Wan Fulin (1880–1951) was the military governor of Heilongjian province from 1928, and part of the Fengtian clique

Fengtian clique

The Fengtian Clique was one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang Clique in the Republic of China's warlord era. It was named for Fengtian Province and led by Zhang Zuolin...

. On Dec 29th 1928, Wan Fulin along with Zhang Xueliang

Zhang Xueliang

Zhang Xueliang or Chang Hsüeh-liang , occasionally called Peter Hsueh Liang Chang in English, nicknamed the Young Marshal , was the effective ruler of Manchuria and much of North China after the assassination of his father, Zhang Zuolin, by the Japanese on 4 June 1928...

, son of late Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin

Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 . He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926...

, together with Zhang Zuoxiang

Zhang Zuoxiang

Zhang Zuoxiang, was an important member of the Fengtien warlord clique.Zhang Zuoxiang was born in 1881, in Jinzhou, western Fengtian , China. A loyal follower of Zhang Zuolin he was the commander of the 27th Regiment, 27th Division, of the Fengtian Defence Force from 1911 to 1916 as Zhang Zuolin...

, against Japanese threats and coercion, declared in a public wire that the four provinces of Feng [Liaoning], Ji [Jilin], Hei [Heilongjiang], & Ri [Rehe] would change the flag to that of the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

, and obey the National Government.

During the Mukden Incident

Mukden Incident

The Mukden Incident, also known as the Manchurian Incident, was a staged event that was engineered by Japanese military personnel as a pretext for invading the northern part of China known as Manchuria in 1931....

 he was in Peiking, cut off from his province of Heilongjiang

Heilongjiang

For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...

, by the Japanese invasion of Liaoning and Jilin provinces. Zhang Xueliang promoted Ma Zhanshan

Ma Zhanshan

Ma Zhanshan or Ma Chan-san , was a Chinese Muslim general who initially opposed the Imperial Japanese Army in the invasion of Manchuria, briefly defected to Manchukuo, and then rebelled, and fought against the Japanese in Manchuria and in other parts of China.-Early life:Ma was born...

 Governor of Heilongjiang Province in his place.
After the Northeastern Army retreated from Manchuria he commanded its 32nd Corps including the 139th Division at Lengkou Pass during the Defense of the Great Wall

Defense of the Great Wall

The Defense of the Great Wall was a campaign between the armies of Republic of China and Empire of Japan, which took place before the Second Sino-Japanese War officially commenced in 1937...

 in 1933. Afterward Wan Fulin commanded 53rd Corps retained in Northern China while most of the Northeastern Army was sent to Northwestern China to fight the Communists.

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

The Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a battle between the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army and the Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War .The eleven-arch granite bridge, Lugouqiao, is an architecturally significant structure,...

 he sent a brigade to reinforce 29th Corps during the Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

Battle of Beiping-Tianjin

The Battle of Beiping-Tianjin , also known as the “Peiking-Tientsin Operation” or by the Japanese as the was a series of battles of the Second Sino-Japanese War fought in the proximity of Beiping and Tianjin...

. His 53rd Corps also fought in the following Peiking – Hankow Railway Operation and Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation

Tianjin–Pukou Railway Operation

The Japanese 津浦線作戦 or Tientsin–Pukow Railway Operation was a follow up operation to the Peiking Tientsin Operation of the Japanese army in North China at the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Japanese advanced following the line of the Tianjin-Pukou Railway to the Yellow River....

. He commanded the 26th Army in the Battle of Wuhan

Battle of Wuhan

The Battle of Wuhan, popularly known to the Chinese as the Defence of Wuhan, and to the Japanese as the Capture of Wuhan, was a large-scale battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War...

. During the war he was the chairman of the Liaoning province government in exile and from 1942 to 1945 he was a Member of the National Military Council

National Military Council

The command of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army was directed by the National Military Council , chaired by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II...

. He died in 1951.

Career

• Jun 1928 - Aug 1928 Military governor Heilongjian province
• Jan 1929 - Oct 1931 Chairmen of the Heilongjian province government
• Nov 1931 - 1933 Commanded 32nd Corps of Northeastern Army
• 1935 - 1938 General Officer Commanding 53rd Corps
• Jul 1937 - Aug 1945 Chairmen of the Liaoning (Fengtian) province government
• 1937 Deputy Commander in Chief 20th Army Group
• 1937 Deputy Commander in Chief 1st Army Group
• 1938 General Officer Commanding 26th Army
• 1942 - 1945 Member of the National Military Council

Sources

• Hsu Long-hsuen and Chang Ming-kai, History of The Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) 2nd Ed. ,1971. Translated by Wen Ha-hsiung , Chung Wu Publishing; 33, 140th Lane, Tung-hwa Street, Taipei, Taiwan Republic of China.
• The Generals of WWII: Generals of China; Wan Fulin