Huang Wei (; 1904–1989) was a Chinese

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

military general who fought in the Encirclement Campaigns,

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 Th ...

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 m ...

Early life and career

Huang was born into a rural intellectual family in

Guixi Guixi () is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Yingtan, Jiangxi Province, China, bordering Fujian Province to the southeast. The city covers two-thirds of the land area in the municipal region. Like Yuehu Di ...

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

province in 1904. With the help of local friends and townsmen he was admitted to the elite

Whampoa Military Academy The Republic of China Military Academy () is the service academy for the army of the Republic of China, located in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung. Previously known as the the military academy produced commanders who fought in many of China ...

. He was loyal, dutiful and brave in battle and caught the attention of

Chen Cheng Chen Cheng (; ; January 4, 1898 – March 5, 1965) was a Chinese political and military leader, and one of the main commanders of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After moving ...

, his superior and senior military instructor who introduced him to

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ) is a military rank of the highest degree, superior to field marshal and other five-star ranks in the states where they are used. Usage The word (), an Italian term, is the absolute superlative of ('general') thus me ...

Chiang Kai-shek. By the end of 1927, he was promoted to regimental commander of the 9th corps, in 1928 he was reassigned as regimental colonel of the 11th division, which Chen Cheng was the commander. In 1928 he was enrolled in the Army War College and after graduation he was promoted to 32nd brigade commander in the 11th division, now as part of the 18th corps, again Chen Cheng was the Corps superior general officer. In 1933 he went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

to study and returned to China in 1937, while in his absence he was promoted to commander of the 11th division in 1934. In September 1937, he led the 67th division of the 18th corps 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 The also ...

against 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 Emperor o ...

. In 1938 he was promoted to Corps commander of 18th corps and elevated to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

next year. In 1940 he was assigned as commander of the 54th corps and defense commander of Kunming,

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

province. Over next several years, he was assigned to a series important positions in the National Military Council and army training department. In 1945 he became commander of 31st army and deputy head of the logistical department. In 1948 he was made commandant of the newly established officer candidate school and headed the 12th army.

Huaihai Campaign

In November 1948, Huang Wei led the 12th army from

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province toward Eastern of

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

to fight the communists, However communist moles in the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

department of defense, such as Guo Ruhuai and Liu Fei, leaked vital military plans to the communist commanders. The American-armed 12th army headed into a trap sprang by the communist forces in nearly Su County,

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

province, less than 30 miles from Xuzhou. In the great Shuangduiji Campaign, which lasted nearly a month and the 12th army was destroyed. Huang's attempt to breakout from communist blockade was foiled when one of his division commanders went over to communists with his unit.
/ref> He tried to break out again but was captured alive, only his deputy commander

Hu Lien Hu Lien (; 1907–1977) was a Chinese Nationalist general who participated in the Northern Expedition, anti-communist Encirclement Campaigns, Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. Whampoa Military Academy He graduated alongside Lin ...

was able to escape back to

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

Study of perpetual motion

While in Communist prisons, Huang Wei refused to admit that he was wrong in supporting Chiang Kai-shek and the

government. In order to escape communist indoctrination classes, he devoted his time to the study of perpetual motion, in 1968 he received personal funds from

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

so he could conduct experiments. The experiments did not succeed, but when he was released in 1975 he continued to pursue the concept. He died in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

on March 30, 1989.

References

US Naval War College
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huang, Wei National Revolutionary Army generals from Jiangxi Chinese people of World War II 1904 births 1989 deaths Chinese prisoners of war Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Tripod People from Yingtan