The Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization , also known as the Sino-American Cooperative Organization (SACO), was an intelligence gathering organization created by China and the United States during the Second World War . It was formed by the 1942 SACO Treaty and worked against Japan . It operated in China jointly with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the first US intelligence agency and forerunner of the CIA , while also serving as joint training program between the two nations.
22-638: The first and last operational chief of the organization was Dai Li (Tai Li, Dai/Tai is the surname), head of Chiang Kai-shek 's secret police , the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics . A fierce anti-communist and shadowy man of mystery, General Dai also commanded the Loyal Patriotic Army (LPA), a large militia force active in Japanese-occupied interior regions of China. Commander for the American forces
44-477: A major outranks a lieutenant ) is due to the derivation of major general from sergeant major general , which was a rank subordinate to lieutenant general (as a lieutenant outranks a sergeant major ). Several countries (e.g. Balkan states) use the rank of lieutenant colonel general instead of lieutenant general, in an attempt to solve this apparent anomaly. In contrast, in Russia and a number of other countries of
66-784: A mysterious figure to his countrymen, Dai was privately known for his wild drinking parties. Dai died in a plane crash on March 17, 1946. It was speculated that this may have been arranged by the Chinese Communist Party 's intelligence and security chief, Kang Sheng , of the Central Social Affairs Department (SAD). Rumors circulated that the crash had been arranged by the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) because of Dai's anti-Americanism, since it occurred on an American plane. Lieutenant general Lieutenant general ( Lt Gen , LTG and similar)
88-512: A rate of 2 1/2 Japanese for each weapon supplied to the guerrillas by SACO. This "kill ratio" was unmatched by any branch of the American military during the war. CAPT Miles deputy's estimate of Japanese deaths was a less generous 23,000. The official SACO organization dissolved in 1946 after the close of the war, with the subsequent departure of the Naval Group China. However some KMT loyal SACO-trained guerillas continued aggression against
110-543: Is a military rank used in many countries. The rank originates from the Old European System . The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages , where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a captain general . In modern armies, lieutenant general normally ranks immediately below general (or colonel general ) and above major general ; it
132-613: Is a highly fictionalized account of one group of weather observers. SACO is specifically mentioned as their parent organization. Dai Li Dai Li ( Chinese : 戴笠 ; pinyin : Dài Lì ; May 28, 1897 – March 17, 1946), courtesy name Yunong , was a Chinese lieutenant general and spymaster . Dai was born in Jiangshan , Zhejiang and later studied at the Whampoa Military Academy , where Chiang Kai-shek served as Chief Commandant, and later became head of
154-472: Is equivalent to the navy rank of vice admiral , and in air forces with a separate rank structure, it is equivalent to air marshal . In the United States, a lieutenant general has a three star insignia and commands an army corps , typically made up of three army divisions , and consisting of around 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers. The seeming incongruity that a lieutenant general outranks a major general (whereas
176-628: The Bureau of Investigation and Statistics (BIS) within the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC). Born Dai Chunfeng, he was just four years old when his father died, leaving his mother to raise him. At the age of six, Dai was enrolled in a private academy the Linsen elementary school, to study Chinese classics; he later graduated as valedictorian from Wenxi County Elementary School. His mother could not afford to send him to university, so at
198-631: The CCP during the civil war (1946–1949). SACO arrested, tortured, and killed political dissidents. For a long period after the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War , SACO became associated with imperial foreign aggression and atrocities of the revolution were attributed to sinister US involvement. The Chinese government memorialized incidents of torture and massacre at Chongqing former SACO headquarters at Happy Valley [ zh ] , and displayed
220-634: The United States during World War II , learning new methods of espionage and growing his guerrilla force to some 70,000 men. In return for the partnership, he provided maps of the southern Chinese coast, intelligence on Japanese maneuvers , and safe haven for downed Allied aircrew. After the signing of the Sino-American Cooperative Organization Treaty in 1942, Dai was appointed head of Sino-American intelligence activities. While he shunned public entertainment and remained
242-554: The "Gele Mountain Revolution Memorial Museum" in Geleshan , citing American supplied handcuffs and weapons in the exhibition as evidence of American involvement. The coalition was blamed for atrocities committed years after dissolution, with no acknowledgement of SACO's participation in the war against Japan. Only recently has the government taken a position to "restore history's original face." The 1953 movie Destination Gobi
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#1732851816617264-514: The American instructors had backgrounds in law enforcement prior to the war. While some of the recruits the Chinese provided were unhealthy to some degree, they surprised their instructors with their willingness and ability to learn. About 2500 sailors and Marines trained and operated with Chinese guerrilla forces, often behind Japanese lines. Among all the wartime missions that Americans set up in China, SACO
286-594: The academy, where he played an instrumental role in the Zhongshan Warship Incident of March 1926. As chief of Kuomintang (KMT) Army Intelligence in China, Dai Li helped establish China's first modern intelligence organization in 1928: the "Clandestine Investigation Section" directly under the headquarters of the Northern Expeditionary Army, with the goal of winning the war early, quelling nationwide unrest, and minimizing loss of life by making
308-435: The age of 16 he had to leave home and make his own way in the world. With no steady income or guidance, he began living on the streets of Shanghai . Until 1923, he was mentored by labor organizer and hitman Wang Yaqiao . Dai Chunfeng soon became a skilled gambler who could often be found in one of Shanghai's many casinos, trying to win enough money to make ends meet. It was in a Shanghai casino that he met Du Yuesheng , head of
330-753: The best use of military and political intelligence. By the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War , this small section would evolve into the very complex and controversial Investigation and Statistics Bureau of the Chinese National Military Council , which was the predecessor of the Military Intelligence Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense of Taiwan. The benign title of the Investigation and Statistics Bureau belied
352-586: The criminal organization known as the " Green Gang ". Through Du Yuesheng, he later met Chiang Kai-shek . It is unclear when Chiang and Dai first met, but it was probably around 1921. Dai later lost all his money and was forced to return to Bao'an. In 1927, Dai met his elementary school friend Mao Renfeng , who suggested that Dai enroll in the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou , where Chiang served as Superintendent-Commandant (1924-1947). Dai followed
374-446: The former Soviet Union , lieutenant general is a rank immediately below colonel general , and above major general – in these systems there is no use of the brigadier general of many Western countries. In addition, some countries use the lieutenant general as the rank of divisional commander, and some have designated them with French revolutionary system . For example, some countries of South America use divisional general as
396-420: The last year of war was the development and preparation of the China coast for Allied penetration and occupation. In total, the guerrillas trained and supported by SACO/Naval Group China had destroyed more than 200 bridges, 84 locomotives, and 141 ships and river craft. Their activities were responsible for the deaths of around 71,000 Japanese military personnel, and the guerrillas themselves killed about 30,000-
418-629: The suggestion, obtained a letter of recommendation from Du Yuesheng, and made his way to Guangzhou. In 1925, Dai enrolled in the 1st Student Regiment of the Sixth Class of the KMT Officer Training Academy . At this time, he changed his name to "Dai Li," which in Chinese refers to an assassin's hooded veil, reflecting the clandestine nature of his planned future career. Chiang soon made him a student informant to spy on Communist activities within
440-899: The true nature of its secret police work, which made Dai one of the most powerful men in Republican China . Dai was also the head of the Blue Shirts Society , an ultra-nationalist organization that provided security and intelligence for Chiang. In the 1930s and 1940s, his agents in the Military Statistics Bureau (then the KMT's military intelligence agency) successfully penetrated the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Imperial Japanese puppet organizations. To suppress Communist activities, Dai employed extra-judicial means including assassination, arbitrary arrests, and torture, with Chiang's explicit or tacit approval. Dai cooperated with
462-572: Was United States Navy Captain Milton E. Miles . "Mary" Miles, later a Vice Admiral, was commander of Naval Group China (NGC), the American Navy 's intelligence unit in China during the war. In April 1943, SACO began setting up camps (later known as units when Naval Group China was established) to train Chinese guerrillas in small arms, demolition, sabotage, combat techniques, radio handling, aircraft and ship recognition, and aerology. Many, if not most, of
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#1732851816617484-474: 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 theatre , advising and training, forecasting weather and scouting landing areas for USN fleet and General Claire Lee Chennault 's 14th AF , rescuing downed American flyers , and intercepting Japanese radio traffic. An underlying mission objective during
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