Hu Lien (; 1907–1977) was a

Chinese Nationalist Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all Chi ...

general who participated in the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

, anti-communist

Encirclement Campaigns Encirclement campaigns (), officially called in Chinese Communist historiography as the Agrarian Revolutionary War were the campaigns launched by forces of the Chinese Nationalist Government against forces of the Chinese Communist Party during th ...

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

and

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...

Whampoa Military Academy

He graduated alongside

Lin Biao ) , serviceyears = 1925–1971 , branch = People's Liberation Army , rank = Marshal of the People's Republic of China Lieutenant general of the National Revolutionary Army, Republic of China , commands ...

, one of the best Communist commanders. Many future commanders also graduated from the academy, including

Du Yuming Du Yuming (; 28 November 1904 – 7 May 1981), was a Kuomintang field commander. He was a graduate of the first class of Whampoa Academy, took part in Chiang's Northern Expedition, and was active in southern China and in the Burma theatre of th ...

, Fan Hanjie and Sun Yuanliang.

Second Sino-Japanese War

Hu was a regiment commander in the 11th division in the

Battle of Shanghai The Battle of Shanghai () was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Republic of China (ROC) and the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) of the Empire of Japan at the beginning of the ...

. He was wounded several times (including a shot through the jaw) and was promoted to division commander after the battle was over. As part of their Sichuan invasion plan, the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

attacked Western Hubei, hoping to destroy Chiang Kai Shek's last remaining power base. Under Hu's leadership, the newly formed 18th Corps repulsed the Japanese attack. Afterward, he was awarded with the

Order of Blue Sky and White Sun The Order of Blue Sky and White Sun with Grand Cordon ( Chinese:青天白日勳章 or 青天白日勛章) is the Republic of China's second highest military award. Created in 1929, it is awarded for "outstanding contributions to national securit ...

, the highest military decoration in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

Huaihai Campaign

As a result of Hu's impressive track record, his unit was deployed around central and eastern China as a firefighting brigade. He was so successful in fighting against the communist forces, even communist commanders like

Liu Bocheng Liu Bocheng (; December 4, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was a Chinese military commander and Marshal of the People's Liberation Army. Liu is known as the 'half' of the "Three and A Half" Strategists of China in modern history. (The other th ...

and Su Yu suffered defeats from this spectacular Nationalist advance. Before the Huaihai Campaign of 1948, his father died and he had dental problems, and was absent from the front. When the 12th Army Group was surrounded by the communist troops in Anhui province, Hu was flown in a small airplane in the battle field personally led a rescue mission and breakout from the encirclement with the remnant of his troops. After seven days of daring escape, he reached

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

and Chiang Kai Shek tasked him with reorganizing the 12th Army Group.

South Vietnam

Hu played a major role in Republic of China–Vietnam relations, serving as the ambassador to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

from 1964 to 1972 and surviving attempts on his life by the communists, such as the 1967 Saigon Chinese embassy bombing. His appointment to the Republic of Vietnam was part of the KMT policy of sharing its expertise in anti-communist affairs with other countries in the region.

Taiwan

He had twice been appointed as commander of

Kinmen Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It lies roughly east of the city of Xiamen in Fujian, from which it is separat ...

Defense Command. He was credited to repulse an invasion of Kinmen by the communist force in 1950 and participated in several commando attacks to mainland.

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

had deep faith in his military leadership and gave a

sword A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed ti ...

with inlaid jewels to Hu. He was promoted to four-star general in 1975 after fifty years of army service. Hu died in 1977 of heart failure and was buried in Kinmen, where he had soundly defeated the Communist invasions in 1949 and 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Lien 1907 births 1977 deaths Ambassadors of the Republic of China Ambassadors to South Vietnam Chinese anti-communists People of the Northern Expedition People of the Central Plains War Chinese military personnel of World War II Chinese people of World War II National Revolutionary Army generals from Shaanxi People from Weinan Recipients of the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun Whampoa Military Academy alumni Taiwanese people from Shaanxi Deaths from heart disease Burials at sea