Operation Ichi-Go
With the rapid deterioration of the China front after Japanese launched Operation Ichi-Go in 1944, Stilwell saw that as an opportunity to gain full command of all Chinese armed forces. Operation Ichi-Go was the largest Japanese offensive of World War II and was designed to "liquidate the China affair" by knocking China out of the war once and for all that saw half-a-million men and 800 tanks, supplied by 70,000 to 100,000 horses dragging wagons and 12,000 to 15,000 vehicles, committed to an operation that overran huge areas of China. Stilwell clashed with Chiang over the question of Guilin, a city was besieged by the Japanese. Chiang wanted Guilin defended to the last men, but Stilwell claimed that Guilin was a lost cause.