Guo Songling
This article includes a improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (March 2019) ) |
Guo Songling 郭松龄 | |
---|---|
Fengtian Clique | |
Years of service | 1905–1925 |
Battles/wars | First Zhili–Fengtian War Second Zhili–Fengtian War |
Guo Songling (
Youth and formative years
Guo Songling was born in 1883 in a village on the outskirts of
In 1905, the
In 1909, general
Military career
In 1911, during the Railway Protection Movement, the Sichuan Tongmenghui erupted in protest against the Qing government, encircling Chengdu. Guo Songling however did not participate in this uprising and, now the battalion commander for Northern Chengdu, was able to diplomatically put it down without bloodshed. Suspected of republican sympathies, Guo Songling was relieved of his command by Sichuan Governor-General
Constitution Protection Movement
In July 1917,
Fengtian Clique General
In 1919, Zhang Zuolin formed the Manchurian Army Military Academy 东三省陆军讲武堂, and Guo Songling was appointed as instructor in military tactics. One of his students was Zhang Zuolin's son
As chief of staff, Guo trained the younger Zhang's brigade into one of the best brigades in the Fengtian army. In July of that year, the Zhili–Anhui War erupted, and Guo was appointed by Zhang Zuolin as commander of an allied force with the Zhili clique against the Anhui clique. Guo's forces decisively beat the Anhui forces in Tianjin, and he grew more and more in Zhang Zuolin's confidence.
In 1921, Zhang Zuolin expanded the Fengtian army into ten mixed brigades, with the third directed by Zhang Xueliang and the eighth directed by Guo Songling. The third and eighth brigades formed a united command, and Guo Songling took charge of operations and training for both divisions. In May 1922, the First Zhili–Fengtian War broke out, and the Fengtian clique suffered heavy losses, but the elite third and eighth brigades were able to retreat without much casualties. Afterwards Zhang Zuolin established the Army Organizational Department 陆军整理处, with Zhang Xueliang as Chief-of-Staff and Guo Songling as Acting Chief of staff, in charge of military organization, order and training.
Dissatisfaction with Zhang Zuolin and rebellion
During the Second Zhili–Fengtian War a personal grievance over a friend's removal from command caused him to retreat and nearly cost his army the war. A sense that he was being under-appreciated, along with gradual encouragement by Guominjun rival Feng Yuxiang to help put Zhang's more liberal son on the Manchurian throne, led to his mutiny in mid-1925.
Marching his division north towards Zhang's headquarters at Shenyang on 22 November, Guo met success in the early weeks of the offensive. However, when the city's Japanese garrison interfered in defence of Zhang and neither the expected popular support or assistance of the Guominjun appeared, his rebellion stalled. Within the month his forces were surrounded by the Fengtian Army and annihilated. Guo and his wife were captured on 24 December 1925 and executed the next day.
References
Sources
- Dupuy, Trevor N. Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography, New York, 1992.