World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseLi Jue was born in Yunnan Province, Qing Dynasty China in 1900. In 1924, he graduated from the Baoding Military Academy in Baoding, Hebei Province, China. He saw action during the Northern Expedition of 1926 to 1928. In 1930, he was made the commanding officer of Nationalist 19th Division. In Feb 1931, he scored a victory against communist troops near Lechang, Guangdong Province, China. In Nov 1934, during an anti-communist campaign, he caused serious casualties against his communist adversaries, nearly capturing communist officer Lin Biao during the process. At the start of WW2, he was made the commanding officer of 70th Corps, in which role he performed well in the Second Battle of Shanghai of 1937, Battle of Wuhan in 1938, and the Battle of Changsha of 1939. In Jul 1942, Chiang Kaishek assigned 128th Division under him for him to reorganize the new 25th Group Army; he would remain in this position until the end of the war, seeing action against both the Japanese and the Chinese communists. At the end of WW2, he held the rank of lieutenant general. After the war, he was assigned to a training role based in Chongqing, China and then was attached to Chiang Kaishek's personal command. During the resumed Chinese Civil War, in Mar 1948, he was made the commanding officer of the 14th Pacification District with headquarters in Anhui Province, China; later that month, he successfully defended against a communist attack against his district, but casualties suffered during that campaign ultimately led to 14th Pacification District being disbanded in Aug 1948. In Aug 1949, as the communists were on the verge of winning the Chinese Civil War, he defected to the communists. Li was made the deputy commanding officer of communist Chinese 21st Army, high level adviser of a military region, and a member of the Communist Party Central Committee. He passed away in 1987.