World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseFu Zuoyi began his military career with Warlord Yen Xishan's Shanxi Army in about 1920. After swearing loyalty to the Nationalist Party, he participated in the Northern Expedition against warlords in northern China between 1926 and 1927, and between 1928 and 1929 acted as the commander of the Tientsin Garrison. In 1929, he was involved in a plot to assassinate Chiang Kaishek, but he seemed to have successfully escaped the burden as the plot failed. In 1930, he became the governor of Suiyuan Province in the Inner Mongolia region while holding command of the Chinese Nationalist 35th Army; in this role he participated in the Battle of Suiyuan in 1936. After China and Japan officially engulfed in war in Jul 1937, as the commander of the 35th Corps he fought at Battle of Chahar in Aug 1937, Battle of Shanxi in Sep-Nov 1937, and Battle of Wuyuan in Jan-Apr 1938. In 1938, he was named the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Route Force of the 2nd War Area, then in 1939 the Deputy Commander of the 8th War Area. Near the end of the war, he also took on a concurrent role as the Commander-in-Chief of the 12th War Area. During the Chinese Civil War that followed WW2, still the governor of Suiyuan Province, Fu found himself in command of 520,000 men over the strategic Suiyuan-Beijing Corridor; between 1946 and 1947, he was the governor of the Chahar Province as well. Although he was named by the Nationalist leadership as the commander of the General Headquarters for Bandit Suppression in Northern China, a post intended at fighting the Chinese Communists, he secretly conducted negotiations with the enemy. On 31 Jan 1949, he defected to the Communists with his troops. After the Communist victory in the Civil War, he was rewarded with high posts including Minister of Hydraulics and the Vice-Chairman of the 4th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee.

Photographs

Fu Zuoyi Timeline