Wei Lihuang

Early Life

Wei Lihuang was born on 16 February 1897 in Weiyang village, east of Hefei, Anhui. His father, Wei Zhengqiu, a clerk in the local tax office, died in an epidemic in 1905, after which Wei was raised by his elder brother Wei Lijiong, a county government clerk. Through his brother's revolutionary contacts, Wei took part in anti-Qing and, later, anti-Yuan Shikai resistance around Hexian during the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and the 1913 "Second Revolution."

Rise to Senior Command

He subsequently trained at the Baoding Military Academy and entered the Whampoa system, rising to become one of Chiang Kai-shek's most trusted senior commanders and distinguishing himself in the Northern Expedition.

The Encirclement Campaigns and Suppression of the Fujian Rebellion

From 1930 to 1933, as commander of the 45th Division and later the 14th Corps, Wei took part in the third and fourth "Encirclement Campaigns" against the Eyuwan (Hubei-Henan-Anhui) Communist base area, capturing the CCP stronghold of Jinjiazhai in November 1932; in recognition, Chiang Kai-shek had the district renamed "Lihuang County" in his honour. After the Fujian Rebellion broke out in November 1933, Wei commanded one of the government's suppression columns, driving rapidly into northern Fujian and intercepting retreating 19th Route Army units near Hui'an; the rebellion collapsed by January 1934.

The Battle of Xinkou

In October 1937, Wei was appointed Forward Front Commander of the Second War Zone and, under Yan Xishan's overall command, led roughly 100,000 troops (including the 14th, 9th, 15th, and 61st Corps) in defence of the Xinkou line against more than 50,000 Japanese troops, including Itagaki Seishiro's 5th Division. The battle, fought from 13 October to 2 November 1937, was one of the fiercest engagements of the early North China campaign, inflicting more than 20,000 Japanese casualties; Nationalist and Communist forces fought alongside one another, with Eighth Route Army units supporting the defence.

Sidelined, Then Command of the Chinese Expeditionary Force

During the war, Wei's contacts with Communist commanders such as Zhu De on the Shanxi front, and his provision of some materiel to the Eighth Route Army, aroused Chiang Kai-shek's suspicion. In January 1942 he was removed from his posts as Commander-in-Chief of the First War Zone and Chairman of Henan provincial government and transferred to a nominal post in Xi'an, his former command passing to Tang Enbo. In October 1943 he succeeded the ailing Chen Cheng as Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Expeditionary Force, headquartered at Baoshan, Yunnan. On 11 May 1944 the Expeditionary Force crossed the Salween River to launch its offensive; Songshan fell on 7 September, Tengchong was recaptured on 14 September, Longling on 3 November, and Mangshi on 20 November, with operations coordinated alongside the US 14th Air Force. In January 1945 the Ledo (Stilwell) Road linking China and India was reopened, turning the tide of the Yunnan-Burma campaign.

Command in Manchuria

Appointed commander of the Northeast Bandit Suppression Headquarters in January 1948, Wei inherited an isolated garrison in a theatre already tilting against the Nationalists. His defensive strategy of holding major cities rather than breaking out was later blamed for the encirclement of his forces. When Jinzhou fell in October 1948 the army was trapped; Shenyang fell on 2 November. Wei escaped by air before the city's fall. Chiang Kai-shek court-martialled him, though proceedings were suspended.

Return to the Mainland

On 16 November 1948, Chiang Kai-shek dismissed Wei from his posts and placed him under house arrest in Nanjing. On New Year's Eve the following year he escaped in disguise, travelling via Shanghai by British steamer to Hong Kong, where he lived for several years; he twice declined Chiang's invitations to relocate to Taiwan or abroad, and from 1954 published articles in the Hong Kong press expressing support for the People's Republic of China. Through arrangements made via Zhou Enlai's office, in which Wei's wife Han Quanhua was also involved, he arrived in Guangzhou on 15 March 1955 and formally returned to mainland China, where he was welcomed by the PRC government as a symbol of cross-strait reconciliation. He subsequently served as a delegate to the 2nd National People's Congress, a Standing Committee member of the CPPCC National Committee, and Vice Chairman of the National Defence Council, as well as a member of the Central Standing Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang. He died in Beijing on 17 January 1960 of coronary heart disease complicated by pneumonia; a state memorial was held on 20 January at Sun Yat-sen Park, presided over by Zhou Enlai, and he was interred at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery.