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Tang Enbo 湯恩伯 | |
|---|---|
 General Tang Enbo | |
| Nickname(s) | The Iron Man |
| Born | (1899-09-20)September 20, 1899 Wuyi,Zhejiang,Qing Dynasty |
| Died | June 29, 1954(1954-06-29) (aged 54) Tokyo,Japan |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance |  Republic of China |
| Service |  Republic of China Army |
| Years of service | 1926–1954 |
| Rank |  General |
| Unit | 89th division |
| Commands | 13th corps, 20th Army, 3rd war zone |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of Blue Sky and White Sun |
| Other work | Politician |
Tang Enbo[a](1899–1954) was aNationalistgeneral in theRepublic of China.
Born in 1899 inWuyi,Zhejiang, Tang Enbo was a graduate of theImperial Japanese Army Academy, and therefore was familiar with the tactics of his Japanese enemy during theSecond Sino-Japanese War. Tang's early resistance to the Japanese invasion was most ineffective, due to the political situation inChina— Tang's superiorChiang Kai-shek was reluctant to devote his best troops to fight the Japanese invaders, wishing instead to use them to exterminate theCommunists. Limited in troops and material, any commander would have had great difficulties in fighting such a superior enemy, and Tang Enbo was no exception.
Furthermore, the battle plans though successful on paper rarely materialized on the battlefield during this stage because localChinese warlords were only interested in maintaining their forces and largely ignoredChiang Kai-shek's orders. Although Tang did contribute to the victory atBattle of Taierzhuang, he was unable to stop the Japanese assaults during the 1944Battle of Henan-Hunan-Guangxi, losing 37 cities and towns within 36 days.
AfterWorld War II, Tang Enbo participated in the struggle against thecommunists, who attempted to win Tang Enbo. Tang was hesitant at the first due to his military failure in theChinese Civil War, but soon his fourthconcubine convinced him to firmly followChiang Kai-shek and stay withKuomintang. As a result, Tang Enbo informedChiang Kai-shek that his teacher and superiorChen Yi had asked him to turn to thecommunists and Chen was then arrested. Chen Yi was later executed at Machangding,Taipei, on June 18, 1950, and was buried in Wugu, Taipei County.
The fallout of all this was that Tang Enbo had now lost the trust of Chiang Kai-shek. Tang's position was further weakened when other Nationalist cadres such asGu Zhenggang discovered and revealed to Chiang Kai-shek that during theShanghai Campaign Tang was preparing to flee to Japan by asking his close associates Wang Wencheng (王文成) and Long Zuoliang (龙佐良) to seek out a home in Japan.
On May 6, 1949, a close friend of Tang's wired half a million US dollars to an American friend's account, and subsequently, the money was sent via this account to Wang Wencheng and Long Zuoliang in Japan. In July, 1949, Wang Wencheng and Long Zuoliang purchased a mansion with 22 rooms in a Tokyo suburb. However, all of this was accidentally made public on February 2, 1950, when Reuters issued the news inTokyo claiming that Chiang Kai-shek had purchased a mansion in a Tokyo suburb via a top ranking Chinese official. It was rumored that Tang's political enemies within the Kuomintang had long been tracking Tang's every move and waited for the right opportunity to bring him down, but such a claim has yet to be confirmed. The result was Tang's complete falling out of favor with Chiang, who reportedly angrily shouted: "No wonder our defeat was so rapid in Shanghai and the southeastern coast— he (Tang Enbo) was already prepared to flee!"
After fleeing toTaiwan with the retreatingRepublic of China government, Tang Enbo became ill and was sent toJapan for treatment. However, Tang died after surgery inTokyo in 1954.
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