Xue Yue
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| Xue Yue | |
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| Born | December 26, 1896 |
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| Died | May 3, 1998 (age 101) |
| Occupation | General |
Xue Yue (Chinese: 薛岳; pinyin: Xuē Yuè) (December 26, 1896 – May 3, 1998) was one of Nationalist China's best generals. Nicknamed by General Claire Chennault of Flying Tigers fame as the Patton of Asia. Born to a peasant family in Canton, 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 its graduates. After Chiang purged the communists during the Northern Expedition, Xue's army chased the Communists 12,000 miles by foot and nearly annihilated them, forcing them to start the Long March. For these, Chiang Kai-shek hailed him as "a true example of an officer."
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 he didn't begin fighting the Japanese immediately. Although he immediately reconciled with Chiang Kai-shek, his relations with the KMT were strained throughout the Sino-Japanese War. Once the war started, he commandeded the 19th Army Group in the Battle of Shanghai. During the Campaign of Northern and Eastern Honan 1938 (January-June 1938) he commanded the Eastern Honan Army.
During the early stages of the Sino-Japanese War, due to low ammunition, he disobeyed orders to attack a Japanese garrison directly. Instead, he ordered his smaller army to surround the Japanese garrison and attack them from behind. Before doing so, he called Chiang on the telephone and informed him his intentions and that he was prepared to be executed afterwards. Because Chiang was already asleep, Madame Chiang told Xue not to worry and to go ahead with his plans. The plan was a success. Instead of executing him, Chiang immediately promoted him to full general, a position he held until his death.
Another glorious battle he got involved was the defense of greater Wuhan, commanding the 1st Army Corps. In the mountains northwest of Wuhan, Xue succeeded in nearly wiping out the whole 106th division of the imperial Japanese army. During the battle, most officer-grade soldiers were killed by Xue's army and the Japanese had to air-drop 300 officers by parachutes into the battlefield to prevent the division from being completely wiped out by Xue. Xue Yue was also responsible for the victories of the 9th War Area, in the Second and Third Battle for Changsha. His 9th War Area forces also fought in the victorious Battle of Changde but were defeated in the Fourth Battle of Changsha.
During World War II, the KMT and General Stilwell opposed to giving him and his men ammunition to fight the Japanese because of the rampant corruption in the KMT. Chennault, however, gave him weapons, angering Stilwell deeply. Xue's Ninth War Zone was also the only Chinese force standing between Chennault's air fields and the Japanese. Once Chiang heard of this, however, he immediately ordered that weapons be given and immediately requested that the Lend-Lease Act be under his control, not Stilwell's. Shortly before Chennault left China in May 1945, he and Xue became sworn brothers and remained close friends until Chennault's death in 1958.
After WWII, Xue fought victoriously against the Communists, but his relationship with Chiang suffered another blow in Chiang Ching-kuo's financial/economical reform when Xue refused to exchange gold for Gold Yuan, as required. When Huang Shaoxiong asked Xue that it was illegal and what he would do, Xue angrily proclaimed that the gold was saved through huge sacrifice, and if Chiang Ching-kuo dared to come to arrest him like others, he would have him machine gunned. As a result of his insistence, Xue and his subordinates managed to keep most of their gold in their possession, which proved to be extremely valuable in the last of fightings against the communists, and Chiang Kai-shek allowed Xue not to be touched. When Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan in 1949, Xue was the one of the last generals to leave China, and he was put in charge of defending Hainan island. However, Xue proved to be no match for Lin Biao, whose force broke Xue's defensive lines by crossing the strait despite the complete lack of air and naval superiority, and Xue was forced to evacuate by air. Once he arrived to Taiwan, Chiang offered him a job in the new KMT government but he declined. Instead, he retired and settled in Chiayi until his death in 1998 at the age of 101. When he retired, Chiang gave him an enormous pension and 10 years of backpay with interest, leaving him as an extremely wealthy man.
