Control of military and naval operations in and off China was given in
November 1937 to Imperial Headquarters. This special organ included
all the high army and navy officers. Since it decided military policy
under the direct authority of the Emperor, it neatly sidetracked
Cabinet control. Non-military phases of policy in China, however, were
not so easily disposed of. Here the army used a technique which it had
tried and tested in Manchuria. In September 1938 army leaders forced
the establishment of a China Affairs Board, set up within the Cabinet
but run by military men. Through this board the army kept economic and
political affairs in China pretty well under its thumb, despite some
continued opposition from the Foreign Ministry. In the broader field of
international policy the struggle for power was more acute. It still
continues, although the army eventually became strong enough to put
through the alliance with Germany and Italy.