湯恩伯
Sun was born in Chengdu, Sichuan in 1904. From 1922 to 1924, he studied in the University of Nanjing. He transferred to University of Beijing later. His uncle, Sun Zhen, helped him to secure an appointment in the newly formed Whampoa Military Academy. He performed well in the Northern Expedition and Chiang Kai-shek sent him to study in Japan. Sun attended the Imperial Military Academy in Japan and returned home in 1928. He was appointed as the first commander of the elite German trained 88th Division. In 1934, Sun and Tang Enbo succeed in surrounding the Jiangxi Soviet area and cut off communists retreat route to the south and he was promoted to lieutenant general.