page_title: Henry Aurand
section_title: China Theater
hierarchical_section_title: Henry Aurand / World War II / China Theater
caption_attribution_description: English: Major General Henry S. Auran, Commanding General, U.S. Services of Supply, China Theater, arriving at Chihchiang in June 1945 for an inspection tour, is met by officials of the Chinese Services of Supply. From the left, General Pai Yun-shung, General Chang, General Aurand, and General Cheng.
context_page_description: Henry Spiese Aurand was a United States Army career officer. He was a veteran of World War I, World War II and the Korean War. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, Aurand was ranked 20th in the class of 1915, known as "the class the stars fell on" because no fewer than 59 of the 164 members of the class who graduated became generals. His classmates included Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, who achieved five-star rank. He was commissioned in the Coast Artillery Corps, but later transferred to the Ordnance Department.
  During World War I he served on the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa Expedition, was an assistant to the officer in charge of the design and construction of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and was at the Sandy Hook Proving Ground from 1917 to 1919. Between the wars Aurand attended Ordnance School at the Watertown Arsenal in 1921–1922, the Command and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 1927–1928, the Army War College in 1930–1931, and the Army Industrial College in 1939–1940. He served in the Philippines from 1925 to 1927, and on the faculty of the Ordnance School at Watertown Arsenal from 1929 to 1930.
context_section_description: Aurand became the Commanding General, Services of Supply (SOS), in the China Theater on May 25, 1945. The theater represented enormous logistics challenges. Much of the country was occupied by the Japanese, the logistical infrastructure of the hinterland still in Allied hands was undeveloped, and it lay at the end of a very long line of communications over the Himalayas, known as the "Hump". As in Europe, the organizational structures were not those found in  the manuals. He found that there had been conflict between his predecessor, Major General Gilbert Cheves, and theater headquarters, which invariably had been resolved by the theater staff removing functions from the SOS. Given the size of the theater, Aurand felt he had no choice but to adopt a decentralized structure, with a base section around its headquarters at Kunming and broad authority delegated to the intermediate and advance section commanders.
  Soon after he arrived, Aurand attempted to visit all the units under his command—no simple task. He found living conditions were primitive; tents were heavy and bulky, so instead of flying them over the Hump, the men lived with Chinese families or in their own version of the typical peasant's hut. American rations were scarce, so the men supplemented their diet with local purchases, resulting in a high rate of intestinal diseases, and Aurand was no exception. Aurand was especially disturbed at the ragged appearance of his soldiers. He resolved that by the first week of July everyone in the SOS in China would be eating American rations and have new clothes. The former was accomplished, but he was stymied on the latter due to global shortages. Even more dire was the ration situation of the Chinese soldiers that they were supporting, most of whom were suffering from nutritional deficiencies. A ration built around rice, beans and peanuts had been drawn up before Aurand arrived in the theater; it was his responsibility to see that it was delivered. Ultimately the SOS managed to supplement the diet of 185,000 Chinese soldiers.
  At theater headquarters, planning was under way for Operation Carbonado, the capture of Fort Bayard, a port on the south coast of China, which would permit supplies to be brought in by sea. This was tentatively scheduled to commence on September1, 1945. Aurand considered the whole plan a logistical nightmare; almost impossible to support in the manner required, and likely to fail if it was not. Moreover, if it did succeed, the operation of a port under the prevailing conditions would be extremely difficult. In the event, Operation Carbonado was pre-empted by the surrender of Japan on August 15. Aurand visited his soldiers with the message that they still had a job to do, and would not be going home soon; priority would be given to the combat troops. They did not welcome this, but appreciated their general coming to convey the news personally.
  In the aftermath of the conflict the SOS had to support the Chinese armies moving into formerly occupied area, close the bases and depots, and dispose of equipment. Civil War erupted in parts of China. Two members of the Liquidation Commission came to see Aurand to protest his flouting of rules regarding the disposal of government property; the moment the war ended, all Lend-Lease material was to be paid for in full or returned to the United States. The Liquidation Commission seemed oblivious to the fact that a poor country at the end of eight years of war could not possibly pay for the supplies, which would cost more than their value to return to the United States. Aurand showed them the door. SOS was absorbed by theater headquarters in November 1945, and Aurand returned to the United States. For his service in China, he was awarded a second oak leaf cluster his distinguished service medal.
caption: Aurand arrives at Chihchiang in June 1945 for an inspection tour, and is met by officials of the Chinese Services of Supply. From the left, General Pai Yun-shung, General Chang, General Aurand, and General Cheng.
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