In March 1942, the first units of the Chinese Expeditionary Force entered Burma, including the 5th Army, the 6th Army, and the 66th Army, totaling more than 100,000 people.
The commanders of these three armies were Du Yuming, Gan Lichu, and Zhang Yi, and the most unfortunate of them was Gan Lichu.
Gan Lichu was born in 1901 in Rong County, Guangxi Province, and was later admitted to the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, where he became a classmate of Du Yuming, Hu Zongnan and others.
During the Northern Expedition, Gan Lichu was promoted to the commander of the Third Regiment of the First Division of the First Army because of his bravery in battle, and the following year, he emerged in the Battle of Bengbu and became the deputy division commander, and soon won the appreciation of Chiang Kai-shek and became a close general under the old Chiang Kai-shek.
From the Battle of Jiang Gui and the Battle of Feng Jiang to the later Battle of the Central Plains, Gan Lichu almost did not fall once, with these achievements, Gan Lichu's career path was also smooth, in January 1936 was awarded the rank of major general, and half a year later he was promoted to lieutenant general. Looking at the entire Camp of the Kuomintang Army, there are probably few people who can match this speed of promotion.
It was precisely because of this loyalty and bravery that chiang kai-shek's first thoughts when preparing for the Chinese Expeditionary Force to enter Burma were Gan Lichu and Du Yuming.
Du Yuming needless to say, the Fifth Army is the first mechanized unit of the Nationalist Army, the trump card in the trump card, Du Yuming is also an internationally renowned anti-war general, and being able to join forces with such a person to attack is enough to show Gan Lichu's ability and his position in the heart of old Jiang.
However, during his time in Burma, Gan Lichu and Stilwell, the commander-in-chief of the US military in the Sino-Indian-Burmese theater, were so contradictory that Stilwell actually claimed in a letter to the US secretary of state that Gan Lichu should be shot! What is the reason for this?
On the one hand, it was because of the problems in the communication between China and the United States that the US military suffered unnecessary casualties, which angered Stilwell; on the other hand, Gan Lichu, who was deeply trusted by old Chiang Kai-shek, had always been arrogant and accustomed, where could he stand the Americans pointing fingers and feet in front of him? Inevitably, there was resentment in his heart, so that the order was not carried out in place, which made the hot-tempered Stilwell even more angry.
But in any case, Gan Lichu's exploits on the burmese battlefield are indelible. After returning to China, Gan Lichu served as the chief of the general staff of the Second Front until the end of the victory of the War of Resistance.
Up to this point, Gan Lichu's military career is still brilliant, born in an ordinary peasant family, with his own efforts, he became a lieutenant general in the army, which can be said to be an inspirational model. However, as the old saying goes, "Success is also Xiao He, defeat is also Xiao He", Chiang Kai-shek's trust gave Gan Lichu the "ladder of heaven" to be promoted, but it also blinded his mind, and eventually let him kill himself.
In 1949, the general trend of the Kuomintang had gone, and the generals of various armies had gone and descended, but in order to repay Chiang Kai-shek's kindness, Gan Lichu took the initiative to serve as the head of the Guangxi Military and Political Supervision Regiment, pulled up a "national salvation army", appointed himself as the commander of the army, and actively fought guerrillas in the Guangxi area, even after the founding of New China, he still attacked everywhere.
In order to completely eliminate this force, the People's Liberation Army marched into the Dayao Mountains in the winter of 1950 and annihilated it, and Gan Lichu was also killed at the age of 49.
In 1959, Chiang Kai-shek remembered this "loyal" subordinate and specially posthumously promoted Gan Lichu to the rank of general of the army.
Zhang Yi, the three military commanders who originally went out to Burma together, had the best ending, leading an uprising in 1949 and becoming the commander of the 51st Army of the People's Liberation Army, and later served as the deputy commander of the Hubei Military Region and the vice governor of Henan Province.
Although Du Yuming became a prisoner and was imprisoned for 10 years, his life after his release from prison was not bad, especially the relationship between his son-in-law Yang Zhenning, which made Du Yuming receive extraordinary special preferential treatment.
Only Gan Lichu, because of his stubbornness, did not surrender, and was finally annihilated by our army, which is sad and lamentable!