Tang Enbo

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Tan Enbo (汤恩伯, Pinyin: Tāng Énbó, Wade-Giles: Tang En-po, 1898-1954, born in Wuyi, Zhejiang‍[1]) was a nationalist general in Kuomintang-governed China. Along with others such as Hu Zongnan and Xue Yue, Tang was one of the Kuomintang generals feared and respected by his Japanese enemy. Tang Enbo was a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy, and was well aware his Japanese enemy's tactics during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Tang early resistance to the Japanese invasion was most ineffective, but this had nothing to do with his personal capabilities, but more to do with the political situation in China: Tang's boss Chiang Kai-shek was reluctant to devote his best troops to fight the Japanese invaders, but instead, would rather keep them to exterminate the communists. With the limited troops of both numerical and technical inferiorities, any commanders would have great difficulties to fight the superior enemy on the equal term, and Tang Enbo was no exception. Furthermore, the perfect Chinese battle plans on paper rarely materialized on the battlefield during this stage because local Chinese warlords only interest in keeping their own powers and ignored Chiang Kai-shek's orders. Although Tang did contribute to the victory at Battle of Taierzhuang, he was unable to stop the Japanese assults during the Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi, loosing 37 cities and towns within 36 days, and his 390,000 strong force was smashed by the numerically inferior Japanese enemy.

After World War II, Tang Enbo participated in the struggle against the communists, who attempted to win Tang Enbo. Tang was hesitant at the first due to his military failure in the Chinese Civil War, but soon his fourth concubine convinced him to firmly follow Chiang Kai-shek and stay with Kuomintang. As a result, Tang Enbo informed Chiang Kai-shek that his teacher and superior Chen Yi (Kuomintang) had asked him to turn to the communists and Chen Yi (Kuomintang) was then arrested and later executed. After fleeing to Taiwan with the retreating Republic of China government, Tang Enbo became ill and was sent to Japan for treatments. However, Tang died as a result of surgery in Tokyo. It was reported that during the surgery, Tang suffered extreme pain and screamed despite being given anesthetic, and both the Kuomintang and the Chinese communists claimed that Tang was killed by the Japanese doctors performing the surgery because their relatives were killed in China by the troops commanded by Tang.