Xue Yue
Encyclopedia
Xue Yue was a Chinese Nationalist
military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault
of the Flying Tigers
as the Patton of Asia.
peasant family in Guangdong
, Xue joined the Chinese army in 1914, at the age of 18. When Chiang Kai-shek
formed the Whampoa Military Academy
years later, Xue was one of the members of the first graduating class. He was one of the most effective nationalist commanders of the Northern Expedition, and was promoted to command the 4th army after the April 12 Incident
. During the first stage of the Chinese Civil War
, Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek ordered General Xue to lead the Cantonese First Army to attack the Chinese communists during the Fifth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet
, forcing them to start the Long March
and his forces chased the retreating communists all the way to Sichuan
and Guizhou
, until the communist forces retreated across the great swamplands and finally escaped to Shaanxi Province. He then turned his forces to around and marched unstopped to Central China and defeated the famed Red Army commanders like He Long
and Ye Ting
of the communist area which they controlled and forced out of these strong holds. For these accomplishments, Chiang Kai-shek hailed him as "a true example of a Chinese officer".
. Later, during the Campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan 1938
(January–June 1938) he commanded the Eastern Henan Army.
Xue was also involved in the Battle of Wuhan
, commanding the 1st Army Corps. In the mountains northwest of Wuhan, Xue succeeded in nearly destroying the entire 106th division of the imperial Japanese army. During the battle, most of the Japanese officers were killed and the Japanese had to air-drop 300 officers by parachutes into the battlefield. This was the only occasion the Imperial Japanese Army
had to use airborne strategy to save a whole division from being eliminated by enemy forces during the Second World War.
Xue Yue was also responsible for the victories of the 9th Front, in the Second
and Third
Battle for Changsha. His forces of the 9th Front were also victorious at the Battle of Changde
but were defeated in the Fourth Battle of Changsha
.
During World War II
, KMT and General Stilwell
would not support him and his soldiers ammunition to fight the Japanese due to Stillwell's belief that there was rampant corruptions in the KMT Army. To Stillwell's dismay, however, Chennault supplied Xue with ammunition throughout the war. Xue's 9th Front was also responsible for protecting Chennault's air fields. Chennault and Xue became sworn brothers and remained close friends until Chennault's death in 1958.
informed Xue that this was illegal, Xue responded that he and his subordinates' gold was paid in blood and he was personally responsible for it. When Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949, Xue was put in charge of defending Hainan
island. The victorious Red Army was too much for the demoralized Nationalist Forces. Xue left for Taiwan after the defense of Hainan Island collapsed. He was served as a nominal adviser to the chief of staff in name only. He lived until 1998 to the age of 101. He led Chiang's funeral in 1976. Overall, he was one of the most accomplished and respected military leaders from Whampoa Military Academy to this date.
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
military general, nicknamed by Claire Lee Chennault
Claire Lee Chennault
Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault , was an American military aviator. A contentious officer, he was a fierce advocate of "pursuit" or fight-interceptor aircraft during the 1930s when the U.S. Army Air Corps was focused primarily on high-altitude bombardment...
of the Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
as the Patton of Asia.
Early Life and Career
Born to a HakkaHakka people
The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....
peasant family in Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
, Xue joined the Chinese army in 1914, at the age of 18. When Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
formed the Whampoa Military Academy
Whampoa Military Academy
The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy , was a military academy in the Republic of China that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th century, notably the Northern Expedition, the Second...
years later, Xue was one of the members of the first graduating class. He was one of the most effective nationalist commanders of the Northern Expedition, and was promoted to command the 4th army after the April 12 Incident
April 12 Incident
The April 12 Incident of 1927 refers to the violent suppression of Chinese Communist Party organizations in Shanghai by the military forces of Chiang Kai-shek and conservative factions in the Kuomintang...
. During the first stage of the Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
, Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek ordered General Xue to lead the Cantonese First Army to attack the Chinese communists during the Fifth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet
Fifth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet
The Fifth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet was a series of battles fought during the Chinese Civil War from September 25, 1933 to October 1934 between Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang and the Chinese communists...
, forcing them to start the Long March
Long March
The Long March was a massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south...
and his forces chased the retreating communists all the way to Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
and Guizhou
Guizhou
' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :...
, until the communist forces retreated across the great swamplands and finally escaped to Shaanxi Province. He then turned his forces to around and marched unstopped to Central China and defeated the famed Red Army commanders like He Long
He Long
He Long was a Chinese military leader. He rose to the rank of Marshal and Vice Premier after the founding of the People's Republic of China.-Early life:He Long was a member of the Tujia ethnic group...
and Ye Ting
Ye Ting
Ye Ting , born in Huiyang, Guangdong, was a Chinese military leader. He started out nationalist and went to the communists....
of the communist area which they controlled and forced out of these strong holds. For these accomplishments, Chiang Kai-shek hailed him as "a true example of a Chinese officer".
Second Sino-Japanese War
After the Xian incident, however, Xue's loyalty was in doubt after he offered to personally arrest Chiang Kai-shek and hand him over to the Communists if Chiang refused to fight the Japanese immediately. Although he immediately reconciled with Chiang Kai-shek, his relations with the KMT were strained throughout the Sino-Japanese War. Xue commanded the 19th Army Group that fought the Battle of ShanghaiBattle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
. Later, during the Campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan 1938
Northern and Eastern Honan 1938
During the Second Sino-Japanese War the Japanese 1st Army under Lt. General Kiyoshi Katsuki drove the Chinese forces of General Cheng Chien's 1st War Area out of Northern and Eastern Honan until they were stopped by the disastrous 1938 Yellow River flood caused by the diversion of the Yellow River...
(January–June 1938) he commanded the Eastern Henan Army.
Xue was also involved in the Battle of Wuhan
Battle of Wuhan
The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
, commanding the 1st Army Corps. In the mountains northwest of Wuhan, Xue succeeded in nearly destroying the entire 106th division of the imperial Japanese army. During the battle, most of the Japanese officers were killed and the Japanese had to air-drop 300 officers by parachutes into the battlefield. This was the only occasion the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
had to use airborne strategy to save a whole division from being eliminated by enemy forces during the Second World War.
Xue Yue was also responsible for the victories of the 9th Front, in the Second
Battle of Changsha (1941)
The Battle of Changsha was Japan's second attempt at taking the city of Changsha, China, the capital of Hunan Province, as part of the Second Sino-Japanese War.-Overview:...
and Third
Battle of Changsha (1942)
The third Battle of Changsha was the first major offensive in China by Imperial Japanese forces following the Japanese attack on the Western Allies....
Battle for Changsha. His forces of the 9th Front were also victorious at the Battle of Changde
Battle of Changde
- Sources :* Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War 2nd Ed., 1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung, Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China. Pg...
but were defeated in the Fourth Battle of Changsha
Battle of Changsha (1944)
The Battle of Changsha , was an invasion of the Chinese province of Hunan by Japanese troops near the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, KMT and General Stilwell
Joseph Stilwell
General Joseph Warren Stilwell was a United States Army four-star General known for service in the China Burma India Theater. His caustic personality was reflected in the nickname "Vinegar Joe"...
would not support him and his soldiers ammunition to fight the Japanese due to Stillwell's belief that there was rampant corruptions in the KMT Army. To Stillwell's dismay, however, Chennault supplied Xue with ammunition throughout the war. Xue's 9th Front was also responsible for protecting Chennault's air fields. Chennault and Xue became sworn brothers and remained close friends until Chennault's death in 1958.
Chinese Civil War
After World War II, Xue refused to exchange his gold for the Gold Yuan paper currency as mandated by law. When Huang ShaoxiongHuang Shaoxiong
Huang Shaoxiong or Huang Shaohong was a warlord in Guangxi province, and governed Guangxi as part of the New Guangxi Clique, though the later part of the Warlord era and a leader in the later years of the Republic of China.-Biography:...
informed Xue that this was illegal, Xue responded that he and his subordinates' gold was paid in blood and he was personally responsible for it. When Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949, Xue was put in charge of defending Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
island. The victorious Red Army was too much for the demoralized Nationalist Forces. Xue left for Taiwan after the defense of Hainan Island collapsed. He was served as a nominal adviser to the chief of staff in name only. He lived until 1998 to the age of 101. He led Chiang's funeral in 1976. Overall, he was one of the most accomplished and respected military leaders from Whampoa Military Academy to this date.