| Original caption: “The refugees of Kwangsi [today Guangxi] lash themselves to roof, crossroads, couplings, cowcatcher of locomotive.” Refugees flee Kwelin (today Guilin) in the face of the Imperial Japanese Army’s Ichi-Go Offensive in November 1944. The Japanese military junta controlling the country were losing on 5 fronts – The South Pacific, Central Pacific, North Pacific, Burma, and India. Just the month before, much of the remaining ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were destroyed in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Airfields at Heng-yang, Ling-ling, Kwelin, and Liuchow allowed the Allies to interdict Japanese shipping in the South China Sea, attack Formosa and the Japanese mainland, and threaten Japanese-held Chinese cities. Operation Ichi-Go and its components, Operation Kogo in April-May 1944 that marched on Hankow, Togo 1 that marched on Heng-yang in June-July 1944, and Togo 2 that marched on Kwelin and Liuchow in July-September 1944, and Togo 3 that marched on Nan-hsiung in October, involved some 300,000 men and broke Kuomintang resistance. Tensions between United States Army General Joseph W. “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) and Kuomintang Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) rose to a boiling point. Kai-She demand the return of Y-Force to defense Kunming. Stillwell told Washington that Kai-Shek was unable to mount an effective resistance to Ichi-Go and must be relieved. Kai-Shek was outraged and told Washington that Stillwell must be relieved, because he had pulled too many Kuomintang units into Burma, leaving southern China too weakly defended. Unwilling to anger Kai-Shek, Stillwell was relieved instead, and replaced with Albert C. Wedemeyer (July 9, 1896 – December 19, 1989). Regardless, the reputation of the Kuomintang was in tatters, and the Japanese earned much-needed propaganda that they were still capable of fighting. The authority Chiang Kai-Shek was undermined, just as British and American prestige was rehabilitated in Burma. Frank E. “Cancy” Cancellare (July 4, 1910 – July 15, 1985), a photographer for United Press International, credited in the November 20, 1944, issue of LIFE Magazine as Frank Cancellone, spent much of the war in China, and followed the Kuomintang into battle, photographing Y Force. He evacuated Kwelin and photographed the refugees. Returning to the United States, he was present at the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963). | |
| Image Filename | wwii1606.jpg |
| Image Size | 245.06 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1302 x 999 |
| Photographer | Frank E. Cancellare |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | November 4, 1944 |
| Location | |
| City | Kwelin |
| State or Province | Guangxi |
| Country | China |
| Archive | |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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