000 people Emancipation Daily 5 March 1946.
2 five hundred Emancipation Daily 5 March 1946; “Oh! General Marshall” Li, Chou, 261–262.
2 “sits and masks” Gillem diary, 4 March 1946, Alvan Gillem Papers, MHI; “All were satisfied” Emancipation Daily 5 March 1946; He had sat Gillem diary, 4 March 1946, Alvan Gillem Papers, MHI; fail to notice Transcript of GCM comments, Conference on Problems of United States Policy in China, Secretary’s Files 152/4, HST Papers, HSTL; model of vehicle Katherine Marshall, Together, 60; Mao would ride JHC letter, 23 March 1946, JHC Papers 2/8, GCMRL.
3 “armies called” Ed Cray, General of the Army, 515.
3 “strong, united” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 770.
3 a miracle Marshall cable, 25 January 1946, GCM Papers 24/1, GCMRL; Benjamin Franklin New Yorker 16 March 1946; “a new stage” Odd Arne Westad, Decisive Encounters, 32.
4 “god of peace” Marshall cable, 25 January 1946, GCM Papers 24/1, GCMRL; “peace will” GCM to HST, 16 January 146, Naval Aide Files 8/9, HST Papers, HSTL.
5 “next war” Papers Vol. 5, 273.
1. Peace Is Hell
9–10 “In a war” Papers Vol. 5, 365; “greatest military man” Statement by the President, 20 November 1945, Secretary’s Files 197/12, HST Papers, HSTL; “finest soldier” Henry L. Stimson, On Active Service in Peace and War, 664; “strongest man” Cray, General, 398; Time magazine Cray, General, 442; Stalin said Averell W. Harriman, Special Envoy to Churchill and Stalin, 445.
10 “At breakfast” Marshall, Together, 118; Atlas List of aliases, John Paton Davies Papers 11/4, HSTL; “We are off” Papers Vol. 5, 367.
10 a true home Marshall, Together, 118; “My ambitions” GCM to Merrill Meigs, 2 February 1946, GCM Papers 123/21, GCMRL.
10–11 “General Marshall speaking” Dean Acheson, Sketches from Life, 147; “Yes, Mr. President” Papers Vol. 5, 372.
11 Katherine . . . relax Marshall, Together, 282.
11 “Son-of-a-bitch” Robert J. Donovan, Conflict and Crisis, 149.
11 thought to send him across the Pacific GCM to Joseph Stilwell, 3 August 1944, GCM Papers 60/56, GCMRL.
12 “Mexicans” Carrolle J. Carter, Mission to Yenan, 131; “motherfucker” Dieter Heinzig, The Soviet Union and Communist China, 43; lewd joke Graham Peck, Two Kinds of Time, 612; “being leaked on” Robert Edwin Herzstein in Larry I. Bland, George C. Marshall’s Mediation Mission to China, 123; Clown, Big Wind S. C. M. Paine, The Wars for Asia, 235.
13 he told his fellow cabinet members Townsend Hoopes, Driven Patriot, 304; Hurley resignation Donovan, Conflict, 149–151.
13 discussion over lunch Donovan, Conflict, 150.
14 came in a suggestion Walter Millis, Forrestal Diaries, 113.
14 “Truman’s eyes” Matthew Connelly Oral History, HSTL; “reverence” Averell Harriman Oral History, GCMRL; “earned a rest” Millis, Forrestal Diaries, 238; temporary appointment Millis, Forrestal Diaries, 113; Red Room David McCullough, Truman, 475.
14 Fort Necessity Papers Vol. 7, 844.
15 “Ike” . . . cross-channel invasion Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Organizer of Victory, 303; Stimson recorded Pogue, Organizer, 325; “I could not sleep” Mark A. Stoler, George C. Marshall, 108.
16 his presence Acheson, Sketches, 147; “abject humility” Papers Vol. 5, 555; command, decision Mark Perry, Partners in Command, 103; “Don’t fight the problem” Acheson, Sketches, 156; “To say what makes greatness” Acheson to GCM, 10 January 1949, GCM Papers 56/4, GCMRL.
16 “first-name business” John Robinson Beal, Marshall in China, 325; “I have no feelings” Acheson, Sketches, 154.
16 “Those who stand up” Thomas Ricks, The Generals, 35; little black book, “to relieve him” Forrest C. Pogue, George C. Marshall: Ordeal and Hope, 94–95; “You give” McCullough, Truman, 861.
16–17 “Modern warfare” Papers Vol. 1, 621; “It becomes more and more” Papers Vol. 1, 705; in principle Dean Rusk, As I Saw It, 132.
17 “brilliant planner” Ricks, Generals, 23; “appalling proposition” Papers Vol. 1, 160; aluminum and antifreeze Papers Vol. 2, 595; netting Papers Vol. 3, 82; 59,000 miles Cray, General, 374; “The future effort” Papers Vol. 3, 106; out of gas Perry, Partners, 332.
17–18 “The destinies” Perry, Partners, 283; “organizer of victory” Cray, General, 515; taken a gentlemanly army Pogue, Ordeal, 1; had produced Cray, General, 554; citation Papers Vol. 5, 365.
18 “best man” Cray, General, 9; “massive brain” Charles F. Brower, George C. Marshall, 17; in an argument, prompting Roosevelt Jean Edward Smith, Eisenhower in War and Peace, 312; “Persuade by accomplishment” Cray, General, 341.
18–19 “It will take history” Papers Vol. 4, 383; “unnatural genius” Cray, General, 297; unlikely formulation Philip D. Sprouse Oral History, HSTL; bestseller list Marshall, Together, 275–276; “The Democratic Party owes it to the people” Cray, General, 403; “I have never voted” Papers Vol. 2, 616.
19 “The hour war” Papers Vol. 1, 596; “peace of the entire world�
� Thomas G. Paterson, “If Europe, Why Not China?,” 23; “waste the victory” “Marshall’s Mission,” JHC Papers 2/8, GCMRL.
19 “terrific toll” Marshall, Together, 259.
19–20 casualty lists Papers Vol. 5, 223; graphic reports Stoler, George C. Marshall, 121; “I loathe war” Papers Vol. 5, 224.
20 commanders rest Pogue, Organizer, 326; by 10:30 a.m. Statement by Secretary Ross, 27 November 1945, Secretary’s Files 197/12, HSTL; “devil to pay” Papers Vol. 5, 372.
20 too old McCullough, Truman, 255; “if you ever pray” McCullough, Truman, 353; unsettled Marshall interviews, 331.
20 “Peace is hell” Donovan, Conflict, 125.
21 meat Donovan, Conflict, 229; wheat Donovan, Conflict, 203; “great emergency” Donovan, Conflict, 112; “drink Coke” Walter Isaacson, The Wise Men, 19; In a survey George H. Gallup, The Gallup Poll, 535; Hitler Gallup, Gallup, 527.
21 global economic activity, gold reserves Melvyn P. Leffler, A Preponderance of Power, 2; “We have virtually been elected” Papers Vol. 5, 362.
21 “political counterstroke” New Republic 10 December 1945; “stroke of genius” Clark to HST, Personal File 2996, HST Papers, HSTL; “I do not need to tell you” Luce to GCM, 29 November 1945, GCM Papers 74/44, GCMRL.
22 “Kansas City” T. Christopher Jespersen, American Images of China, 164.
22 “The inherent weakness in our position” Odd Arne Westad, Restless Empire, 131.
23 “not worth a cent” Michael H. Hunt, The Genesis of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy, 66; “exploitable” Warren I. Cohen, America’s Response to China, 23.
23 “our difficulties in China” Papers Vol. 3, 422; “our loyal ally in China” Michael Schaller, The U.S. Crusade In China, 87; “democratic traditions” Jespersen, American Images, 51; “How to Tell Japs” Life 22 December 1941; “airport-warphanage-dugout,” shacks and beggars cleared Peck, Two Kinds, 428–429.
24 “giant pincer” Barbara W. Tuchman, Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 238; “The determination” GCM to CKS, 1 July 1942, GCM Papers 60/42, GCMRL.
24 Churchill Maochun Yu, OSS in China, 242; “a new epoch” Herbert Feis, The China Tangle, 62.
24–25 “unconquerable China” Tuchman, Stilwell, 291; “no possibility” John Paton Davies, Dragon by the Tail, 276; “three-power alliance” Kenneth S. Chern, Dilemma in China, 51; “most important factor” Akira Iriye, American, Chinese, and Japanese Perspectives on Wartime Asia, 288–289; balance Russia John Lewis Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, 11.
25 “great American illusion” Feis, China, 284; “If I can epitomize” Robert Dallek, The Lost Peace, 90; The Soviets Wm. Roger Louis, Imperialism at Bay, 284; “the white man’s position” Yu, OSS, 198.
26 “manure pile” Tuchman, Stilwell, 372; “distorted view,” “in the dark” Tuchman, Stilwell, 197; “stupid leadership” Tuchman, Stilwell, 194; “The cure” Jay Taylor, Generalissimo, 278.
26 Marshall chided Taylor, Generalissimo, 244; “Sultan” Tuchman, Stilwell, 360; summon him home Feis, China, 79; “your profane message” Tuchman, Stilwell, 345.
27 “most severe humiliation” Taylor, Generalissimo, 289; lyric Taylor, Generalissimo, 290.
27 “the bursting” Tuchman, Stilwell, 506.
27 “China could not lose” Theodore H. White, Thunder Out of China, 77.
28 “decorative object” Rana Mitter, Forgotten Ally, 298; “really laughable” Mitter, Forgotten, 353; stab of humiliation Pogue, Ordeal, 365; share of global Lend-Lease Mitter, Forgotten, 245; Chiang threatened Tuchman, Stilwell, 312.
28 Skyway to Hell White, Thunder, 154; “much sound” Davies to Hopkins, 21 October 1944, John Paton Davies Papers 11/4, HSTL.
28–29 “Because the Pacific” Mitter, Forgotten, 254; “I thought these were American planes” Marshall interviews, 374; Every piece of equipment Hannah Pakula, The Last Empress, 398; “maintaining China in the war” Pogue, Organizer, 210.
29 Chinese soldiers eating a puppy White, Thunder, 133; Uncle Chump White, Thunder, 160; Chinese recruits David D. Barrett, Dixie Mission, 60; “We Americans here” AW to Embick, 7 December 1944, AW Papers 81/14, Hoover; “not fighting” AW to Hull, 25 November 1944, AW Papers 81/35, Hoover.
29 “confining themselves” Cray, General, 411.
30 “three generations” Cray, General, 506.
30 military planners James F. Schnabel, The Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Policy, 92; Marshall expected Marc S. Gallicchio, The Scramble for Asia, 22; Mao was predicting Chen Jian, Mao’s China and the Cold War, 26.
30 “If peace comes” Jonathan D. Spence, To Change China, 276.
31 “I am delighted” CKS to GCM, 30 November 1945, GCM Papers 60/51, GCMRL; Marshall replied GCM to Wei, 1 December 1945, GCM Papers 60/51, GCMRL.
2. Horrid Dilemmas
32 “Hollywood’s idea” New Republic December 1945; “tried for losing” Washington Post 18 December 1945.
32 depart for China by December 7 GCM to Wei, 1 December 1945, GCM Papers 60/51, GCMRL.
33 “I prefer to rest” New York Times 7 December 1945; “If we had failed” New York Times 7 December 1945; “a tragedy” “Marshall as Witness,” GCM Papers 24/11, GCMRL.
33 twenty-four hours New York Times 14 December 1945.
33 “God bless democracy” Papers Vol. 6, 484.
33 “race of supermen” Marshall cable, 11 December 1945, GCM Papers 124/40, GCMRL.
34 In his telling . . .“urgency to succeed” Marshall interviews, 40.
34 “I do not feel it right” Papers Vol. 1, 94.
34–35 still curse Marshall interviews, 548; “I’ve never seen a man” Cray, General, 306; relaxing “completely” Stoler, George C. Marshall, 28; went to bed Cray, General, 452; “lived outside of himself” Marshall, Together, 110; a proverb Papers Vol. 3, 501.
35 challenged the top American general Papers Vol. 1, 122; “Mr. President, I am sorry” Marshall interviews, 109; “You said ‘yes’ pleasantly” Cray, General, 139.
35 State Department’s policy paper GCM to Leahy, 30 November 1945, GCM Papers 124/27, GCMRL.
35 “For the past week” Papers Vol. 5, 391.
36 “we could expect Russia” War Department Memo for Record, 10 December 1945, John E. Hull Papers, MHI.
36 “I am still trying to find where the war left off” Caraway to Paige, 13 December 1945, Paul Caraway Papers, MHI.
37 “puppet of the Soviet” AW report on developments in China, 20 November 1945, AW Papers 86/4, Hoover; “de facto protectorate” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 615; “should Chiang attempt” John Paton Davies, China Hand, 215.
37 “horrid dilemma” Washington Post 4 December 1945.
38 “sufficient weapons” War Department Memo for Record, 10 December 1945, John E. Hull Papers, MHI; Marshall had asked, before the State Department reworked Hull to GCM, 30 June 1951, John E. Hull Papers, MHI.
38 Byrnes conceded War Department Memo for Record, 10 December 1945, John E. Hull Papers, MHI; A man of his caliber Vincent to Byrnes, 10 December 1945, Marshall Mission Records 1, NARA.
38 Order Number One HST to CKS, 15 August 1945, Naval Aide Files 8/11, HST Papers, HSTL; “largest troop movement” Richard Bernstein, China 1945, 308; “angeles of peace” Ronald H. Spector, In the Ruins of Empire, 52.
39 “incidental” JHC letter, 11 November 1945, JHC Papers 2/6; the main purpose was Spector, In the Ruins, 7, 26.
39 “How do you draw” Gallicchio, Scramble, 92; “conflicting orders” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 684; “Under the present circumstances” AW report on developments in China, 20 November 1945, AW Papers 86/4, Hoover; “an important contribution” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 532.
39–40 Wedemeyer advised Davies, China Hand, 266; more urgent priorities Spector, In the Ruins, 39; recently boasted Davies, China Hand, 309.
40 a million troops, party members Paine, Wars, 224; 100 million people Christopher R. Lew, The Third Chinese Revolutionary Civil War, 2; “China’s destiny” Davies, China Hand, 215.
40 “Soviet Russia’s connivance” CKS to HST, 23 November 1945, Naval Aide File 7/4, HST Papers, HSTL; “collaborate with the Chinese Communists” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 653.
41 “delaying tactics” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 759; “block all progress” GCM to Leahy, 30 November 1945, GCM Papers 124/27, GCMRL.
41 “I do not anticipate any difficulty” Feis, China Tangle, 397; “If the unification” AW report, 23 November 1945, AW Papers 91/1, Hoover.
42 brash former missionary Theodore H. White, In Search of History, 239; Communists cut his throat Yu, OSS, 239.
42 Mao was apologetic, “very unfortunate” Minutes of meeting with Mao and Zhou, 30 August 1945, AW Papers 87/6, Hoover; provocative Schaller, U.S. Crusade, 269; “disturbing effect” Minutes of meeting with Mao and Zhou, 30 August 1945, AW Papers 87/6, Hoover; “doing their utmost” Schaller, U.S. Crusade, 285.
43 “As I see it” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 1375; “a reduction in the” Steven I. Levine, Anvil of Victory, 75; “stabilize the situation” AW report on developments in China, 20 November 1945, AW Papers 86/4, Hoover; “the policy of Byrnes” Robert E. Herzstein, Henry R. Luce, Time, and the American Crusade in Asia, 53.
43 “not yet capable” AW report on developments in China, 20 November 1945, AW Papers 86/4, Hoover.
43 “A divided China” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 630.
44 “unfortunate eventuality” . . . “war in the Pacific” Notes on a meeting with the President, Mr. Byrnes, and Admiral Leahy, 11 December 1945, GCM Papers 124/27, GCMRL.
44 “in the event” Papers Vol. 5, 393.
45 “The fact that” HST to GCM, Secretary’s Files 112/6, HST Papers, HSTL.
45 “horns of a dilemma” GCM to Leahy, 30 November 1945, GCM Papers 124/27, GCMRL; “U.S. support” U.S. Department of State, China White Paper, 608; “prejudice the objectives” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 772.
45 “Events of this century” U.S. Policy Toward China, GCM Papers 124/27, GCMRL; “they will be” FRUS 1945 Vol. 7, 773.
45 “would make full use” Bernstein, China, 281; frustration with Mao Averell Harriman Oral History, GCMRL; “use of words” Kennan to Harriman, 23 April 1945, Naval Aide Files 8/4, HST Papers, HSTL; been spooked Odd Arne Westad, Cold War and Revolution, 76.
The China Mission Page 40