Bai Chongxi - Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War

Following the Surrender of Japan in 1945, the Chinese Civil War resumed in full-fledged fighting. In the Spring of 1946, the Chinese Communists were active in Manchuria. A crack People's Liberation Army unit of 100,000 strong under the Communist general Lin Biao occupied a key railroad junction at Siping. Kuomintang forces could not dislodge Lin after several attempts, Chiang Kai-shek then sent Bai to oversee the operation. After some redeployment, the Nationalist forces were able to thoroughly defeat Lin's forces after a two day pitched battle. This was to be the first major victory for the Kuomintang in the 1946-1949 stage of the civil war before the fall of mainland China to the Chinese Communists.

In June 1946, Bai was appointed Minister of National Defense. It turned to be a post without power as Chiang began to bypass Bai on major decisions regarding the Chinese Civil War. Chiang would hold daily briefings in his residence without inviting him and began to direct frontline troops personally down to the division level, bypassing the chain of command. The Civil War went poorly for the Kuomintang as Chiang's strategy of holding onto provincial capitals and leaving the countryside to the Communists very quickly caused the downfall of his forces which had a 4:1 numerical superiority at the beginning of the conflict.

During the Ili Rebellion, Bai was considered by the government for the post of Governor of Xinjiang. The position later was given to Masud Sabri, a pro-Kuomintang Uyghur leader.

In April 1948 the first National Assembly in China convened in Nanjing, with thousands of delegates from all over China representing different provinces and ethnic groups. Bai Chongxi, acting as Minister of National Defense, debriefed the Assembly on the military situation, completely ignoring Northern China and Manchuria in his report. Delegates from Manchuria in the assembly responded by yelling out and calling for the death of those responsible for the loss of Manchuria.

In November 1948, Bai, in command of forces in Hankow, met with other Generals, Fu Zuoyi, Chang Chih-chung and Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing on defending Suzhou, the gateway to the Yangzi river calley.

Bai told the Central Political Council of the Kuomintang Central Political Council of the Kuomintang that negotiating with the Communists would only make them more powerful. Governor of Hunan Cheng Qian, and Bai reached a consensus that they should impede the advance of the Communists by negotiating with them.

In January 1949, with the Communists bordering on victory, almost everyone in the Nationalist media, political, and military command began to demand peace as a slogan and turn against Chiang. Bai Chongxi decided to follow suit with the mainstream current, and defied Chiang Kai-shek's orders, refusing to battle Communists near the Huai River and demanding that his soldiers which were "lent" be sent back to him, so he could secure his hold province of Guangxi and ignore the central government in Nanjing. Bai was the Commander of 4 armies in Central China in the Hankow region. He demanded that the government negotiate with the Communists like the others. Bai was in charge of the defense of the capital, Nanjing. He sent a telegram requesting that Chiang Kai-shek step down as President, amid a storm of requests by other Kuomintang military and political figures for Chiang to step down and allow a peace deal with the Communists.

When the Communist General Lin Biao mounted an attack on Bai Chongxi's forces in Hankow, they retreated quickly, leaving the "rice bowl" of China open for the Communists. Bai retreated to Headquarters at Hengyang via a railroad from Hankow to Canton. The railroad then provided access to Guilin where his home was. In August at Hengyang, Bai Chongxi reorganized his troops. In October, as the Canton fell to the Communists, who were almost in complete control of China, Bai Chongxi still commanded 200,000 of his elite troops, making a return to Guangxi for a final stand after covering for Canton.