Editing Second Sino-Japanese War (section)

==Foreign aid==
{{Further|Japanese in the Chinese resistance to the Empire of Japan}}

Before the start of full-scale warfare of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Germany had since the time of the [[Weimar Republic]], provided much equipment and training to crack units of the National Revolutionary Army of China, including some aerial-combat training with the ''[[Luftwaffe]]'' to some pilots of the pre-Nationalist Air Force of China.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chan |last2=Gong |last3=Little |first1=Andy |first2=John |first3=Michael|date=2015-10-07|title=World War 2 Flying Ace Arthur Chin's Amazing True Story|url=https://disciplesofflight.com/world-war-2-flying-ace-arthur-chin/|access-date=2021-01-20|website=|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326113109/https://disciplesofflight.com/world-war-2-flying-ace-arthur-chin/|url-status=live}}</ref> A number of foreign powers, including the Americans, Italians and Japanese, provided training and equipment to different air force units of pre-war China. With the outbreak of full-scale war between China and the Empire of Japan, the Soviet Union became the primary supporter for China's ''war of resistance'' through the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact from 1937 to 1941. When the Imperial Japanese invaded [[French Indochina]], the United States enacted the [[Oil embargo|oil and steel embargo]] against Japan and froze all Japanese assets in 1941,<ref>{{cite web|title=HyperWar: US Army in WWII: Strategy and Command: The First Two Years|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Strategy/Strategy-5.html|access-date=2020-11-13|website=www.ibiblio.org|quote=By the fall of 1941 relations between the United States and Japan had reached a critical stage... the Japanese, most of whom were unwilling to pay the American price for peace... were convinced that acceptance of American peace terms would only lead to further demands and ultimately leave Japan dependent on the United States and Great Britain.|archive-date=25 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525064812/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Strategy/Strategy-5.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2007-10-13|title=Inventory of Conflict and Environment (ICE), Template|url=http://american.edu/TED/ice/japan-oil.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013230714/http://american.edu/TED/ice/japan-oil.htm|archive-date=13 October 2007|access-date=2020-11-13|quote=The US, the biggest oil supplier for Japan at the time, imposed the oil embargo on Japan in July, 1941, and it helped the Japanese to make up their minds to fight against the Americans. Thus, in a way, the attack on Pearl Harbor was not a surprise one at all; it was a necessary result of the conflict and negotiation.}}</ref> and with it came the [[Lend-Lease Act]] of which China became a beneficiary on 6 May 1941; from there, China's main diplomatic, financial and military support came from the U.S., particularly following the attack on Pearl Harbor''.''

===Overseas Chinese===
Over 3,200 overseas Chinese drivers and motor vehicle mechanics embarked to wartime China to support military and logistics supply lines, especially through Indo-China, which became of absolute tantamount importance when the Japanese cut-off all ocean-access to China's interior with the capture of [[Nanning]] after the Battle of South Guangxi. Overseas Chinese communities in the U.S. raised money and nurtured talent in response to Imperial Japan's aggressions in China, which helped to fund an entire squadron of Boeing P-26 fighter planes purchased for the looming war situation between China and the Empire of Japan; over a dozen Chinese-American aviators, including [[John Huang Xinrui|John "Buffalo" Huang]], [[Arthur Chin]], [[Hazel Ying Lee]], [[Jurong airfield|Chan Kee-Wong]] et al., formed the original contingent of foreign volunteer aviators to join the Chinese air forces (some provincial or warlord air forces, but ultimately all integrating into the centralized Chinese Air Force; often called the ''Nationalist Air Force of China'') in the "patriotic call to duty for the motherland" to fight against the Imperial Japanese invasion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Before the Flying Tigers|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0699before/|access-date=2020-11-08|website=Air Force Magazine|language=en-US|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125171645/https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0699before/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Major 'Buffalo' Wong Sun-Shui|url=http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/WW2/aces/Wong%20Sun-Shui.htm|access-date=2020-11-08|website=www.century-of-flight.freeola.com|archive-date=5 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905180041/http://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/WW2/aces/Wong%20Sun-Shui.htm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2016-11-10|title=Sky's the Limit|url=https://1859oregonmagazine.com/think-oregon/art-culture/hazel-lee/|access-date=2020-11-08|website=1859 Oregon's Magazine|language=en-US|archive-date=30 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130091648/https://1859oregonmagazine.com/think-oregon/art-culture/hazel-lee/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Hazel Lee, the first Chinese-American female military pilot|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/remembering-hazel-lee-first-chinese-american-female-military-pilot-n745851|access-date=2020-11-08|website=NBC News|date=25 May 2017 |archive-date=11 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211113655/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/remembering-hazel-lee-first-chinese-american-female-military-pilot-n745851|url-status=live}}</ref> Several of the original Chinese-American volunteer pilots were sent to [[Lechfeld Air Base|Lagerlechfeld Air Base]] in Germany for aerial-gunnery training by the Chinese Air Force in 1936.<ref>{{cite web|date=2015-10-07|title=World War 2 Flying Ace Arthur Chin's Amazing True Story|url=https://disciplesofflight.com/world-war-2-flying-ace-arthur-chin/|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326113109/https://disciplesofflight.com/world-war-2-flying-ace-arthur-chin/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===German===
{{Main|China–Germany relations (1912–1949)}}
[[File:Kung and hitler.jpg|thumb|[[H. H. Kung]] and [[Adolf Hitler]] in Berlin]]

Prior to the war, Germany and China were in close economic and military cooperation, with Germany helping China modernize its industry and military in exchange for raw materials. Germany sent military advisers such as [[Alexander von Falkenhausen]] to China to help the KMT government reform its armed forces.{{sfnp|Mitter|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bqc_YkuyaCIC&pg=PA65 65]}} [[List of German-trained divisions of the National Revolutionary Army|Some divisions]] began training to German standards and were to form a relatively small but well trained Chinese Central Army. By the mid-1930s about 80,000 soldiers had received German-style training.{{sfnp|Mitter|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bqc_YkuyaCIC&pg=PA66 66]}} After the KMT lost Nanjing and retreated to Wuhan, Hitler's government decided to withdraw its support of China in 1938 in favour of an alliance with Japan as its main anti-Communist partner in East Asia.{{sfnp|Mitter|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Bqc_YkuyaCIC&pg=PA165 165]}}

===Soviet===
After Germany and Japan signed the anti-communist [[Anti-Comintern Pact]], the Soviet Union hoped to keep China fighting, in order to deter a [[Kantokuen|Japanese invasion]] of Siberia and save itself from a [[two-front war]]. In September 1937, they signed the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact and approved Operation Zet, the formation of a secret [[Soviet Volunteer Group|Soviet volunteer air force]], in which Soviet technicians upgraded and ran some of China's transportation systems. [[Bomber]]s, [[Fighter aircraft|fighters]], supplies and advisors arrived, headed by [[Aleksandr Cherepanov]]. Prior to the Western Allies, the Soviets provided the most foreign aid to China: some $250&nbsp;million in credits for munitions and other supplies. The Soviet Union defeated Japan in the [[Battles of Khalkhin Gol]] in May&nbsp;– September 1939, leaving the Japanese reluctant to fight the Soviets again.<ref>Douglas Varner, ''To the Banks of the Halha: The Nomohan Incident and the Northern Limits of the Japanese Empire'' (2008)</ref> In April 1941, Soviet aid to China ended with the [[Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact]] and the beginning of the [[Great Patriotic War]]. This pact enabled the Soviet Union to avoid fighting against Germany and Japan at the same time. In August 1945, the Soviet Union annulled the neutrality pact with Japan and invaded Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, the Kuril Islands, and northern Korea. The Soviets also continued to support the Chinese Communist Party. In total, 3,665 Soviet advisors and pilots served in China,{{sfn|Taylor|page=156}} and 227 of them died fighting there.<ref>[http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter4_4.html] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100313141742/http://www.soldat.ru/doc/casualties/book/chapter4_4.html|date=13 March 2010}}</ref>

The Soviet Union provided financial aid to both the Communists and the Nationalists.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=34}}

=== United States ===
{{further|American Volunteer Group|Flying Tigers|China Air Task Force}}
[[File:ClaireChennault.jpeg|thumb|[[Flying Tigers]] Commander [[Claire Lee Chennault]]]]

The United States generally avoided taking sides between Japan and China until 1940, providing virtually no aid to China in this period. For instance, the 1934 Silver Purchase Act signed by President Roosevelt caused chaos in China's economy which helped the Japanese war effort. The 1933 Wheat and Cotton Loan mainly benefited American producers, while aiding to a smaller extent both Chinese and Japanese alike. This policy was due to US fear of breaking off profitable trade ties with Japan, in addition to US officials and businesses perception of China as a potential source of massive profit for the US by absorbing surplus American products, as William Appleman Williams states.<ref>{{cite book |first=William D. |last=Pederson |title=A Companion to Franklin D. Roosevelt |date=2011 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=978-1444395174 |pages=591–597, 601}}</ref>

From December 1937, events such as the [[Panay incident|Japanese attack on USS ''Panay'']] and the [[Nanjing Massacre]] swung public opinion in the West sharply against Japan and increased their fear of Japanese expansion, which prompted the United States, the United Kingdom, and [[French Third Republic|France]] to provide loan assistance for war supply contracts to [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]]. Australia also prevented a Japanese government-owned company from taking over an iron mine in Australia, and banned [[iron ore]] exports in 1938.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.info.dfat.gov.au/info/historical/HistDocs.nsf/(LookupVolNoNumber)/3~221 |title=Memorandum by Mr J. McEwen, Minister for External Affairs 10 May 1940 |publisher=Info.dfat.gov.au |access-date=2010-12-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221003912/http://www.info.dfat.gov.au/info/historical/HistDocs.nsf/%28LookupVolNoNumber%29/3~221 |archive-date=21 February 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> However, in July 1939, negotiations between Japanese Foreign Minister Arita Khatira and the British Ambassador in Tokyo, [[Robert Craigie (diplomat)|Robert Craigie]], led to an agreement by which the United Kingdom recognized Japanese conquests in China. At the same time, the US government extended a trade agreement with Japan for six months, then fully restored it. Under the agreement, Japan purchased trucks for the Kwantung Army,<ref>US Congress. Investigation of Concentracion of Economic Power. Hearings before the Temporary National Economic Committee. 76th Congress, 2nd Session, Pt. 21. Washington, 1940, p. 11241</ref> machine tools for aircraft factories, [[strategic material]]s (steel and scrap iron up to 16 October 1940, petrol and petroleum products up to 26 June 1941),<ref>Д. Г. Наджафов. Нейтралитет США. 1935–1941. М., "Наука", 1990. стр.157</ref> and various other much-needed supplies.

In a hearing before the United States Congress House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, 19 April 1939, the acting chairman Sol Bloom and other Congressmen interviewed Maxwell S. Stewart, a former Foreign Policy Association research staff and economist who charged that America's Neutrality Act and its "neutrality policy" was a massive farce which only benefited Japan and that Japan did not have the capability nor could ever have invaded China without the massive amount of raw material America exported to Japan. America exported far more raw material to Japan than to China in the years 1937–1940.<ref>{{cite book |author1=United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs |title=Hearings |date=1939 |page=266 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E9IfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA266}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=United States. Congress. House |title=Hearings |date=1939 |page=266 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-JMa8xpP5tYC&pg=PA266}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs |title=American Neutrality Policy: Hearings Before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Seventy-Sixth Congress, First Session, on Apr. 11–13, 17–21, 24–28, May 2, 1939 |date=1939 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=266 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcxEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA266}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=United States. Congress. House. Foreign AFfairs |title=American Neutrality Policy: Hearings ... on Present Neutrality Law (public Res. No. 27)... April 11 – May 2, 1939 |date=1939 |pages=263–302 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEB5-sXYBVcC&pg=PA266}}</ref> According to the United States Congress, the U.S.'s third largest export destination was Japan until 1940 when France overtook it due to France being at war too. Japan's military machine acquired war materials, automotive equipment, steel, scrap iron, copper, oil, that it wanted from the United States in 1937–1940 and was allowed to purchase aerial bombs, aircraft equipment, and aircraft from America up to the summer of 1938. A 1934 [[U.S. State Department]] memo even noted how Japan's business dealings with [[Standard Oil of New Jersey]] company, under the leadership of [[Walter Teagle]], made United States oil the "major portion of the petroleum and petroleum products now imported into Japan."<ref name=teaglejapan>{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1934v03/d649|title=Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hornbeck) of a Conversation With the President of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey (Walter C. Teagle)|author=Office of the Historian|publisher=U.S State Department|date=October 24, 1934|accessdate=January 18, 2025}}</ref> War essentials exports from the United States to Japan increased by 124% along with a general increase of 41% of all American exports from 1936 to 1937 when Japan invaded China. Japan's war economy was fueled by exports to the United States at over twice the rate immediately preceding the war.<ref>{{cite book |author1=United States. Congress |title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress, Volume 113, Part 1 |date=1967 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=474 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G-9N8WlYKK4C&pg=PA473 |access-date=31 May 2017 |archive-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012013420/https://books.google.com/books?id=G-9N8WlYKK4C&pg=PA473 |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, Japan corresponded to the following share of American exports.

[[File:Flying Tigers blood chit from ROC National Government, provided courtesy of Robert Baldwin.jpg|thumb|A "[[blood chit]]" issued to American Volunteer Group pilots requesting all Chinese to offer rescue and protection]]

Japan invaded and occupied the northern part of [[French Indochina]] in September 1940 to prevent China from receiving the 10,000 tons of materials delivered monthly by the Allies via the [[Haiphong–Yunnan Fou Railway]] line.

On 22 June 1941, [[Germany attacked the Soviet Union]]. In spite of non-aggression pacts or trade connections, Hitler's assault threw the world into a frenzy of re-aligning political outlooks and strategic prospects.

On 21 July, Japan occupied the southern part of French Indochina (southern Vietnam and Cambodia), contravening a 1940 [[gentlemen's agreement]] not to move into southern French Indochina. From bases in Cambodia and southern Vietnam, Japanese planes could attack Malaya, Singapore, and the Dutch East Indies. As the Japanese occupation of northern French Indochina in 1940 had already cut off supplies from the West to China, the move into southern French Indochina was viewed as a direct threat to British and Dutch colonies. Many principal figures in the Japanese government and military (particularly the navy) were against the move, as they foresaw that it would invite retaliation from the West.

{{anchor|Oil embargo (Sino-Japanese War)}}
On 24 July 1941, Roosevelt requested Japan withdraw all its forces from Indochina. Two days later the US and the UK began an oil embargo; two days after that the Netherlands joined them. This was a decisive moment in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The loss of oil imports made it impossible for Japan to continue operations in China on a long-term basis. It set the stage for Japan to launch a series of military attacks against the Allies, including the attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

In mid-1941, the United States government financed the creation of the [[American Volunteer Group]]s (AVG), of which one the "Flying Tigers" reached China, to replace the withdrawn Soviet volunteers and aircraft. The Flying Tigers did not enter actual combat until after the United States had declared war on Japan. Led by Chennault, their early combat success of 300 kills against a loss of 12 of their newly introduced [[Curtiss P-40 Warhawk]] fighters heavily armed with six [[M2 Browning|0.50-inch caliber machine guns]] and very fast diving speeds earned them wide recognition at a time when the Chinese Air Force and Allies in the Pacific and SE Asia were suffering heavy losses, and soon afterwards their "boom and zoom" high-speed hit-and-run air combat tactics would be adopted by the [[United States Army Air Forces]].<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/16/ace-served-flying-tigers-china/28837427/|title = Ace served with Flying Tigers in China|website = [[USA Today]]|access-date = 26 May 2017|archive-date = 12 December 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191212231029/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/06/16/ace-served-flying-tigers-china/28837427/|url-status = live}}</ref>

Disagreements existed both between the United States and the Nationalists, and within the United States military, about the form of aid.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=35}} Chennault contended that aid should be in the form of building on the success of the Flying Tigers and go to the US Fourteenth Air Force in China.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=35}} Lieutenant General [[Joseph Stilwell]], who was in charge of training Nationalist divisions equipped by the United States, became increasingly frustrated by the Nationalists' refusal to use them to fight the Japanese in Burma or in southeastern China.<ref name=":022" />{{Rp|page=35}}

The Sino-American Cooperative Organization<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.drnh.gov.tw/ImagesPost/365fe047-7f22-47fb-a84e-d4d5f94cbe43/3fca19ba-644a-4958-b81b-9f7ff743a1d6_ALLFILES.pdf |title=軍統局對美國戰略局的認識與 合作開展 |access-date=24 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150625193541/http://www.drnh.gov.tw/ImagesPost/365fe047-7f22-47fb-a84e-d4d5f94cbe43/3fca19ba-644a-4958-b81b-9f7ff743a1d6_ALLFILES.pdf |archive-date=25 June 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2015-06-24|title=館戴笠與忠義救國軍|url=http://www.drnh.gov.tw/ImagesPost/365fe047-7f22-47fb-a84e-d4d5f94cbe43/19036c97-3e88-415c-9c4e-d728b91c910c_ALLFILES.pdf|access-date=2020-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624183008/http://www.drnh.gov.tw/ImagesPost/365fe047-7f22-47fb-a84e-d4d5f94cbe43/19036c97-3e88-415c-9c4e-d728b91c910c_ALLFILES.pdf|archive-date=24 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bergin|first=Bob|date=March 2009|title=Spymaster: Dai Li and the Chinese Secret Service|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no1/pdfs/U-%20Bergin-Spymaster.pdf|journal=Studies in Intelligence|volume=53|pages=75–78|access-date=24 June 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055154/https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/csi-studies/studies/vol53no1/pdfs/U-%20Bergin-Spymaster.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> was an organization created by the SACO Treaty signed by the Republic of China and the United States of America in 1942 that established a mutual intelligence gathering entity in China between the respective nations against Japan. It operated in China jointly along with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), America's first intelligence agency and forerunner of the CIA while also serving as joint training program between the two nations. Among all the wartime missions that Americans set up in China, SACO was the only one that adopted a policy of "total immersion" with the Chinese. The "Rice Paddy Navy" or "What-the-Hell Gang" operated in the China-Burma-India theater, advising and training, forecasting weather and scouting landing areas for USN fleet and Gen Claire Chennault's 14th AF, rescuing downed American flyers, and intercepting Japanese radio traffic. An underlying mission objective during the last year of war was the development and preparation of the China coast for Allied penetration and occupation. [[Fujian]] was scouted as a potential staging area and springboard for the future military landing of the Allies of World War II in Japan.

=== United Kingdom ===
{{further|Mission 204|British Army Aid Group}}
After the Tanggu Truce of 1933, Chiang Kai-Shek and the British government would have more friendly relations but were uneasy due to British foreign concessions there. During the Second Sino-Japanese War the British government would initially have an impartial viewpoint toward the conflict urging both to reach an agreement and prevent war. British public opinion would swing in favor of the Chinese after [[Hughe Knatchbull-Hugessen]]'s car which had Union Jacks on it was attacked by Japanese aircraft with Hugessen being temporarily paralyzed with outrage against the attack from the public and government. The British public were largely supportive of the Chinese and many relief efforts were untaken to help China. Britain at this time was beginning the process of rearmament and the sale of military surplus was banned but there was never an embargo on private companies shipping arms. A number of unassembled [[Gloster Gladiator]] fighters were imported to China via Hong Kong for the Chinese Air Force. Between July 1937 and November 1938 on average 60,000 tons of munitions were shipped from Britain to China via Hong Kong. Attempts by the United Kingdom and the United States to do a joint intervention were unsuccessful as both countries had rocky relations in the interwar era.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Perry |first=J. K. J. |date=7 September 2011 |title=Powerless and Frustrated: Britain's Relationship With China During the Opening Years of the Second Sino–Japanese War, 1937–1939 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09592296.2011.599641 |journal=Diplomacy & Statecraft |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=408–430 |doi=10.1080/09592296.2011.599641 |s2cid=153517917 |access-date=23 October 2023 |via=Taylor & Francis Online}}</ref>

In February 1941 a Sino-British agreement was forged whereby British troops would assist the Chinese "Surprise Troops" units of guerrillas already operating in China, and China would assist Britain in Burma.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kirby|first=Major General Woodburn, S|title=The War against Japan, Vol 2: India's Most Dangerous Hour|location=London|publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office|year=1958}}</ref>
[[File:Mission204China.jpg|thumb|British and Australian troops from 'Mission 204' march to the front in [[Jiangxi province]] in June 1942]]
When [[Battle of Hong Kong|Hong Kong was overrun]] in December 1941, the [[British Army Aid Group]] (B.A.A.G.) was set up and headquartered in [[Guilin]], [[Guangxi]]. Its aim was to assist prisoners of war and internees to escape from Japanese  camps. This led to the formation of the [[Hong Kong Volunteer Company]] which later fought in Burma.<ref name="NSW_2012">{{cite web |title=The Hong Kong Volunteer Company|url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/531286c0e4b04bcb37e6c5c5/t/53214071e4b010ef1a5b9dd8/1394688113290/HK+Vol+&+ex+PoW+Assn+NSW.+OP9+The+Hong+Kong+Volunteer+Company.pdf |publisher=Hong Kong Volunteer & Ex.PoW Association of NSW |access-date=23 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223171645/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/531286c0e4b04bcb37e6c5c5/t/53214071e4b010ef1a5b9dd8/1394688113290/HK+Vol+&+ex+PoW+Assn+NSW.+OP9+The+Hong+Kong+Volunteer+Company.pdf | archive-date=23 December 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> B.A.A.G. also sent agents to gather intelligence – military, political and economic in Southern China, as well as giving medical and humanitarian assistance to Chinese civilians and military personnel.<ref name="IWM">{{cite web |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30076590 |title=BADGE, UNIT, BRITISH, BRITISH ARMY AID GROUP (BAAG) |date= |website=www.iwm.org.uk |publisher=Imperial War Museum }}</ref>

A British-Australian commando operation, [[Mission 204]] (''Tulip Force''), was initialized to provide training to Chinese guerrilla troops. The mission conducted two operations, mostly in the provinces of Yunnan and Jiangxi.

The first operation commenced in February 1942  from Burma on a long journey to the Chinese front. Due to issues with supporting the Chinese and gradual disease and supply issues, the first phase achieved very little and the unit was withdrawn in September.<ref>{{cite book| last1=Whitehead |first1= John|last2= Bennett|first2=George |title= Escape to Fight on: With 204 Military Mission in China |publisher= Robert Hale|pages=132, 174–78 |date=1990 |isbn=9780709041313}}</ref>

Another phase was set up with lessons learned from the first. Commencing in February 1943 this time valid assistance was given to the Chinese 'Surprise Troops' in various actions against the Japanese. These involved ambushes, attacks on airfields, blockhouses, and supply depots. The unit operated successfully before withdrawal in November 1944.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stevens |first1=Keith |title=A token operation: 204 military mission to China, 1941–1945 |journal=Asian Affairs |date=March 2005 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=66–74 |doi=10.1080/03068370500039151 |s2cid=161326427 }}</ref>

Commandos and members of [[Special Operations Executive|SOE]] who had formed [[Force 136]], worked with the [[Free Thai Movement]] who also operated in China, mostly while on their way into [[Thailand in World War II|Thailand]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/free-thai-movement.html| title = A Look Back&nbsp;... "Free Thai" Movement is Born| date = 30 April 2013| website = cia.gov| publisher = [[Central Intelligence Agency]]| access-date = 20 June 2016| archive-date = 13 August 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160813081130/https://www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2008-featured-story-archive/free-thai-movement.html| url-status = dead}}</ref>

After the Japanese blocked the [[Burma Road]] in April 1942, and before the [[Ledo Road]] was finished in early 1945, the majority of US and British supplies to the Chinese had to be delivered via airlift over the eastern end of the [[Himalayas]] known as "[[The Hump]]". Flying over the Himalayas was extremely dangerous, but the airlift continued daily to August 1945, at great cost in men and aircraft.