RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q Tehgchuan 甘肅 GANSU Paschi SHANSI Slau = 成都 SZECHMAN Cheng tu HUBEI 重度 演练 ChungKinE Lushien 贵州 KHEICHOW Pichieh Kweiyang Tali Anshun Kutsing, Tu yun 下面 南庄 Ustakuan Paoshan 昆明 Nactan Kunming 河池 Hochih TUNNAN 源涟 Yuinling, 長沙 Changsha 兴遠 Xingyuan ○ 柳州 Liuchow KWANGSI 湖南 HUNAN Fig. 1. Map of China showing FAU Transport Main Routes A ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN WEST CHINA 1942-46 137 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 138 W. A. REYNOLDS The first two of these had their own transport fleets, the NHA had a few worn-out trucks, while the mission hospitals were partially serviced by the International Relief Committee (IRC) which also had some worse-for-wear trucks. It was decided that the best service the Unit could render was to take over responsibility for transport and distribution of medical supplies within China for the NHA and the IRC. The immediate task was transporting about 140 tons of medical supplies which had accumulated in Kunming to Kweiyang and Chungking. Thus the Unit became the major civilian medical and relief transport organization with a series of routes totalling about 6,000 km, and shown on the map in Fig. 1. For the next four years the pattern remained much the same; the supplies came by air over the "Hump" to Kunming where the Unit took delivery and transported them by road, rail and boat to all areas of China under the control of the Government in Chungking. It was not possible to take supplies to the Shensi-Kansu-Ninghsia Border Region controlled by the Eighth Route Army or to the New Fourth Army areas. The first medical supplies reached Yenan in Feb, 1946 at the time of the Marshall negotiations when the writer arrived with 3 truck loads; an interesting trip but outside the scope of this paper.2 Transport Routes and Operation The tonnage of goods moved on the different routes (See Fig. 1) varied but throughout the 4 year period 1942-45, three routes carried the major portion. These were: 1) Kutsing-Luhsien (✰★-✯⇓) 742 kilometres. This ran from the Kunming-Chanyi railhead 170 kilometres to the west of Kunming to Luhsien on the Yangtse Kiang. 2) Kutsing to Kweiyang (-) 500 kilometres. This is the capital of Kweichow province and site of the IRC distribution operations, especially to Kwangsi, Kwangtung and Kiangsi. 3) Kweiyang to Chungking (†-1A) 490 kilometres. Chungking was, of course, the war time capital of the Republic and is at the confluence of the Yangtse and Kialing Rivers. A diagram map and profile of the first route is given in Fig. 2. The other routes are included in Table III. ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 500 ... 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 2040 2125 1970 2150 2060 2100 1920 104 150 200 ... M 154. 414 1 ... 10+ ... KUNNING YONNAI ... 南 一方 2200 2050 宣威 2380 YANGLIN ELONG MALONG KUTSING YENGTANG SUANWEI 2480 2300 一哲笔 2490 2400 2630 2400 2530 2630 THE CHOU HE SHIH TOH WSINING KWEICHOW 2420 1640 1890 野為川 1940 £750 3070 ... 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 Fig. 2. Map and Profile of the Kutsing - Luhsien Road 1750 1820 1600 000 1750 1600 800 ... MAKUCHER HECHANG YEN A CAL'DAN 700 480 500 500 480 *... 850 900 490 ... 520 139 PICHIEN YEH TŠE KLOU CH'IA SHUIDO NING PAN SHANT ZECHWAN ... 川 SUYUNG (SHANG BA CHANG NACH'E LAN TIEN PA A ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN WEST CHINA 1942-46 ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 140 W. A. REYNOLDS It will be seen that many of the routes were mountainous, and the road near Makuchen () on the Kutsing-Luhsien (Fig. 2) run reaches 2,630 metres. The grading in almost all places was good and reflected credit on the engineers who had surveyed and built the routes, mainly with manual labour impressed from the surrounding countryside. There were no sealed or tarmac surfaces and the roads were kept in repair by filling potholes with hand-broken small stones. The first permanent transport base was at Kweiyang where the Unit took over and extended the garage maintained there by the IRC outside the city at Shi Sang Shi (4%). (Plate 18) Cover for four trucks, stores, tinsmiths and engine overhaul shops, office and living quarters for drivers, mechanics and their families were provided. The godown was at the old IRC headquarters inside the city, a Confucian temple courtyard (M). Other bases were purpose-built. Kutsing (), opened for operation in June 1942, became Unit Headquarters in August 1942 and had a large godown. Luhsien (⇓) was a small base used for serving trucks on the arduous Kutsing-Luhsien run and forwarding supplies to Chengtu by truck or by boat down river to Chungking. A small group with one or two trucks was based on the West China Union University (#606★*), campus at Chengtu for 1942 and part of 1943 for distribution to many institutions in that area and up to Paoki (**). In early 1944 a permanent garage was acquired and extended on the South Bank at 44 kilometres milestone at Chungking, and this later became a major base. Each transport base had a garage Manager, with assistants in the large ones, and an Agent who looked after all paperwork, permits and cargo details, with an assorted force of employee mechanics, tinsmiths, carpenters etc. Drivers and mechanics also worked on their trucks when in the base. Details of garage operations and numbers are discussed fully in a later section. The time taken for journeys varied widely according to the motive power of the truck (petrol, alcohol, diesel or charcoal gas), the skill of the driver in maintenance (especially with charcoal powered trucks) and the state of the road and the weather. When the diesel powered Fords, described in a later section, were new, convoys of 2-3 trucks would regularly complete the Kutsing-Luhsien (724 kilometres) run in 3-4 days giving, with crew rest days and ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q 144 W. A. REYNOLDS truck so that the payload of 2 tons was the maximum. However, by 1944 the charcoal trucks were being operated successfully over the Luhsien road with its high altitude as well as all the other routes. Charcoal was obtainable in most villages and was cheap in the mountain areas and the cost, per ton carried, was 1/5 of that of alcohol. The charcoal burners carried the major load of supplies through 1944 and the first part of 1945. The successful Burma campaign of autumn 1944, the opening of the Ledo road and the petrol pipeline laid along it made a great difference to the Unit transport systems. Not only was the Unit allocated 25 Canadian W.D. 3-ton Dodge trucks in the summer of 1945 from ARC and UNRAA, but it was also able to obtain P.O.L. (Petrol, Oil and Lubrication) supplies from the US army free of charge. To quote from a letter written 10/6/45 “It was a great moment when at Kunming, Rupert (Stanley) and I drove up in a truck to the P.O.L. station and pulled up beside a real petrol pump (and bright red at that too) and said to the Sergeant "Fill'er up" and he filled her up to the tune of 22 gallons US. When I told him it was 34 years since I'd done that he registered the usual GI amazement that anyone could stand the place that long”. System Performance The cargo carried by the system was in three categories: Medical and Relief supplies for NHA, IRC, ARC etc.; FAU maintenance and fuel supplies; and return cargoes. The Government transport administration ruled that no trucks should travel empty and on return journeys must take Government, usually military, cargoes. The Unit had a special pass, as a Christian pacifist organization, exempting it from taking soldiers or weapons and instead usually had cargoes of salt from the Yangtse valley south to Kweichow and Yunnan. The system performance figures in terms of kilometre tons for the 4 years, as far as they are at present available, are given in Table VII. The number of trucks available on average through the years are given, and from this it will be seen that the operating efficiency in terms of kilometre tons per truck per year steadily increased. This was due to:--- 1) increased efficiency of the Charcoal truck operations, more than compensating for the deterioration of the diesel trucks ================================================================================ RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊 | RAS-1976 https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/hq382988q Table III FAU Transport Routes and Distances 1942 - 1945 ROUTE VIA. DISTANCE IN KM. Years of Main Use 1. KUTSING — LUHSIEN WEINING and PICHIEH 742 1942, 1943 & 1944 2. KUTSING - KWEIYANG ANNAN and ANSHUN 500 1943, 1944, 1945 3. KWETYANG CHUNGKING TSUNYI and TUNGCHI 490 1943, 1944, 1945 4. KWEIYANG CHINSHENG KIANG MA-CHAN and HANTAN 440 1942, 1943 5. - KUNMING KUFSING 162 1942 6. KUNMING — PAOSHAN HSTAKWAN 673 1942, 1944 7. CHENGTU - LUHSIEN LUNGCHANG 313 1942, 1943 8. CHUNGKING CHENGTU NEICHANG 450 1944, 1945 9. CHENGTU PAOKI KWANGYUAN 1155 1942, 1943 10. CHUNGING — SUCHOW MIENYANG - KWANGYUAN SHUANGSHIPU- TIENSHUI LANCHOW - WUWEI 2301 1943, 1944, 1945 A ROAD TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN WEST CHINA 1942-46 157 ================================================================================