Pai Ch'ung-hsi
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Pai Ch'ung-hsi (Chinese: 白崇禧, pinyin: Bái Chóngxǐ) (March 18, 1893 - December 1, 1966) was a Chinese Muslim general of the Republic of China (ROC).
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Revolutionary War
Born in Guilin, Guangxi Province and given the courtesy name Jiansheng (健生), Pai rose to fame by allying with Li Tsung-jen as supporters of Kuomintang (KMT) leader Sun Yat-sen against the Guangxi warlord Lu Rongting (陸榮廷) in 1924. The coalition's efforts brought Guangxi Province under ROC jurisdiction, and Pai and Li represented a new generation of Guangxi leaders.
During the Northern Expedition (1926-1928), Pai was the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army & was credited with many victories over the northern warlords, often using speed, maneuver and surprise to defeat larger enemy forces. He led the Eastern Route Army which conquered Hangzhou and Shanghai in 1927. As garrison commander of Shanghai, Pai also took part in the 4/12/1927 "Purge" of Communist elements of the Revolutionary Army and of the unions in Shanghai. Pai also commanded the forward units which first entered Beijing & was credited with being the senior commander on site to complete the Northern Expedition. For many of his battlefield exploits during the Northern expedition, he was given the laudatory nickname Xiao(little) Zhuge, after Zhuge Liang, of the Three Kingdom(circa 200 A. D.) fame. Zhuge Liang is universally considered by Chinese to be the foremost strategist of all time.
At the end of the Northern Expedition, Chiang Kai Shek began to agitate to get rid of the Guangxi forces. At one time in 1929, Pai had to escape to Vietnam to avoid harm. From 1930 to 1936, Pai was instrumental in the Reconstruction of Guangxi, which became a "Model" province with a progressive administration. Guangxi supplied over nine hundred thousand troops toward the war effort against Japan.
Sino-Japanese War
Formal hostilities broke out on July 7 1937 between China and Japan at the Lugo (Marco Polo) Bridge Incident outside of Beijing. On August 4 1937, Pai rejoined the Central Government at the invitation of Chiang Kai Shek. During the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), Pai was the Deputy Chief of the General Staff responsibe for operations and training. Pai was the key strategist who convinced Chiang to adopt a "Total War" strategy in which China would trade space for time, adopt guerrilla tactics behind enemy lines, and disrupt enemy supply lines at every opportunity. When the better armed and trained Japanese troops advanced, the Chinese would adopt a scorched earth campaign in the enemy's path to deny them local supply. Pai was also involved in many key campaigns including the first major victory at Tai-Er Zhuang in Shandong Province in the Spring of 1938 when he teamed up with Gen. Li Tsung-jen to defeat a superior enemy. China managed to check and delay the Japanese advance for several months. Subsequently, he was appointed the Commander of the Field Executive Office of the Military Council in Guilin, with responsibility for the 3rd, 4th, 7th and 9th War Zones. In that capacity he oversaw the successful defense of Changsa, capital of Hunan Province. Between 1939 and 1942, the Japanese attacked Changsa three times and were repelled each time. Pai also directed the southern Guangxi campaigns to retake Kun Lun Guan.
Chinese Civil War
In the Spring of 1946, the Chinese Communists were active in Manchuria. A crack unit of 100,000 strong under the Communist general Lin Biao occupied a key railroad junction at Szu-Ping Chieh. Nationalist forces could not dislodge Lin after several attempts. Chiang then sent Pai to oversee the operation. After some redeployment, the Nationalist forces were able to thoroughly defeat Lin's forces after a two day pitched battle. This was to be the first and only major victory for the Nationalists in the civil war of 1946-1949.
In June 1946, Pai was appointed Minister of National Defense. It turned to be a post without power as Chiang began to bypass Pai on major decisions regarding the civil war. Chiang would hold daily briefings in his residence without inviting Pai and began to direct frontline troops personally down to the division level, bypassing the chain of command. The civil war went poorly for the Nationalists as Chiang's strategy of holding onto Provincial capitals and leaving the countryside to the Communists very quickly caused the downfall of his forces which had a 4:1 numerical superiority at the beginning of the conflict.
Involvement in Taiwan
The riots following the 228 Incident of February 28, 1947, broke on Taiwan due to poor governance by the central government appointed officials and the garrison forces causing many casualties of both native Taiwanese and mainland residents. Pai was sent as Chiang's personal representitave on a fact finding mission and to help pacify the populace. After a two week tour, including interviews with various segments of the Taiwan population, Pai made sweeping recommendations, including replacement of the governor, and prosecution of his chief of secret police, etc. Pai also granted amnesty to student violators of peace on the condition that their parents take custody and guarantee subsequent proper behavior. For his forthright actions, native Taiwanese held him in high regard.
Pai had another falling out with Chiang when he supported Gen. Li Tsung-jen, his fellow Guangxi commade in arms, for the vice presidency in the 1948 general election when Li won against Chiang's hand picked candidate, Sun Fo. Chiang then removed Pai from the Defense Minister post and assigned him the responsibility for Central & South China. Pai's forces were the last ones to leave the mainland for Hainan Island and eventually to Taiwan. He and Chiang never reconciled and he lived in semi-retirement until he died of cerebral thrombosis on December 1st, 1966 at the age of seventy-three.
Impact
Pai's reputation as a strategist was well known as documented in Barbara Tuchman's book "Stillwell and American Experience in China". Evan Carlson (colonel, U. S Army), noted that "Pai was considered by many to be the keenest of Chinese military men". Edgar Snow went even further, calling Pai " one of the most intelligent and efficient commanders boasted by any army in the world".
Many think that had Chiang fully utilized Pai, the Nationalists could have prevailed in the civil war against the communists.
Pai is the father of Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese author and playwright now living in the US.zh:白崇禧