World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSun Du was born in a small village in Yunnan Province, China in 1898. He graduated from a military school in 1915 and the Yunnan Province military academy in Kunming (a branch campus of the Whampoa Military Academy) in 1917. Upon graduation, he served as a platoon leader in the police force of the local warlord. In Mar 1922, he was promoted to command an independent regiment. In 1923, he saw action in Sichuan Province, China against another warlord. Later in 1923, he was promoted to lead at the brigade level with concurrent duties as the head of the police forces in Guizhou Province, China. In 1924, he was named the head of the Yunnan Province tobacco bureau and the chief of the Yunnan Province military police. In 1927, his warlord, Tang Jiyao, was removed from power, and he switched allegiance to Long Yun as his chief of staff; Long would soon gain control of Yunnan Province over political rivals and would name Sun the chairman of the province on 21 Nov 1929. In 1930, he was given command of the 3rd Brigade of the 98th Division; in this role, he saw combat in Guangxi Province against a rival warlord until Feb 1931. In Mar 1931, he was named the chief of staff of the 10th Route Army. In Sep 1931, he was assigned to the military staff of Yunnan. Between 1935 and 1936, he led troops in the campaign against communist forces and saw great success, which led to his promotion to the rank of lieutenant general in Apr 1936. After the Second Sino-Japanese War began, he was named by Long as the commanding officer of the 58th Corps, in which role he saw action against the Japanese at Wuhan, Nanchang, Gao'an, and Changsha in the late 1930s. In 1939, he was named the temporary deputy commanding officer of the 1st Army. In 1941 and 1942, he participated in the Second and Third Battle of Changsha and fought against the Japanese punitive campaign along the coastal regions. In Oct 1942, he became the deputy commanding officer of the 1st Army. In 1944, he returned to Changsha and led troops in the failed defense of the city during the Japanese Operation Ichigo offensive. In early 1945, he was named the commanding officer of the 1st Army with headquarters in Anqing, Anhui Province, China. In Feb 1946, he accepted surrender from Japanese officers in northeastern China, but this was in actuality a secret movement which prepared him to fight communist forces in northeastern China when the Chinese Civil War would resume. In Sep 1947, he was named the commanding officer of the Northeastern 1st Army. In Jan 1948, he was named the commanding officer of the 6th Army. In Feb 1948, Chiang Kaishek transferred him Rehe Province as the provincial chairman, officially assuming that title on 22 Jun. In early Dec 1949, he was transferred back to his home province of Yunnan, but shortly after, on 9 Dec, Yunnan was taken by communist forces, marking the end of Sun's career. In 1952, he was arrested by the communist government for political subversion, and he was imprisoned until pardoned in 1963. He briefly served as a local politician before his death in Apr 1967.

Photographs

Sun Du Timeline