Joseph Stilwell Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe". Distrust of his Allies and a lack of resources meant Stilwell was continually forced to improvise. He famously differed as to strategy, ground troops versus air power, with his subordinate, Claire Chennault, who had the ear of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. General George Marshall, the Army Chief of Staff, acknowledged he had given Stilwell "one of the most difficult" assignments of
Joseph Stilwell claimed Guilin was a lost cause. In his diary, Stillwell wrote: "What they ought to do is to shoot the G-mo [Chiang] and Ho [General He Yingqin] and the rest of the gang". Stillwell ordered the American troops to pull out of Guilin, and was able to persuade Chiang to reluctantly accept the loss of Guilin. The clash over Guilin was only a prelude to another clash, where Chiang demanded the return of the Y Force from Burma to defend Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, which was also threatened by the Japanese advance. After meeting Chiang, Stilwell wrote in