Allied Counteroffensive In the spring of 1944, the Japanese began a series of successful offensives and by year's end had driven the 14th Air Force from many of its forward bases and had established a continuous line of communications from French Indo-China to North China. During the offensive, however, 14th Air Force pilots and gunners destroyed almost eight aircraft for each American plane lost in combat. In December 1944 ATC and troop carrier aircraft flew two Chinese divisions in Burma back to China where, supported by the AAF, they launched a counteroffensive in May 1945, retaking the initiative until war's end. Click here to return to the War on the Asian Mainland Overview.