Lin Biao
Chinese military commander and politician, never wounded in battle
Lin Biao (5 December 1907 – 13 September 1971) was a Chinese military leader and politician. Born Lin Yurong into a prosperous merchant family in Hubei, he entered primary school in 1917 and later moved to Shanghai for further education. More drawn to student activism than academics, he joined a Communist Youth League affiliate before graduating high school in 1925. That same year, he took part in the May Thirtieth Movement and enrolled at the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou. As a cadet, he admired academy principal Chiang Kai-shek and studied under Zhou Enlai, though the two would have little contact until meeting again in Yan'an in the late 1930s. After graduating in 1926, Lin served under Ye Ting, rose quickly from deputy platoon leader to battalion commander during the Northern Expedition, and joined the Communist Party. By 1927 he was a colonel. His parents arranged a marriage to a woman named Ong, but the couple never grew close, and the union effectively ended when Lin left the Kuomintang for the communist cause.
Following the Kuomintang-Communist split, Lin fought as a company commander under Chen Yi in the failed Nanchang Uprising of August 1927. He then escaped to the remote Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet, joining Mao Zedong and Zhu De in 1928 and becoming one of Mao’s staunchest allies. Within the Soviet, Lin commanded the First Army Group, achieving influence comparable to Peng Dehuai’s. The First Army was the Red Army’s best-equipped and most mobile force, known for successful flanking maneuvers. Between 1930 and 1933, Lin’s troops captured twice as many prisoners and weapons as the Third and Fifth Army Groups combined, partly because his forces were more offensive and unorthodox. During Chiang’s 1933–34 Fifth Encirclement Campaign, Lin advocated protracted guerrilla warfare over the positional tactics favored by Comintern adviser Otto Braun, aligning with Mao’s views. In 1934, after Chiang’s forces seized key positions, Lin was among the first commanders to openly call for abandoning the Jiangxi Soviet, though most others—especially Braun and Peng Dehuai—opposed him.
Lin played a pivotal role in the Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War. Commanding the Manchurian Field Army, he led the Liaoshen and Pingjin campaigns, marched the People’s Liberation Army into Beijing, and drove the Kuomintang from Southeast China’s coastal provinces. He was ranked third among the Ten Marshals of the People’s Republic, behind Zhu De and Peng Dehuai. After 1949, Lin initially withdrew from active politics. He served as Vice Premier from 1954 and as a Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1958, then became Minister of National Defense in 1959. In the early 1960s, he helped cultivate Mao’s cult of personality and was rewarded during the Cultural Revolution by being named Mao’s sole successor as the Party’s only Vice Chairman, a role he held from 1966 until his death.
Lin died on 13 September 1971 when a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashed near Öndörkhaan, Mongolia, under disputed circumstances. The official Chinese account claims Lin and his family were fleeing after a failed coup attempt against Mao; others suggest they fled fearing an imminent purge. He was posthumously condemned as a traitor and, since the late 1970s, has been officially grouped with Jiang Qing as one of the two principal “counter-revolutionary” forces blamed for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution.
- born
- 5 December 1907
- died
- 13 September 1971
- field
- Military commander, politician
- nationality
- Chinese
- known_for
- Key role in Communist victory in Chinese Civil War; designated Mao's sole successor; died in disputed plane crash
Lore & Background
Lin Biao was the son of a prosperous merchant family in Huanggang, Hubei. His name at birth was 'Lin Yurong'. Lin's father opened a small handicrafts factory in the mid-late 1910s, but was forced to close the factory due to heavy taxes imposed by local militarists. After closing the factory, Lin's father worked as a purser aboard a river steamship. Lin entered primary school in 1917, and moved to Shanghai in 1919 to continue his education. As a child, Lin was much more interested in participating in student movements than in pursuing his formal education. Lin transferred to Wuchang Gongjin High School at 15. Lin joined a satellite organization of the Communist Youth League before he graduated high school in 1925. Later in 1925 he participated in the May Thirtieth Movement and enrolled in the newly established Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou. As a young cadet, Lin admired the personality of Chiang Kai-shek, who was then the principal of the academy. At Whampoa, Lin also studied under Zhou Enlai. Lin had no contact with Zhou after their time in Whampoa, until they met again in Yan'an in the late 1930s. Lin's relationship with Zhou was never especially close, but they rarely opposed each other directly. After graduating from Whampoa in 1926, Lin was assigned to a regiment commanded by Ye Ting. Less than a year after graduating, he was assigned to the Northern Expedition, where he rose from deputy platoon leader to battalion commander within a few months. During this time Lin joined the Communist Party. By 1927 Lin was a colonel. When he was twenty, Lin married a girl from the countryside with the family name 'Ong'. This marriage was arranged by Lin's parents, and the couple never became close. When Lin left the Kuomintang to become a communist revolutionary, Ong did not accompany Lin, and their marriage effectively ended. After the Kuomintang-Communist split, Lin's commander, Ye Ting, joined forces with He Long and participated in the Nanchang Uprising on 1 August 1927. During the campaign Lin worked as a company commander under a regiment led by Chen Yi. Following the failure of the revolt, Lin escaped to the remote Communist base areas, and joined Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the Jiangxi–Fujian Soviet in 1928. After joining forces with Mao, Lin became one of Mao's closest supporters. Lin became one of the most senior military field commanders within the Jia
Reader's Guide
Lin Biao was a pivotal military commander in the Chinese Civil War, commanding the Manchurian Field Army in the Liaoshen and Pingjin campaigns, leading the People's Liberation Army into Beijing, and driving the Kuomintang from Southeast China’s coastal provinces. He was ranked third among the Ten Marshals of the People’s Republic. After 1949, he initially withdrew from politics, later serving as Vice Premier from 1954 and as a Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from 1958, becoming Minister of National Defense in 1959. In the early 1960s, he played a key role in cultivating Mao Zedong’s cult of personality, and during the Cultural Revolution he was designated Mao’s sole successor as the Party’s only Vice Chairman, a position he held from 1966 until his death. He died on 13 September 1971 when a Hawker Siddeley Trident crashed near Öndörkhaan, Mongolia, under disputed circumstances. The official Chinese account claims he was fleeing after a failed coup attempt against Mao; others contend he fled fearing an imminent purge. He was posthumously condemned as a traitor and, since the late 1970s, has been officially grouped with Jiang Qing as one of the two principal “counter-revolutionary” forces held responsible for the worst excesses of the Cultural Revolution.
Did You Know?
- Lin Biao was one of the few Red commanders never wounded, according to the source article.
- He was ranked third among the Ten Marshals of the People's Republic of China.
- Lin Biao died in a plane crash in Mongolia on 13 September 1971.
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