Hu Lien
| Hu Lien 胡璉 | |
|---|---|
Hu Lien
|
|
| Nickname(s) | The old man |
| Born | 1 October 1907 Hua County, Shaanxi |
| Died | 22 June 1977 Taipei, Taiwan |
| Allegiance |
 Republic of China
|
| Years of service | 1926–1977 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | 11th division |
| Commands held | 11th Division (reorg.), March 1942 18th Corps, 1944 Deputy Commander 12th Army, 1948 Kinmen Defense Command |
| Battles/wars |
Battle of Western Hubei (1941) Battle of West Hunan (1945) Nanma-Linqu Campaign (1947) Shuangduiji Campaign (1948) Battle of Kuningtou (1949) Battle of Nanri Island (1952) Second Taiwan Strait Crisis |
| Awards | Order of Blue Sky and White Sun in 1944 |
Hu Lien (traditional Chinese: 胡璉; simplified Chinese: 胡琏; pinyin: Hú Liǎn; 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.
He graduated alongside Lin Biao, one of the best Communist commanders. Many future commanders also graduated from the academy, including Du Yuming, Fan Hanjie and Sun Yuanliang.
Hu was a regiment commander in the 11th division in the Battle of Shanghai. He was wounded several times (including a shot through the jaw) and was promoted to division commander after the battle was over. As part of their Sichuan invasion plan, the Imperial Japanese Army attacked Western Hubei, hoping to destroy Chiang Kai Shek's last remaining power base. Under Hu's leadership, the newly formed 18th Corps repulsed the Japanese attack. Afterward, he was awarded with the Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, the highest military decoration in the Republic of China.
As a result of Hu's impressive track record, his unit was deployed around central and eastern China as a firefighting brigade. He was so successful in fighting against the communist forces, even communist commanders like Liu Bocheng and Su Yu suffered defeats from this spectacular Nationalist advance. Before the Huaihai Campaign of 1948, his father died and he had dental problems, and was absent from the front. When the 12th army was surrounded by the communist troops in Anhui province, Hu was flown in a small airplane in the battle field personally led a rescue mission and breakout from the encirclement with the remnant of his troops. After seven days of daring escape, he reached Nanjing and Chiang Kai Shek tasked him with reorganizing the 12th army.
...
Wikipedia