THE BIG PICTURE TV SHOW "THE STILWELL STORY” GENERAL JOSEPH STILWELL IN CHINA DURING WWII 60964

This film is of the documentary series ‘The Big Picture’ which ran from 1951 to 1964 and produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps, Army Pictorial Service. This episode looks at Joseph Warren Stilwell; a US Army general serving in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater in WW2. Army Master Sgt. Stewart Queen hosts (:56). Stilwell was born in March of 1883 (1:40) and spent his youth spent in Yonkers, New York (1:54). He enrolled in the military academy at West Point in 1900 (2:24) and his yearbook photo follows (2:42). The newly commissioned 2nd Lt. of Infantry spent the next 11 years teaching foreign language classes (3:04). Newspaper headlines such as “Lusitania Sunk” (3:42) point to the beginning of WW1. Stilwell was sent to France in December of 1917 (4:15). He became a liaison officer with the French 17th Corps (4:26) and participated in the Battle of Verdun (4:42). Stilwell became the Assistant Chief of Staff of the 4th Army Corps and earned a distinguished service medal for military attainments of a high order (5:01). After WW1, he served with the Army of Occupation within Germany until July of 1919 (5:19). To study Chinese dialects, he went to Peking, China (5:51). The inside of his home (6:12). He grew to appreciate Chinese culture (6:20). He returned to Fort Benning Infantry Training school, and is pictured alongside future fellow leaders, George C. Marshall and Omar Bradley (6:52). Stilwell continued his studies at Fort Leavenworth’s Command and General Staff School (7:01) and returned to Peking as military attaché to the US Embassy (7:08). On September 18th, 1931, Japanese forces invaded Manchuria leading to a clash between China and Japan (7:30). Combat footage follows (8:04) . The Generalissimo of China Chiang Kai-shek was forced to withdraw into the city of Changqing (9:05). China began to seek aide from other countries and by now the USS Panay incident had occurred and solidified US sympathy for China (9:21). Footage from this incident in which the Japanese attacked the American gunboat Panay while it was in Chinese waters follows (9:34). The Flying Tigers, seen at (9:47) were the first American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Airforce. Japan had attacked China’s port cities, building a wall around the country and preventing supplies from getting in (10:15). Stilwell served at Presidio in California (10:41) and as Major General, he commanded the 3rd Army Corps (10:41) and then returned to China to serve as Chief of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s Allied staff (11:14) commanding China’s 5th and 6th armies. His first duty was to help defend Burma in order to get supplies into China (11:38). The first attempt at Burma was unsuccessful (12:14). As Allied retreats were dangerous, Stilwell personally conducted safe passage of a group of 400 troops, Burmese nurses and civilians into India (13:27). In New Delhi, he was forced to give the admission of defeat and announce his determination to return (13:44). Limited transport planes were available to China and this led to a round the clock system of bringing in supplies and bringing out manpower (14:39). The Flying Tigers are pictured under the command of General Chennault (15:14). Stilwell set to constructing a new route to China from Burma that would bypass the old one (15:27). Chinese civilians are seen working on their end of the route with primitive tools (15:36). Allied leadership in Quebec authorized more aide for China and formed the SE Asia Command with Supreme Commander as Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten and Deputy as Lieutenant General Stilwell (16:00). Bombs are dropped as the 1st stage of assault began (17:21). Troops from all over the world participated including Merrill’s Marauders led by General Merrill (18:04). Malaria, dysentery and hepatitis caused more causalities than weapons (18:20). Successful missions began to take place on the Salween and Irrawaddy rivers (20:46) as the Japanese forces were now being forced to yield (20:57). Stilwell is pictured with son, Colonel Joseph Stilwell Jr on his 61st birthday (21:23). The first convoy of Ledo Road (23:42). Japanese forces pushed out of northeastern Burma (23:52). Ledo Road was renamed Stilwell road (24:23) and the Allied Command announced victory in Burma four months later (24:27). Stilwell received his fourth star (24:43) and in the US became the Commander of ground forces, the Commander of the 10th army (24:56) and then Commanding Officer in Okinawa. Scenes from the Battleship Missouri as Gen. Douglas MacArthur submitted formal terms of surrender to Japan (26:04). Stilwell passed on October 12th, 1946 (27:04). At West Point, his old combat boots and campaign hat sit under his portrait (27:24).

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