The Marshall Mission to China, 1945–1947: The Letters and Diary of Colonel John Hart Caughey

This book breaks new ground in our understanding of a pivotal period in the history of American foreign policy, the early Cold War, and the struggle for dominance in China between the Nationalists and Communists. The famous Marshall Mission to China has been the focus of intense scrutiny ever since General George C. Marshall returned home in January 1947 and full-scale civil war consumed China. Yet until recently, there was little new to add to the story of the failure to avert war between the Chinese Nationalists, under Chiang Kai-shek, and the Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong. Drawing on a newly discovered insider's account, Roger B. Jeans makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Marshall's failed mediation effort and the roles played by key Chinese figures. Working from the letters and diary of U.S. Army Colonel John Hart Caughey, Jeans offers a fresh interpretation of the mission. From beginning to end, Caughey served as Marshall's executive officer, in effect his right-hand man, assisting the general in his contacts with the Chinese and drafting key documents for him. Through his writings, Caughey provides a rare behind-the-scenes view of the general's mediation efforts as well as intimate glimpses of the major Chinese figures involved, including Chiang Kai-shek, Madame Chiang, and Zhou Enlai. In addition to daily contact with Marshall, Caughey often rubbed shoulders with these major Nationalist and Communist figures. As a meticulous eyewitness to history in the making, Caughey offers crucial insight into a key moment in post-World War II history.

Table of Contents:
Part One: The Marshall Mission to China, 1945–1947 Part Two: Behind the Scenes with Marshall's Executive Officer, Colonel John Hart Caughey Part Three: The Letters of Colonel John Hart Caughey I: Illusion of Success II: "The Situation Seems to Be Rapidly Deteriorating" III: "I'm Still Confident . . . that He, But Only He, Can Save the Day." IV: "Do These Guys Want Peace?" V: Collapse of the Mission Part Four: Diary of John Hart Caughey Bibliography Glossary

About the Author :
Roger B. Jeans is emeritus professor of history at Washington and Lee University.

Review :
While much has been written by and about Marshall and his mission to attempt to end the contests for control of territory between the Guomindang and the Communists at the end of the Second World War, Jeans’s book offers a more immediate and intimate look at the problems and personalities involved in the relations between the two groups and between each group and the Americans. . . . [An] excellent addition to the accounts of the Marshall mission to China. In this edited collection of the letters and diary of US Army Colonel John Hart Caughey, Roger B. Jeans seeks to show what happened behind the scenes. . . . The editor aims to 'present a new insider’s view of the negotiations' and 'lend vividness to the history that books written after the fact lack.' On that score, Jeans has succeeded beyond doubt. The letters and diary . . . throw a personal light on the American efforts at mediation between the two political rivals, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Government (GMD) in Chongqing and Nanjing and Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) based in Yan’an. . . . Parts 1 and 2 provide useful background information, drawn from solid archival and secondary materials, on the Marshall Mission to China and on Colonel John Hart Caughey, respectively. . . . Caughey’s letters and diary, reproduced in parts 3 and 4, strengthen our understanding of and lend color to various aspects of the Marshall Mission. . . . The Caughey archive underscores the fact that the Marshall mission was hobbled from the outset by its contradictory objectives. . . . I would recommend this book to students who are interested in war, peace negotiations, and the history of United States-China relations. A fresh, insider’s view of General Marshall's mission to China after World War II. Roger Jeans has assembled, edited, and introduced the diary and letters of Colonel John Hart Caughey, assigned as Marshall’s executive officer during the mission. Especially fascinating are the candid letters that Caughey wrote. Caughey offered frank assessments of an assortment of people he encountered, including General Marshall and his wife, Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang, Zhou Enlai (with whom he dealt frequently), Mao Zedong, and even Jiang Qing (Madame Mao). Equally fascinating are the details of everyday life and travels in China during the Civil War period. This study will be a must-read for those interested in General George Marshall and China during the Civil War era. Dismissed as an example of American naiveté and failure, the Marshall mission to China has been neglected in recent years by historians. Expertly edited and introduced by Roger Jeans, this book throws new light on the mission and its complexity through the eyes of the general’s top aide at the time, Colonel John Hart Caughey. Moreover, the colonel’s birds-eye portraits in letters and diaries of conditions in the Nationalist and Communist capitals as well as other key cities recreate the atmosphere of post-war China in refreshingly vivid terms.