World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSun Chu was born in Shanxi Province China in 1890. His father passed away while he was young. He was married in 1906, and his father-in-law paid for his tuition at a local military academy. In 1911, he participated in the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty monarchy. He enrolled in the Baoding Military Academy in 1912, graduating in 1914. He returned to Shanxi Province and joined the local warlord Yan Xishan's forces and was assigned a platoon leader. In 1928, he became the commanding officer of the 33rd Division, gaining experience through engagements between warlord forces in the late 1920s and the Central Plains War of 1930. He was approached by Chiang Kaishek several times to join Chiang's faction, but Sun repeatedly refused, citing his loyalty to Yan. In 1936, after a campaign against communist forces, he was named Yan's chief of staff. When the Second Sino-Japanese War officially began in Jul 1937, Yan's forces were integrated into the Nationalist military as the 6th and 7th Armies, and Sun was named the commanding officer of the former with personal command of the 33rd Corps. He was engaged in combat in Hebei and Shaanxi Provinces, experiencing the engagement at Pingxingguan; this series of actions were to be his last as a front line commander. In Mar 1939, he was named the commanding officer of the 8th Army; in this role, he engaged in actions against both Japanese and Chinese communist forces. In Feb 1941, due to personal conflicts with the commander-in-chief of the 1st War Area, General Wei Lihuang, he was transferred to the 2nd War Area, followed by transfers to high level staff positions. After the end the war, he remained a high ranking officer in the Chinese Army. During the civil war against the communists, he was captured in Taiyuan, Shanxi in Apr 1949. He remained in captivity until 1961 and passed away in the following year in Taiyuan.

Sun Chu Timeline

Photographs