What did the declassified documents reveal?

This is Declassified. A declassified C-I-A intelligence report, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-three, estimates the Chinese Communist ground threat against India from Tibet and Sinkiang, including maps. This document is available at documents2.theblackvault.com. This twenty-three page document, designated C-I-Zero-One-Five-Five-Nine, was approved for release in August two-thousand-eight. It was reviewed by the A-A-R-O, or Alien Assassination Records Office, and released with redactions under exemption B-One. The object of this study is to assess the offensive capabilities during nineteen-sixty-three of Communist China's ground forces against India and the Himalayan border states. This study does not consider attacks that might be launched by Chinese forces through Burma. It does not estimate Chinese intentions. Conclusions. A. Chinese Communist forces presently in the Sino-Indian border area consist of four divisions, eleven separate combat regiments, five border defense regiments, and administrative and support troops totaling about one hundred twenty thousand men. A major offensive effort against India, as specified in B, would require the redeployment of additional divisions from elsewhere, which the Chinese would do without seriously jeopardizing their overall military posture. Paragraph two. B. Supplies for Chinese Communist military forces in southwest Sinkiang and Tibet are transported by road from rail-served base depots at Chengtu in Szechwan; Lanchou, and Hsietung in Kansu; and in the vicinity of Urumchi in Sinkiang. From these railheads, supplies are moved into the frontier area by motor transport over long and difficult routes, ranging from five hundred to one thousand five hundred miles, thus limiting the quantities of supplies that can be delivered. Paragraphs three through four. C. We estimate that the Chinese could deliver an average of one thousand six hundred tons per day to Tibet and southwest Sinkiang; this operation would require about forty thousand trucks. This rate of delivery, assuming the establishment of substantial reserves in the forward areas, would be sufficient on a continuing basis to satisfy the daily resupply requirements of about two hundred twenty-five thousand combat and service troops. Of these, a maximum of approximately one hundred seventy-five thousand could be supported logistically in simultaneous attacks. We believe, however, that in the feasible avenues of attack, operations and logistical limitations are such that the Chinese would employ a force [one line redacted] consuming approximately forty tons daily. This maximum support effort would tax China's motor transport capabilities and would result in a heavy drain on P-O-L supplies. Paragraphs five through six. D. We believe that the main threat to India and the Himalayan border states would be limited to simultaneous attacks in Ladakh, through the border passes between Ladakh and Nepal, into Nepal, into northern Assam across Bhutan, and…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Army: A Declassified C I A Intelligence Report, Dated April Seventeenth

◆ BLUF — The short version

This is Declassified. A declassified C-I-A intelligence report, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-three, estimates the Chinese Communist ground threat against India from Tibet and Sinkiang, including maps. com. This twenty-three page document, designated C-I-Zero-One-Five-Five-Nine, was approved for release in August two-thousand-eight.

Date: SEP 9 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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This is Declassified. A declassified C-I-A intelligence report, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-three, estimates the Chinese Communist ground threat against India from Tibet and Sinkiang, including maps. This document is available at documents2.theblackvault.com. This twenty-three page…

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Questions about this case

What was Army: A Declassified C I A Intelligence Report, Dated April Seventeenth about?: This is Declassified. A declassified C-I-A intelligence report, dated April seventeenth, nineteen-sixty-three, estimates the Chinese Communist ground threat against India from Tibet and Sinkiang, including maps. com. This twenty-three page document, designated C-I-Zero-One-Five-Five-Nine, was approved for release in August two-thousand-eight.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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Army: A Declassified C I A Intelligence Report, Dated April Seventeenth

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