The American Military Mission to China, 1941-1942

This book is an overview of America's first effort in military aid to a foreign sovereign nation at a time when Europe was engaged in open warfare and Asia was undergoing a series of military confrontations. Most of the world was convinced that global conflagration was inevitable. The work offers an insight into the impact of war in Burma, a backwater of World War II, but examines events that result when great powers expend treasure and blood to further their own goals. The goals may be to obtain natural resources on strategically important geography, defend and retain colonial holdings, or maintain power and prestige. The author examines disagreements among China, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Japanese Empire. This plays out as confrontations within and among several departments and individuals within the Roosevelt administration and the same dialogue and disagreement among our allies in the Asian region. The book shows the evolution of aid provision to another country and changing expectations as new information arises.