In the management of the army, the rank is a symbol of a person's identity and an important embodiment of a person's ability. Usually, ranks and abilities are the same, but the Kuomintang general Du Yuming once commanded thousands of troops and horses, but the rank was only lieutenant general, so what is the reason for this contrast?
Du Yuming was a student of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and as soon as he graduated, he participated in the Northern Expedition and played an important role in the war against Chen Jiongming. As the principal of the Whampoa Military Academy, Chiang Kai-shek saw Du Yuming's diligence and super military talent, so he let him follow him.
In 1939, the Japanese invading forces had come to Nanning, Guangxi, in order to defend the important town of Guangxi, Du Yuming and the Japanese army fought in Kunlun Pass for 18 days, defeated the Japanese Fifth Division, captured more than 4,000 people, and Du Yuming became a famous anti-Japanese general. Chiang Kai-shek also attached more and more importance to his own student.
During the Liberation War, Du Yuming completely became Chiang Kai-shek's confidant, leading the Most Elite Central Army of the Kuomintang to conquer the North in the South. In 1948, Du Yuming led an army of 500,000 to defend the northeast region, but due to the disparity in power between the Kuomintang and the Communists, no victory was achieved.
In the Battle of Huaihai, Du Yuming led 700,000 troops to guard the Xu Beng Battlefield, which was also the time when he led the most troops at one time. Within the Kuomintang, Du Yuming received the title of Han Xin, that is, he commanded the army, and the more the merrier. All this objectively shows that Du Yuming's military ability is very high, and it also shows that his position in the army is very high. But why is his rank relatively low?
First, although Du Yuming commanded an army of one million, he was the first person to command the front, not the one who actually held power. In many cases, he appeared in the army as a deputy, for example, in the Liaoshen Campaign, he was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Suppression Campaign, and in the Huaihai Campaign, he was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Xuzhou Suppression Campaign. Traditionally, deputy commander-in-chief is the rank of lieutenant general.
Second, it is because Du Yuming is relatively young and has relatively shallow seniority. Du Yuming was the first student of the Whampoa Military Academy, and although his career was very smooth, he became a confidant of Chiang Kai-shek. However, he actually controlled relatively few troops, that is to say, his power came from Chiang Kai-shek's trust, and if Chiang Kai-shek no longer trusted him, then there would be no soldiers around him.
The third reason is that there is a limit to the rank of general in the Kuomintang, not that you can become a general if your merit reaches a certain level. At that time, the qualifications of generals were mainly occupied by warlords from all over the world, such as the Shanxi warlord Yan Xishan, the northwestern warlord Feng Yuxiang, the Gui warlord Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi.
If you want to get the rank of general, you must wait for the person who received the rank of general to retire or resign before you are eligible to fight. In the later period of the Kuomintang rule, there were more than 1,000 people with the rank of lieutenant general, many of whom were eligible for generals, but there was no quota of generals.
After the Liberation War, Du Yuming was arrested and became a political prisoner, but it was precisely because he was a lieutenant general and did not have to bear too much military responsibility, coupled with his outstanding performance during the reform period, in 1959, he became one of the first amnesty personnel.
References: Military History of the Republic of China, War of Resistance Against Burma