Mission 204
Encyclopedia
Mission 204, formally known as 204 British Military Mission to China and also known as Tulip Force was a largely unsuccessful mission conducted in World War II
, involving an attempt to provide assistance to Chinese Nationalist Army resistance to the Japanese occupation of China.
in the event war
broke out. With the assistance of Wing Commander J Warburton, relations between the British
and the Chinese
developed, and a Sino-British agreement was made whereby British troops would assist the Chinese "Surprise Troops" units of guerillas already operating in China, and China assist Britain in Burma.
n soldiers from the 8th Division (Australia) being posted to Burma. At the Bush Warfare School in Burma, run by Captain Mike Calvert
, the men were trained in demolition
, ambush
and engineering
reconnaissance during October and November 1941, and were provided with equipment and supplies. In addition to the Australian two officers and 43 men, Tulip Force also consisted of a number of British troops. In total, Mission 204 was composed of six commando
contingents, three of which were deployed to China. (Of the other three, one was disbanded because of ill discipline, and the other two were involved in other missions against the Japanese.) The aim of the Mission was to infiltrate into China, and train Chinese guerrillas to fight the Japanese.
in trucks for nearly three weeks before crossing into China, covering more than 3000 kilometres (1,864.1 mi). From there they travelled another 800 kilometres (497.1 mi) by train into China, before traversing the mountainous border region to join Lieutenant-Colonel Chen Ling Sun's Chinese 5th Battalion. They brought with them large amounts of equipment, including explosives.
The Australian Minister in Chungking, Sir Frederick Eggleston, visited the men in their camp at Kiyang at the end of May, later recommending that the Australian troops remain at their base.
The Australians lived in the mountains with the Chinese Surprise Troops (so called because of their ability to surprise the enemy. The Nationalists did not like the term Guerilla because it was associated with communists). There were communications issues between the British and Australian troops, and the Chinese. Mission 204 had no food, as they had understood that the Chinese would provide it. The Chinese themselves had no food, but foraged for it and took what they wanted from the peasants, expecting that naturally the British would do the same. The British troops trained the Chinese Surprise troops in using demolitions, but apart from that were not used. They were not permitted by the Chinese to be involved in attacks on the Japanese.
The first phase of Mission 204 stayed until until September 1942, when it was decided to remove the by now disillusioned and sick Australian and British troops. Despite the preparations and training, the Australians did not participate in any of the Chinese guerrilla activities. Additionally, they suffered from dysentery
, Malaria
and typhus
. The soldiers had no confidence in the Chinese commander under whom they were to serve, and it was perceived that they were not being used to any benefit by the Chinese military.
experts assigned to the Surprise troops. This phase ran from February 1943 to February 1945, and operated under standard British Military command, as opposed to the first phase which operated under the SOE
. Learning lessons from the uonsucessful first phase, the second phase worked quite well, with valid assistance to the Chinese Guerilla actions. However, with the major Japanese Operation Ichi-Go underway, the Misson 204 soldiers were pulled out of China, being flown out of the area by the USAAF whose bases at Guilin
and Luizhou were the targets of the Japanese.
From the Chinese perspective, the leader of the Chinese Surprise troops, General Li Mo'an
, was very critical of the British effort. In 1990, he said that the Commandos were in fact largely not soldiers, but mostly businessmen, priests and missionaries. He also stated that they forced their way into the locals' houses, harassed the local women, and were rowdy and disorderly. They also stole all the locals' possessions, were generally out of control, and treated all the Chinese as peasants, even those who were not. There is a view that he was directed to state this by the Chinese Communist party.
Out of the 180 soldiers involved in the operations, only three did not return home: two British and one Australian who died in the operation.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, involving an attempt to provide assistance to Chinese Nationalist Army resistance to the Japanese occupation of China.
Background
Shortly after November 1940, Major LE Denny had been posted to Chungking, with the aim of becoming a military attache to ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the event war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
broke out. With the assistance of Wing Commander J Warburton, relations between the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
developed, and a Sino-British agreement was made whereby British troops would assist the Chinese "Surprise Troops" units of guerillas already operating in China, and China assist Britain in Burma.
Training in Burma
Mission 204 was initiated with a small group of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n soldiers from the 8th Division (Australia) being posted to Burma. At the Bush Warfare School in Burma, run by Captain Mike Calvert
Mike Calvert
James Michael Calvert DSO and Bar was a British soldier involved in special operations in World War II. The degree to which he led very risky attacks in person led to his becoming widely known as "Mad Mike". Calvert was court-martialled and dismissed from the Army in 1952...
, the men were trained in demolition
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
, ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
reconnaissance during October and November 1941, and were provided with equipment and supplies. In addition to the Australian two officers and 43 men, Tulip Force also consisted of a number of British troops. In total, Mission 204 was composed of six commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
contingents, three of which were deployed to China. (Of the other three, one was disbanded because of ill discipline, and the other two were involved in other missions against the Japanese.) The aim of the Mission was to infiltrate into China, and train Chinese guerrillas to fight the Japanese.
First phase
The men departed in February 1942, the first Phase consisting of three Contingents, two British and one Australian, each of 50 army commandos. They travelled up the Burma RoadBurma Road
The Burma Road is a road linking Burma with the southwest of China. Its terminals are Kunming, Yunnan, and Lashio, Burma. When it was built, Burma was a British colony.The road is long and runs through rough mountain country...
in trucks for nearly three weeks before crossing into China, covering more than 3000 kilometres (1,864.1 mi). From there they travelled another 800 kilometres (497.1 mi) by train into China, before traversing the mountainous border region to join Lieutenant-Colonel Chen Ling Sun's Chinese 5th Battalion. They brought with them large amounts of equipment, including explosives.
The Australian Minister in Chungking, Sir Frederick Eggleston, visited the men in their camp at Kiyang at the end of May, later recommending that the Australian troops remain at their base.
The Australians lived in the mountains with the Chinese Surprise Troops (so called because of their ability to surprise the enemy. The Nationalists did not like the term Guerilla because it was associated with communists). There were communications issues between the British and Australian troops, and the Chinese. Mission 204 had no food, as they had understood that the Chinese would provide it. The Chinese themselves had no food, but foraged for it and took what they wanted from the peasants, expecting that naturally the British would do the same. The British troops trained the Chinese Surprise troops in using demolitions, but apart from that were not used. They were not permitted by the Chinese to be involved in attacks on the Japanese.
The first phase of Mission 204 stayed until until September 1942, when it was decided to remove the by now disillusioned and sick Australian and British troops. Despite the preparations and training, the Australians did not participate in any of the Chinese guerrilla activities. Additionally, they suffered from dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, Malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
. The soldiers had no confidence in the Chinese commander under whom they were to serve, and it was perceived that they were not being used to any benefit by the Chinese military.
Second Phase: February 1943
The Second phase was more successful, with British medical and demolitionDemolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
experts assigned to the Surprise troops. This phase ran from February 1943 to February 1945, and operated under standard British Military command, as opposed to the first phase which operated under the SOE
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
. Learning lessons from the uonsucessful first phase, the second phase worked quite well, with valid assistance to the Chinese Guerilla actions. However, with the major Japanese Operation Ichi-Go underway, the Misson 204 soldiers were pulled out of China, being flown out of the area by the USAAF whose bases at Guilin
Guilin
Guilin is a prefecture-level city in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of far southern China, sitting on the west bank of the Li River. Its name means "forest of Sweet Osmanthus", owing to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees located in the city...
and Luizhou were the targets of the Japanese.
From the Chinese perspective, the leader of the Chinese Surprise troops, General Li Mo'an
Li Mo'an
Li Mo'an was a KMT general from Changsha, Hunan. He retired in 1949.1928 Commanding Officer 31st Brigade1935 Fujian Second Pacification Area Commander1935 - 1937 General Officer Commanding 10th Division...
, was very critical of the British effort. In 1990, he said that the Commandos were in fact largely not soldiers, but mostly businessmen, priests and missionaries. He also stated that they forced their way into the locals' houses, harassed the local women, and were rowdy and disorderly. They also stole all the locals' possessions, were generally out of control, and treated all the Chinese as peasants, even those who were not. There is a view that he was directed to state this by the Chinese Communist party.
Out of the 180 soldiers involved in the operations, only three did not return home: two British and one Australian who died in the operation.
Further Reading
- Whitehead, John and Bennett, George "Escape to Fight on: With 204 Military Mission in China"
- Bill Noonan, "Lost Legion - Mission 204 and the Reluctant Dragon"