The Southeast Asia Command (SEAC) was established by Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) directive, CCS 308/3, August 21, 1943, implementing a decision reached at Quadrant Conference, Quebec, Canada (August 14-24, 1943). It became operational, November 16, 1943, with headquarters in New Delhi, India. SEAC was responsible for planning and executing operations against Japanese forces in the southeastern Asia area that included Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and Sumatra. The Command was composed of naval, air, and ground forces of British, Indian, Chinese, and United States origin; it was headed by Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten as the Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia. The Deputy Supreme Allied Commander was Lieutenant General Joseph W. Stilwell; he also continued to serve as commander of the U.S. Army Forces, China-Burma-India Theater. In February 1944 he was succeeded as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander by Major General Raymond A. Wheeler. SEAC headquarters moved to Kandy, Ceylon, April 15, 1944. Pursuant to decisions made at the Terminal Conference, Potsdam, Germany (July 16- 26, 1945), and conveyed in CCS directive to Supreme Commander Southeast Asia, CCS 892/2, July 20, 1945, as amended July 24, 1945, the area under SEAC was expanded, effective September 2, 1945 (the date of the formal Japanese surrender), to include Borneo, Java, Celebes, the western half of New Guinea, and that portion of Indo-China lying south of the 16th Parallel. U.S. participation in SEAC officially terminated on November 1, 1945, leaving SEAC a wholly British command. SEAC was abolished, December 1, 1946, with command functions divided among commanders-in-chief of the three services, and a joint service headquarters established under chairmanship of a civilian.
