Li Mi (Republic of China general) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Li Mi
李彌 |
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Lieutenant General Li Mi in 1948
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| Born | 4 November 1902 Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, China |
| Died | 10 March 1973 (aged 70) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Allegiance |  Republic of China |
| Years of service | 1927–1954 |
| Rank | .jpg){kind=icon} Lieutenant General |
| Unit |  National Revolutionary Army |
| Commands held | 8th Corps, 13th Army |
| Battles/wars |
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| Awards | Order of Blue Sky and White Sun, Order of the Cloud and Banner |
| Other work | Politician |
Li Mi (born November 4, 1902 – died March 10, 1973) was an important general for the Nationalist army in China. He fought in major wars like the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. He was one of the few commanders who won important battles against both the Japanese army and Chinese Communist forces.
After the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949, Li Mi moved his soldiers to Burma and Thailand. From there, they kept fighting with surprise attacks against the Communist areas.
Contents
Li Mi's Early Life and Military Career
Li Mi was born in Tengchong County, which is in Yunnan Province, China. He had a tough childhood, but his family made sure he got a good education. In 1924, he joined the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangdong Province. This was a famous military school.
He took part in the Northern Expedition, a military campaign to unite China. Later, during the "Encirclement Campaigns" against the Communists, someone thought he might be secretly helping the Communists. Li Mi quickly showed he was loyal to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Nationalists. He then became a local leader in an area the Nationalists had just taken from the Communists.
In the early 1930s, Li Mi joined General Xue Yue's team. He led a strong Nationalist army group that pushed Communist forces out of the Jiangxi Soviet area. Li Mi then chased the retreating Communist soldiers for over 1,000 miles during their famous Long March. After the Communists settled in northern China, Li Mi helped plan battles that defeated well-known Red Army commanders. By the time the Second Sino-Japanese War began, Li Mi had become a colonel.
Fighting in the Second Sino-Japanese War
When the war between China and Japan started, Li Mi was moved to the regular army. This happened after some rumors questioned his loyalty to the Nationalist government. His commander helped him avoid arrest by saying Li was loyal.
In 1940, Li Mi was promoted to lead the First Honor Division. He fought against the Imperial Japanese Army in Central China and managed to destroy a Japanese airfield. That same year, he fought in the Battle of Kunlun Pass and helped defeat a Japanese brigade. In 1944, he joined the "Y-Force" and fought in the Battle of Northern Burma and Western Yunnan. This battle destroyed two Japanese divisions. By 1945, Li Mi was a lieutenant general and commanded the 8th Corps.
The Chinese Civil War and Beyond
After World War II, the Chinese Civil War began. In June 1945, President Chiang Kai-shek ordered Li Mi and other generals to remove a local leader in Yunnan Province. American troops gave many supplies to Li Mi's 8th Corps, which were very helpful in the fight against the Communists. Li Mi won several important battles against the Communists in Eastern China before the big Huaihai Campaign in 1948–1949.
In November 1948, Li Mi and other generals were sent to help another army, but they were stopped by enemy forces. While trying to attack enemy positions, Li Mi and his fellow generals became surrounded by the People's Liberation Army (PLA). After this, one general was captured, another died, and only Li Mi managed to escape back to Nanjing.
President Chiang Kai-shek told Li Mi to rebuild his 13th army and defend his home province, Yunnan. By 1949, when Communist forces took control of mainland China, Li Mi had already moved his armies south and west into Thailand and the Shan states of Northern Burma.
When Burma became independent in 1948, Li Mi set up his own "Anti-Communist National Salvation Army" there. From these bases, Li Mi's soldiers continued to launch surprise attacks against the Communist government in Yunnan. Other Nationalist troops tried to enter French Indo-China but were quickly stopped. Li Mi reorganized all the Nationalist forces in the region under his command. These forces became known as the "93rd Division."
Life After the Civil War
Li Mi's Nationalist fighters in Burma secretly received weapons and supplies from the United States, with help from CIA military advisors. At first, American planners thought Li's "irregular" troops were useful in stopping communism in the region. But after a few years, the U.S. began to see them as a problem. They put pressure on Chiang Kai-shek to bring them back.
In 1953, about 7,000 troops, including Li Mi, were flown to Taiwan. However, many more soldiers chose to stay behind in Burma and Thailand. By 1961, when a second withdrawal was announced, the situation was very complicated for the U.S.
After Burma became independent, its prime minister, U Nu, tried to stop Li Mi's activities and told his forces to surrender. Li Mi refused. When the Burmese army attacked Li, he moved his troops to Mong Hsat. At that time, Burma was fighting other rebellions and was not strong enough to fully defeat Li's forces.
The CIA's program to help Li's troops was called "Operation Paper." It involved using Thailand to move weapons and supplies between Taiwan and Burma. These supplies were flown by a CIA-owned airline. The Thai prime minister agreed to help because of poor relations with Burma and the promise of American aid.
Between 1949 and 1953, Li Mi's men recruited thousands of local tribesmen. They also got hundreds of former army officers and trainers from Taiwan. Refugees from Communist-held Yunnan also joined his army. Many soldiers married local women. Li's army tried to take control of Yunnan several times but did not succeed for long. At one point, 20,000 pro-Nationalist soldiers tried to take back Yunnan. They freed four counties, but their supply lines broke down, and they couldn't reach their main goal.
The U.S. decided to pressure Chiang Kai-shek to remove Nationalist troops from Burma for several reasons. An American report found that Li's troops were "less useful" than the regular Burmese Army for defending the region. Also, Communist rebels in Burma used the presence of Li's troops as an excuse for their own actions. If Burma focused on fighting Li's troops, it would weaken their ability to fight the Communist rebels. The American Secretary of State was worried that the Burmese government might team up with Communist groups to remove Li's troops. There were also concerns that China might invade Burma to stop them.
After returning to Taiwan in 1953, Li Mi retired from active military service. He became a member of the Nationalist legislature and the party's central committee. He passed away in Taipei on March 10, 1973.
Li Mi's Legacy
After some troops were moved to Taiwan, the Burmese Army continued to try and remove the remaining Nationalist forces in 1960. By 1961, most of the remaining Nationalist soldiers had moved their bases into Laos and Thailand, with permission from those countries' governments. Many of them were then used by the governments of Thailand and Laos to fight Communist rebels in their own countries.
In 1961, Li Mi's former troops who had moved into northwestern Thailand agreed to fight local Communist rebels. In return, they were given official residence, as they had no legal status before. This unit was renamed the "Chinese Irregular Forces" (CIF) and was under the command of the Thai army. By the late 1980s, the Thai government decided that the CIF's anti-Communist efforts had been successful. The soldiers and their families were then granted Thai resident status. Their descendants mostly settled around the village of Santikhiri.
Images for kids
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Lieutenant General Li Mi in 1948
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Rank insignia for a Lieutenant General in the Nationalist Revolutionary Army
