Li Yannian (general)

When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, General Li was promoted to commander of the second corps, he was one of the youngest corps commander of the entire NRA. He led his troops in the Battle of Shanghai and the Battle of Wuhan. He was then promoted to commander of the 11th army and commander-in-chief of 34th army group.

In June 1945, he was named deputy commander-in-chief of the 11th war zone and was in charge of the surrender of Imperial Japanese Army units in Shandong Province. In the Huaihai Campaign, he was named the commander of the 6th army, and he and General Liu Ruming's 8th army tried but failed relieved the 12th army led by General Huang Wei in the Shuangduiji Campaign. In the late phase of the Civil War, General Li was in charge of the defense of Fuzhou, Fujian when he believed a rumor spread by a local nationalist commander and abandoned his post without a fight. He was promptly arrested and because the false testimony provided by his chief of staff, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He received a parole a year later and died on 17 November 1974.^[2]