Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Stilwell with Generalissimo and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Joseph Stilwell (March 19, 1883 - 1946) was an American Army general known for his service in China. Vinegar Joe, as he was called, famously lacked tact and a capacity for conventional diplomacy. In spite of this, he convinced Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to cede command of his armies to the American military. Like many other Americans involved in Chinese affairs, Stilwell's posthumous reputation suffered with the rise to power of the Communist Party of China and retreat of the Kuomintang government to Taiwan in the Chinese Civil War. He was the subject of a noted biography by Barbara W. Tuchman. See also: History of the Republic of China Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.