Wei Hai November 5, 1944

[Jerry Asher]

Am working my way through two Chinese sources and don't have it yet.

At least two ships of one of the puppet navies, the Tong Chun and Dong Hai, and several of the 10 ton Jiang patrol or police craft are at Wei Hai. On Liu Kung (Wade-Giles spelling) Island (the naval base) some kind of fighting breaks out. Am uncertain if puppet navy personnel fight the Japanese or other Chinese. I think 500 Japanese troops are involved, but am uncertain what puppet navy ships do. Do not know ID of Japanese forces, naval, air, army or ships involved.
Later--after the war Communist troops hold island until Jiang's forces attack; can anyone clarify events of November 5, 1944.

Many thanks in advance--Jerry Asher

[Windward]

there's a "Weihaiwei Naval Academy" on Liu Kung Tao (Wade Giles) or Liu Gong Dao (Pinyin) Island. and the puppet government's "Headquarters of Northern China Naval Bases" was also on that island.

the cadets of that academy were not satisfied about the treatment there. On Nov 5 (Sunday, planned uprising day), a lot of Japanese and officers went to mainland. On the morning, some cadets went to the pier to count how much Japanese left the island. On 13:30, the rebellion began. Its leader, ensign officer Zheng Daoji chose some strong cadets and gave them 6 pistols, then he organized these men into three groups, to kill the rest of Japanese and naval officers on the island. They met no resistance. Zheng also left some cadets on the pier, equiped with a light machine gun, they killed those Japanese who return to the island on the evening and seized their craft (the 10 ton boat you mentioned), "Ri Sheng Li". More than 600 risers left Liu Gong Dao island on that night, by gunboat Dong Hai, Tong Chun (according to an article on PLA Daily May 13 2004, it's a 260 ton oiler, converted into troop transport ship, but some resources say it's a sister ship of gunboat Dong Hai), and Ri Shengli. They landed on communist controled coast and abandoned their ships, joined communist army. During the Chinese Civil War, some of these people fought in Manchuria against local bandit arms.

17 Japanese military personnel were killed during the uprising, and some puppet navy officers were killed also, include 1 captain, 2 cmdr, 2 lieut. cmdrs, and around a dozen of lieutenants.


Zheng Daoji, leader of the uprising


uprising cadets, wearing communist uniforms (in fact Nationalist Army unifirm)

regards

[mars]

This particular uprising was planning for at least several months, the immediately trigger was a rumor that a unit of Chinese army made a raid in the mainland just across the strait, so that the help is near. After the uprising those navy cadets landed in the mainland but failed to located the Chinese army, it was one of the Chinese communist army force found them, at first they thought those cadets were sent by Japanese to raid the communist control area, but soon things were sorted out, and those Cadets agreed to join the Communists, many of them participated the civil war between 1946 and 1949, and later joined the new created Chinese Navy after 1949

[Jerry Asher]

Many thanks for your responses gentlemen.