Gu Zhutong ( zh, s=顾祝同, t=顧祝同, first=t, p=Gù Zhùtóng, w=Ku4 Chu4-t‘ung2; January 9, 1893 – January 17, 1987),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Mosan (墨三), also rendered as Ku Chu-tung, was a military general and administrator of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Biography

Early life and career

Former Residence of Gu Zhutong in Nanjing 2012-11

Gu was born in Lianshui,

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

province and attended army elementary academy at age 19, When the Chinese Revolution of 1911 broke out, he soon joined the Revolution. In 1912, he joined the

Chinese Nationalist Party The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the sole ruling party of the country during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until its relocation to Taiwan, and in Taiwan ruled under ...

, and enrolled in

Wuhan Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...

reserve officer candidate school, and then attend the

Baoding Military Academy Baoding Military Academy or Paoting Military Academy () was a military academy based in Baoding, during the late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China, in the first two decades of the 20th century. For a time, it was the most important military ...

. In 1922, he went to Canton and became a staff officer of Second Cantonese Army. When

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 ...

was founded in 1924, he became one of the academy instructors. When the newly formed

Nationalist government The Nationalist government, officially the National Government of the Republic of China, refers to the government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China from 1 July 1925 to 20 May 1948, led by the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT ...

launched a campaign against a local warlord, he became a battalion commander. During the

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China prop ...

, Gu was promoted division commander and then corps commander. In the

Central Plains War The Central Plains War () was a series of military campaigns in 1929 and 1930 that constituted a Chinese civil war between the Nationalist Kuomintang government in Nanjing led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and several regional military command ...

, he was the commander of the 16th Route Army. In 1931, he became garrison commander of

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 ...

, the capital of the Nationalist government. In 1933, he participated in the anti-communist

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 ...

. In 1935 he was promoted to general and put in charge of three southwestern provinces, meanwhile he was also the chairman of

province. After the breakout of the

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 ...

, he was named commander-in-chief of the third war zone. During the

New Fourth Army Incident The New Fourth Army Incident (), also known as the South Anhui Incident or Wannan Incident (), occurred in China in January 1941 during the Second Sino-Japanese War, during which the Chinese Civil War was in theory suspended, uniting the Commun ...

in 1941, Nationalist units under his command destroyed a large contingent of communist troops, and Chiang Kai-shek decorated him with the

Order of Blue Sky and White Sun Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

, one of the highest honors for a Chinese commander at the time.

Chinese Civil War

In 1946, he was named commander-in-chief of the Nationalist Army and pacification director of

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

, and was put in charge attack communist-controlled areas in Shandong province. In 1947, he lost the critical Menglianggu Campaign, in which the elite 74th Independent Enhanced Division was wiped out by the communist forces. Chiang Kai-shek relieved him of command, and appointed him as Chief of Staff instead.

In Taiwan

In March 1950, he arrived in Taiwan and was appointed as defense minister, and in 1954 he was promoted to four-star general. In 1956, Gu was appointed as secretary general of the National Defense Council; in 1967 he was named as deputy head of the strategic advisory committee. In 1972, he became an advisor to Chiang Kai-shek and died on January 17, 1987.

Private life

His son was the artist Ku Fu-sheng.

References

* http://www.generals.dk/general/Qiu_Qing-quan/_/China.html
Ministry of National Defense R.O.CUS Naval War College
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090326011824/http://cgsc.leavenworth.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/bjorge_huai.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Gu, Zhutong People of the Northern Expedition National Revolutionary Army generals from Jiangsu 1893 births 1987 deaths Recipients of the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun Recipients of the Order of Chiang Chung-Cheng People from Huai'an Chinese Civil War refugees Taiwanese people from Jiangsu