On 29 October 1942 a small group of Australian commandos began arriving in Calcutta, India. Sick and

emaciated after arduous experiences in which two of their company had died, these were the survivors of a contingent of 47 Australian soldiers who had volunteered for the 204 British Military Mission to China. Their story is not widely known, coming as did in the context of the major battles and crises that faced Australia during that tumultuous opening year of the Pacific War.

The 204 British Military Mission was conceived in 1941 to assist Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist forces against Japan, which had invaded China in 1937. The mission was an irregular force, sent to provide training and technical support to Nationalist guerrillas harassing the Japanese. Because the term “guerrilla” was associated with “bandit” in China, these Nationalists were known as “Surprise Battalions” and were tasked with destroying bridges and railways and attacking isolated outposts. The Australian government supported the British mission,

Why did AustrAliAn commAndos spend months in chinA in 1942? By Lachlan Grant

The “MArCO POlO” dIggerS

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and in July 1941 volunteers were drawn from units of the 8th Division stationed in Malaya. As Britain was not yet at war with Japan at this time, the 204 Mission was to be based in the British colony of Burma and would enter China if – as anticipated – Japan and the western Allies went to war. The Australians, dubbed Tulip Force, joined up with their British counterparts at the Bush Warfare School in Maymyo in the mountains of northern Burma, where they underwent a period of intense training. After the outbreak of hostilities with Japan in December 1941, the 204 Military Mission began its deployment to China.

A lively account of this group was written by one of its members, William

Noonan, and published in 1945. Entitled The surprising battalion: Australian commandos in China, Noonan’s book is something of a lost classic, not only of Australian war writing, but of Australian experiences and travel to Asia. However, this extraordinary tale of Australian soldiers, the “Marco Polo diggers” as Noonan called them, remains little known.

The men who volunteered did not know their final role or destination. Those who were chosen left their units in the 8th Division and on 27 July 1941 assembled on a wharf in Singapore, from where they travelled by ship to Rangoon via Penang. A train to Mandalay followed, before their eventual arrival at the Bush Warfare School in Maymyo. Months of training followed, which included army intelligence training, demolitions, sabotage, and guerrilla tactics. Noonan tells us that in this period the main complaint was the quality and rationing of British army food. Long jungle manoeuvres in the mountains were complemented by organised sport; despite the food, the men were at peak fitness, which would help carry them through once in China.

With the outbreak of war with Japan on 7–8 December 1941, 204 Military Mission was now able to enter China

Opposite page, left: John Leake, George Carr, Ron Croton and Maurie Kimbell on the Burma Road in Yunnan province, China 1942, wearing as many layers of clothing as possible. AWM P00763.001.

Above: Burma and China – showing the journey taken by 204 Military Mission. Cartography by Keith Mitchell.

Left: The suspension bridge across the Salween Gorge in Yunnan province could take only one truck at a time. It had only been recently repaired following a Japanese air raid. From the bottom of the gorge, the road rose 5,000 feet. AWM P00767.013.

INDIA

Shanghai

HankowChengtu

ChungkingChangsha

Kweiyang

Kuikiang

NanchangKuantu

Hengyang

Kiyang

Kunming Chin ch’eng chiang(Ho-ch’ih) Railhead

Hsiakwan

Wanting

LashioMaymyo

BUSH WARFARESCHOOL

ChittagongHong Kong

CantonMandalay

Toungoo

Kweilin

Liuchow

Rangoon

Madauk

Hanoi

Moulmein

Bay ofBengal

River

Koi

Song

Si River

SIKIANG

SZECHAWN

YUNAN

HUNAN

HUPEH

KWEICHOW

CHEKIANG

FUKIEN

FORMOSA

KWANGTUNG

HAINAN

KIANGSI

KWANGSI

BURMA

SIAM(THAILAND)

FRENCHINDOCHINA

(VIETNAM)

OPERATIONSAREA

0 400 kilometres

0 200 miles

Ya

ngtze River

Salw

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Rive

rSi

ttan

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RoadRailSampanFoot

ROUTE of MISSION 204

Provincial boundariesInternational boundaries

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Above: Hazards of the Burma Road: members of the AIF preparing to right an upturned truck and reload its 44-gallon drums of petrol, February 1942. AWM P00765.002.

Right: Waiting for floods to subside. The AIF sampan flotilla on the Liuyang River, Hunan, June 1942. AWM P00769.005.

Opposite page, right: Members of the 5th Surprise Battalion during mortar practice at Chiu Chia Kai, where they were trained by the 204 Military Mission. AWM P00762.010.

and began the task for which they had been preparing. The Australian convoy began its long ascent up the Burma Road on 25 January. The Burma Road was the main supply route for Western military aid to Chiang’s Nationalist forces. The road, opened in 1938, was an extraordinary feat: 1150 kilometres long, it had been completed in just one year by a labour force of more than 200,000 after the closure of much of the Chinese coastline during the war with Japan. As their trucks pulled out of camp for the journey into China, farewells and cheers of “See you in Tokyo” were exchanged with their remaining British comrades.

Heading out from Lashio at the Burma end of the road, the men were astounded by the “hundreds and hundreds” of American trucks that sat in a large fenced compound, enveloped by tall grass growing through and in between them. They were brand new, apart from the trek from the port in Rangoon, but now they sat idle, having brought their wares this far. On the road itself, long lines of trucks snaked in both directions. The Chinese truck drivers made the Australian and British soldiers nervous on the hazardous

road. These concerns were not entirely misplaced. Noonan writes that the “penchant for coasting” downhill along the road proved very dangerous, particularly for vehicles coming the other way. The first incident occurred only shortly after setting off, when a truck carrying two tonnes of high explosives overturned. There was a lucky escape for Albert Potts, who’d been on board but to the relief of his colleagues emerged unhurt from the upturned vehicle. Three more trucks overturned during the journey; a few of the Chinese drivers became passengers as Australian and British soldiers took the wheel.

As they inched closer to the border with China, the road became steeper. On mountainous sections, the trucks had to cling to bends with almost perpendicular drops at the edge of the road. Across the border, on one long and steep gradient, the radiator in Noonan’s vehicle boiled. As the driver set off to fetch water from a township 300 metres below the road’s edge, Noonan sat and monitored his progress through binoculars. Vehicles coasting downhill in the other direction often scraped the side of Noonan’s truck as it perched on the road’s edge, making it a particularly anxious wait. Moving forward once more, the amazing terrain and views of the Yunnan region took minds off the hazards of the road. At one point the convoy reached an altitude of 11,000 feet (3,300 metres) – the “roof of China” – as it negotiated the ravines, mountain passes,

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switchbacks and bridge crossings. Many trucks boiled frequently as they tried to make their way up the steep inclines. Broken-down trucks, stripped of their valuable parts, were pushed over the edge. At such altitude, the weather could be severe. Truck cabins were later described as being like refrigerators, so the men piled on as many layers as they could. One morning Don Smart, whose bare feet had shifted onto the frozen canopy of the truck while he was sleeping, awoke to find his feet frostbitten; he was unable to walk for weeks afterward.

From Kunming, they continued on to Kweiyang. Nearing Annan, the road climbed steeply for 300 metres. Facing the convoy were 24 hairpin turns, one above the other, up the face of a ridge. On 11 February the weather turned bitterly cold, freezing truck engines. Despite the conditions, the convoy continued, sliding along the icy roads and through driving snow. In frozen fields and rice paddies, dead Chinese peasants could be seen, the unlucky who had succumbed to the elements. On 15 February they transferred their cargo from the trucks onto a train that took them to Hunan

province. After 25 days and approximately 3,400 kilometres, the convoy arrived in darkness at the guerrilla school near Kiyang, where they were to instruct the Chinese guerrilla battalions.

While they were supervising training exercises, language and cultural barriers provided challenges that required the Australian advisers to exercise great tact. For example, when correcting or pointing out an error, Australian officers needed to be sensitive to the importance for the Chinese of losing face. It was necessary to offer minor compliments before correction could be suggested. In between periods of training, some of the men volunteered their time to teach English in local classrooms. Once the small amount of reading matter they had brought with them was exhausted, camp life became monotonous. Here they received no newspapers or mail for six months, and they were unable to make radio contact. A sense of isolation began to take hold.

The Chinese truck drivers made the Australian and British soldiers nervous on the hazardous road.

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As winter turned into spring, their condition worsened. The warmer weather brought with it insects and disease. Cases of jaundice, dysentery, malaria and general anaemia began to afflict the Australian and British troops. Spirits were lifted when news came that they were going to return to Burma to fight the Japanese advance, and they even began the return train journey on 2 May. However, Japanese forces had closed the Burma Road, so the plan was cancelled and the men returned to camp at Kiyang. In the meantime, “a job” at the front was organised to support the Surprise Battalions in neighbouring Kiangsi province.

They set off on 6 June. A train to Hengyang was followed by a long river journey by sampan up the Hsiang River. The entire mission required over 50 sampans. Heading upriver to Changsa, they had to negotiate strong currents and rapids as well as flooding. Pulling the sampan flotilla by rope through the rapids “was bloody hard work,” recalled Barry Robinson. With every ounce of strength, every man in the party was required to haul the line. On occasion the rope snapped, sending the men sprawling in the wash and the boats back downstream, and the entire process would have to start all over again. After this gruelling effort, they eventually reached Changsa, where they headed up the Liu-yang River before reaching Tungku.

The effect of entering a high malarial region, combined with limited supplies

and a cut in rations, meant that a number of men started to become ill by this stage. In heavy rain they progressed on foot across mountains toward the front lines, assisted by coolies who carried the heavier equipment. They arrived in Chiu Chia Kai on 23 July, seven weeks after leaving Kiyang. Conditions were poor. Almost all the men were now sick. Malaria and dysentery were rife, and there were cases of beri-beri, typhoid and typhus. Medical supplies were low. The two typhus cases, one British and one Australian soldier, Sergeant Martin Cecil, died of the disease (Cecil on 15 July 1942). The few men fit enough from the one Australian and two British contingents moved toward the front line. The men were restless and eager to play their part, and various plans of action were discussed, including the destruction of a railway bridge in Japanese possession – but nothing came of it. In late August, small parties reconnoitred Japanese positions, and one group was involved in a skirmish.

Their presence in China had literally been forgotten back home in Australia. The mission had originally been approved by the Menzies government, but the operation was so secret that the incoming Curtin government, which came to power in October 1941, knew nothing of their existence. But the new Australian envoy to China had met them in Burma, exchanged correspondence with the Australian commanding officer, and later had met up with them in China. He was able to report

Above: Testing the ice on a frozen paddy field near Kweiyang, China. AWM P00766.001.

Conditions were poor. Almost all the men were now sick.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORDr Lachlan Grant is a historian in the Military History Section of the Australian War Memorial.

directly to the government, opening their eyes to the presence of Australian soldiers in China, and more importantly to their conditions. Eventually the decision was made in October to withdraw. A number were so sick they needed to be carried out on litters. � ey retraced their journey as far as Kunming, and at one point Noonan and his companions crossed paths with war correspondent Wilfred Burchett. From Kunming, they � ew “over the hump” – the Himalayan mountains bordering China and India – and after convalescence in India they eventually embarked on the return journey to Australia. After their return, no e� ort was made to keep the men together as a group. Some would eventually see action, and a number ended up in Z Force, a special unit which undertook operations in Japanese occupied territory.

Overall the troops had faced a mixed response in China. Political in� ghting and jostling among Chinese commanders, and a general interest in foreign equipment rather than foreign troops, led to a growing impression among the Australian soldiers that they were not welcome. Further muddying the waters, poor communication

between British and Chinese commanders, and di� erent understandings over the role the Allied commandos were to play, led to inactivity and frustration. In the minds of the troops, their purpose in China had been to engage the Japanese. � is they were unable to do.

Despite their extraordinary journey just to reach the front, the men were forced to sit idle in increasingly awful conditions. Boredom, the monotony of lengthy spells in isolated villages, low rations, a complete lack of mail or news, increasing illness and the loss of colleagues, all led to a sense of isolation and disillusion. � ese frustrations were best summed up by the commanding o� cer of the Australian contingent, Major Fenton Braund. He explained that after reading Seven Pillars of Wisdom at the Bush Warfare School, his dreams of recreating in China the heroics of Lawrence of Arabia would “never materialise”. Nevertheless, China had certainly left an impression on each of these men. By 1942 few Australians could claim to have witnessed and experienced the dynamic and diverse peoples, cultures and landscapes of Asia in the rugged style of the Marco Polo diggers. ◆

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