Huang Wei (; 28 February 1904 – 30 March 1989) was a Chinese

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

military general who fought in the

Encirclement Campaigns The encirclement campaigns of the Chinese Civil War were Republic of China (ROC) offensives against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) revolutionary base areas in China from the late-1920s to 1934 during the Chinese Civil War. The climax were the fiv ...

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

and

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

Early life and career

Huang was born into a rural intellectual family in Guixi,

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

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 ( zh, t=中華民國陸軍軍官學校, p=Zhōnghúa Mīngúo Lùjūn Jūnguān Xúexiào, poj=Tiong-hôa Bîn-kok Lio̍k-kun Kun-koaⁿ Ha̍k-hāu), also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is ...

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

Chen Cheng Chen Cheng (; ; January 4, 1898 – March 5, 1965), courtesy name Tsi-siou (), 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 C ...

, his superior and senior military instructor who introduced him to

Generalissimo ''Generalissimo'' ( ), also generalissimus, 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 ...

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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 ( zh, t=淞滬會戰, s=淞沪会战, first=t, p=Sōng hù huìzhàn) was a major battle fought between the Empire of Japan and the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China in the Chinese city of Shanghai during ...

against the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

. 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 military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

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

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

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; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

province toward Eastern of

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () 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 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

to fight the communists. However, communist moles in the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

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 is an inland Provinces of China, province located in East China. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze and Huai rivers, bordering Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the east, Jiang ...

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 (, courtesy name Boyu (伯玉); October 1, 1907 – June 22, 1977) was a Chinese NRA general. His career spanned the Northern Expedition, the Encirclement Campaigns, the Central Plains War, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese C ...

was able to escape back to

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

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 Perpetual motion is the motion of bodies that continues forever in an unperturbed system. A perpetual motion machine is a hypothetical machine that can do work indefinitely without an external energy source. This kind of machine is impossible ...

, in 1968 he received personal funds from

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...

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, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

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 Inmates of Qincheng Prison