Cheng Gang

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Cheng Gang(Chinese: 成刚 also spelled as Chen Kang, or Chen Kiang; (February 18, 1904 – February 29, 1964) was a Kuomintang(KMT) Lieutenant General, a graduate of Whampoa Military Academy, best known for his leadership in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. He served as the Chief of Staff of the 11th Army Group of Chinese Expeditionary Force in the Burma Campaign from 1944 to 1945. He was awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Truman in 1946.

Biography

Early life

Cheng Gang was a Chinese military officer born on February 18, 1904, in Ning Xiang （宁乡） County, Hunan （湖南） Province. He was the youngest of eight siblings, with six older brothers and two older sisters. His father, Chen Ting Hsun and his mother came from the Huang family. Cheng Gang began his education at his father's local school in 1910 and continued his studies at the primary school in 1912. He then transferred to Tang's school in Shaoshan （韶山） in 1915 and graduated with honors in 1917. In 1918, Cheng attended Xiangtan （湘潭） High School before enrolling in the Chemistry department at Hunan First Industrial School in Changsha （长沙） in 1919. After graduating from the First Industrial School in 1921, Cheng attempted to establish a chemical plant. However, in the spring of 1923, he and his classmate Dong Jun （董君） went to Luoyang （洛阳） to train in Wu Peifu's military camp. In the summer of 1924, Cheng and his classmate Hong Shiqi（洪士奇） were accepted into the Whampoa Military Academy as part of the second cadet class. There, he joined the engineering corps led by Wang Jun （王俊）before transferring to the artillery corps led by Cai Zhonghu （蔡忠笏）.

1925 to 1926 The Eastern Expedition

In March 1925, Cheng Gang enlisted in the National Revolutionary Army during the Eastern Expedition (东征）. Many of the army's officers were graduates of the Whampoa Military Academy. Cheng's military career rapidly progressed, and he became the acting commander of the artillery company consisting of the 4th cadet class in September after graduating from the academy.

In January 1926, he was promoted to the Commissaire Politique of the artillery company led by Chen Cheng (陳诚) and subsequently succeeded Chen as the Captain and commander. In April, Cheng served as the commander of the second company consisting of the 5th cadet class in the artillery battalion reported to Jiang Bi (蒋必).

In June of that year, the artillery battalion was expanded into an artillery regiment led by Cai Zhonghu (蔡忠笏), and Cheng became one of the regiment's officers.

1926 to 1929 The Northern Expedition

Cheng Gang joined the Northern Expedition （北伐）, a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army against the [[Beiyang Government]， （北洋军阀）] and other regional warlords in July 1926. In August, Cheng Gang and the second platoon were assigned to the third division of the 8th Army led by Li Pinxian (李品仙) in Changsha （长沙）, Hunan （湖南） province. They fought in battles in Jiayu （嘉鱼） and Qichun （蕲春） in Hubei （湖北） province against Wu Peifu (吴佩孚）, the leader of [[Zhili clique|Zhili Clique]， 直系军阀）] of the Beiyang government. These battles were crucial to force Wu to retreat from his power base in Wuhan （武汉） in Hubei （湖北）province. In October, the platoon was ordered to go to Nanchang （南昌） in Jiangxi （江西）province and reassigned to the second division of the 1st Army led by Liu Zhi (刘峙). The platoon was deployed to Zhejiang （浙江）province and participated in the battle of Longyou (龙游战役） in January 1927, a fierce battle enabled the National Revolutionary Army control over Zhejiang province. In March, the Northern Expedition Army took over Shanghai （上海）. In April, he was promoted to the Major and the commander for the 1st artillery battalion, where they stationed between the Yangtze River （长江） and the Wusong River （吴淞江）to provide defense. In August, he fought in the battle of Longtan （龙潭战役） and defeated Sun Chuanfang's (孫传芳) troops who attempted to cross the rivers for a surprise attack. In the winter of 1927, the artillery battalion was assigned to the 32nd Army of the National Revolutionary Army led by Qian Dajun (銭大钧). He was then promoted to the lieutenant colonel and became the battalion commander. The entire battalion was deployed from Shanghai to Shantou （汕头）, Guangdong （广东）province.

1928 to 1937 Chinese Civil War

In the spring of 1928, Cheng Gang led the artillery battalion providing security for the 32nd Army along the Beijing-Shanghai railway （京沪铁路） and stationed at Chuansha(川沙） in Pudong （浦东）area. In June, he married to Miss Wu Jun Hsiang from his hometown in Shanghai. After the Northern Expedition completed in 1928, the National Army underwent downsizing and re-organization. The 32nd Army and the 21st Division of the 9th Army were combined as the 3rd Division commanded by General Qian Dajun (銭大钧). He was appointed as the commander of the artillery battalion of the 3rd Division and then transferred to Suzhou (苏州） for training.

In the winter of 1929, Cheng Gang accompanied the 3rd Division to Guangdong to fight with Zhang Fakuei (张发奎)， who defected to the Gui's Military Group （桂系军阀）. They defeated the Gui’s group near Huaxian （花县）, Guangdong province and was promoted to the regimental commander. In 1930, he fought battles south of Longhai Railway （陇海铁路）, the hub of the Central Plain War against the regional warlords Yan Xishan （阎锡山）and Feng Yuxiang（冯玉祥）. With the Northeastern Army abandoning neutrality and rechristened into the Kuomintang government, Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang were defeated, and the war ended in November 1930. The 3rd Division was transferred to the county of Huayin （华阴） in Shaanxi （陕西）province.

In the spring of the 1931, Cheng Gang was promoted to Colonel and became the commander of the 16th Regiment in the 8th Brigade of the 3rd Division. He was transferred from Shaanxi to Luoyang, Henan province. In July, he led the regiment to fight against Shi Yousan (石友三）’s rebellion in Shunde, Henan province. With the NRA and the Northeast armies from the northern and southern fronts, Shi Yousan was defeated in Xinji （辛集） (also known as Shulu， 束鹿) in Henan province. After the Central Plains war, the regiment was stationed for training between Yancheng （郾城）and Huangchuan （潢川） in Henan province.

In the summer of 1932, he fought in the Fourth Encirclement Campaign against communist insurgence of Hubei–Henan–Anhui Soviet （豫鄂皖邊區第四次圍剿） This campaign included the fierce battle of Qiliping （七里坪战役）defeating the Red 4th Front Army （红四方面军）led by Xu Xiangqian(徐向前）. In October 1932, the Red 4th Front Army retreated westwards to Shaanxi province. The 3rd Division continued chasing and engaged battles with the red army to Xiaohekou （小河口）in Shaanxi provision in December. The Red 4th Front Army had about 15,000 survived from the retreat and battles, lost about 30,000 troop in less than a year. The 3rd Division then transferred to the southern area of Jinghan railway （京汉铁路） to protect the railway from vandalism from the red army, and the 16th regiment led by Cheng Gang provided protection from Huayuan （花园） to Wusheng （武胜）.

In January 1933, Cheng Gang was deployed with the 3rd Division to continue the Fourth Encirclement Campaign against Jiangxi Soviet （江西蘇區的第四次圍剿）in Chongren （崇仁）. Cheng Gang was promoted to major and the deputy commander of the 8th Brigade, also serving as acting brigade commander. In September 1933, he enrolled in the Phase 2 Advanced Officer Training Program in the Republic of China Military Academy in Nanjing （南京）. He graduated with Summa Cum Laude in June 1934 from the Phase training program. In August, he started training programs for senior leaders in the academy.

On May 30th 1935, he was promoted to the deputy commander of the 3rd Division. In April 1937, Chen Jiecheng (陈继承）https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/陳繼承） was appointed as the director of education of the Republic of China Military Academy and Cheng Gang as the head of the Artillery Department. In August, he was promoted to Major General in the artillery branch. In October, the military academy moved to Wuhan, Hubei provision due to outbreak of Sino-Japanese war.

1937 to 1945 Sino-Japanese War (World War II)

In January 1938, Cheng Gang became the commander of the 1st regiment of the 14th cadet class of the military academy, succeeding the former commander Fan Hanjie （范汉杰） who had been promoted to the director of education. He led the regiment of over 1,100 student officers moving to Sichuan province and settled in Anju Town, Tongliang County in late May. The 14th cadet class graduated in November 1938 and joined the battles against Japanese invasion immediately. Two thirds of the 14th cadet class died for the country during the World War II.

In January 1939, Cheng Gang became the Major General and commander of the 16th cadet class. In the summer, he was reassigned as the Director the 12th Supplemental Soldiers Training Department, stationed near Yongchuan in Sichuan province. He also served as the commander of the Jiang (Jiangjin) and Yong (Yongchuan) sub-districts of the Chongqing Garrison. In May 1940, his unit provided security for Chongqing , the war time capital of Republic of China.

In September 1940, the 12th Supplemental Soldier Training Department was reorganized as the newly formed 39th Division, and he was appointed as the Division Commander. The 39th division, the newly formed 28th Division (Commander Liu Bolong, 刘伯龙) and the newly formed 38th Division (Commander Sun Liren， 孙立人) were combined as new 66th Army with Zhang Zhen （张轸） as the commander. The 66th Army, part of Chinese Expeditionary Force was initially stationed in the Puan, Panzhou, and Zunyi in Guizhou province , preparing to enter Yunnan province. In February 1942, Cheng Gang resigned from division commander (succeeded by Guan Quanbin) due to dispute with the army commander Zhang Zhen. He was then re-assigned to Major General and Deputy Commander of the 66th Army, responsible for training of the army's cadres.

In July 1942, the 66th Army was disband due to heavy loss during the First Expedition (March to August 1942) retreating from Burma. Cheng Gang was assigned as Deputy Director of the Cadre Training Camp in Chongqing Garrison Headquarters (Director Liu Zhi), responsible for training cadres and soldiers at various levels. The program was divided into two groups officers and soldiers, with a four-month term for each group.

In August 1943, he was appointed to Chief of Staff and Major General of the 11th Group Army reporting to Commander-in-Chief Song Xilian for the 2nd Expedition. The 11th Army Group stationed in Dali, Yunan province and comprised the 2nd Army (Commander Wang Lingyun， 王凌云), the 6th Army (Commander Huang Jie， 黄杰), and the 71st Army (Commander Zhong Bing， 钟彬). He formally reported to this position in October 1943 and promoted to Lieutenant General.

In Spring of 1944, the Chinese Expeditionary Force in Yunnan (also called Y Force) launched offensive campaigns against the Japanese army in the Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan. The campaigns were on the west bank of the Salween River (called as Nu River in China) in western Yunnan. The 20th Group Army, commanded by Huo Kui Zhang, served as the right-wing force attacking in Tengchong, while the 11th Group Army served as the left-wing force attacking in Longling and Mangshi. On September 7th, the Chinese Expeditionary Force captured Songshan, and on the 14th, they captured Tengchong. On November 3rd, the Chinese Expeditionary Force occupied Longling, and on the 20th, captured Mangshi. In January 1945, the Expeditionary Force captured the town of Wanting on the China-Burma border and regained control of the land route from Burma to China. On January 27th, 1945, the Expeditionary X Force (led by Sun Liren), the Expeditionary Y Forece and the Indian Army met near Mangyou, the final victory of the battles of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan. In April 1945, Cheng Gang was awarded the Fourth Class Yunhui Medal （云麾勲章） his achievements in the battles.

1946 to 1949 Chinese Civil War， Third National Revolutionary War

The National Army in the southwestern region had a large scale re-organization, and the 11th Group Army was disbanded after the victory of Sino-Japanese war in 1945. Cheng Gang was appointed as the Director of Combat Training Unit under the Military Committee. The training programs had great collaboration with all materials and instructors provided by the United States Army Command and General Staff College. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Truman in 1946. After the training classes ended in September 1945, he led several officer training programs through summer of 1946: Education Officer of the Officer Training Unit in Yunnan, Acting Director of Education of Zhongshan Branch of the Central Training Unit, Deputy Director and Chief of Lushan Summer Camp. In August 1946, he was appointed as Director of the Wuhan Fortress Preparatory Office.

In the summer of 1947, Cheng Gang was appointed as the Director of the Office for the Central Training Corps (led by General Chiang Kai-shek and Education Director Huang Jie). In August 1948, Huang Jie was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Regional Military Office and Director of the 3rd Army Training Department in Changsha. Cheng Gang served as Deputy Director of the training department in Hankou. In November, he was appointed as the commander of the 102nd Army overseeing the 62nd Division (led by Xia Richang，夏日长), the 232nd Division (led by Kang Pu， 康扑), and the 314th Division (led by Chen Da， 陈达). The 62nd and 314th Divisions were newly established and in the process of replacing officers and soldiers. In June 1949, the 102nd Army was merged into the 14th Army, and he was appointed as the Commander of the 14th Army, overseeing the 10th Division (led by Zhang Yongbin， 张用斌), the 62nd Division (led by Xia Richang， 夏日长), and the 63rd Division (led by Tang Jinan， 汤季楠). The entire army was under the 1st Corps (commander Chen Mingren， 陈明仁). The reorganization was completed on July 1st, with the headquarter and the 10th Division stationed in Shaoyang, the 62nd Division Anjiang and Hongjiang, and the 63rd Division near Xinhua. On August 4, 1949, the Director of the Changsha Regional Military Office, Cheng Qian, 程潜 and the Acting Chairman of the Hunan Government, Chen Mingren, defected to the Communist Party. Tang Jinan, the commander of the 63rd Division under the 14th Army also defected. Cheng Gang led 10th Division, 62nd Division, and 63rd Division joined the National Army troops led by Bai Chongxi, 白崇禧 the General of armies in Central China. On August 6, the 14th Army captured Shaoyang. The 14th Army coordinated with Gui’s army and defeated People’s Liberation Army led by General Linbiao,林彪 in the Battle of Qingshuping （ 青树坪战役]）, which was the only victory for the National Army since 1948.

In September, he was also appointed as the Shaoyang Security Commander and reorganized the troops with Huang Jie, who was appointed as Chairman of Hunan Government and commander of the 1st Corps. The Snow Mountain Guerrilla Unit led by Li Jingyi（李精一） was restructured as 63rd Division of the 14th Army.

1949 to 1960 Retreat in Vietnam and Taiwan

In October 1949, he was ordered to retreat along with the 1st Corps. On October 19, the troops arrived in Quanzhou, Guangxi, and then reorganized in Lingchuan. Ding Liang （丁廉） was appointed as the commander of the 62nd Division. In mid-December, the troops arrived in Vietnam. French colonial government in Vietnam initially agreed to let the troop pass through Vietnam for retreating to Taiwan. However, the French government abandoned the agreement and detained and disarmed the troops. He led the troops and arrived in Vung Tau （头顿）in January 1950, then to Krong Kep （白马） in Cambodia. During the detention period, Cheng Gang was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Cadet Training in March 1950， then the commander of the garrison in Cambodia in September 1950. After more than 3 years of detention, the troops returned to Taiwan in 1953.

After arrived in Taiwan, he served as senior advisor for the Ministry of National Defense. He passed away on February 29th 1964, at age of 61 in Taipei.

Family

He married with Mrs. Wu Junxiang for 36 years and had five sons and five daughters. Their eldest son Cheng Dingguo lived in mainland China and was a associate professor at Southwest Agricultural University. His wife's name was Nie Xiulan. Their second son Cheng Dazun graduated from National Taiwan University with Bachlor of Science in Civil Engineering and obtained Doctorial degree in United States. He worked for Chevron in San Francisco and married Yang Shulan. Their third son Cheng Yinbong graduated from Chung Hsing University with degree in Agricultural Chemistry and had master's degree in United States. He opened an acupuncture clinic in Houston, Texas and married to Chen Ziwei. Their fourth son Cheng Taiyun graduated from the Army Officer School and worked in Texas after retiring from military service. His wife's was Zhou Zao. Their youngest Cheng Renpei graduated fromPingtung Agricultural College and had engineering degree in the United States. He married to Dong Liling.

Their eldest daughter Cheng Ruichong lived in mainland China and changed her name to Wu Bin taking mother’s surname. She married to Chen Enmin. Their second daughter Cheng Renjun died young. Their third daughter Cheng Zheming worked at Jingxing Junior High School and married Xiaoye Ru, a mechanical engineering professor at Tamkang University's. Their fourth daughter Cheng Jingyi lived in mainland China and married Gong Hansheng, a mechanical engineering professor at Chongqing University. Their youngest daughter Cheng Ruimo also died young.

References

• Cheng Gang," Short Biographies of People in the Republic of China by Yu Hsiang lin; Biographical Literature (Zhuanji Wenxue), Volume 63, Issue 3, published in September 1993

• General Chen Kiang's Biograpghy
• National Government Gazette
• Presidential Palace Gazette
• Huang Jie's "Diary of the Western Yunnan Campaign,"
• Huang Jie's "Overseas Imprisonment“, 中华书局，ISBN:9787101111750， First Edition, 2016

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