General Kwai: China's Tank General in Zero Hour

General Kwai is China's tank general in Zero Hour. His tanks are cheaper, roll out of the factory as veterans, and instead of the Overlord he fields the Emperor with a built-in Propaganda Tower. In return his aircraft and infantry cost more, and he has no Nuke Cannon or Inferno Cannon. The numbers below come from the Zero Hour INI files, version 1.04.

Who is Kwai

His full name is Ta Hun Kwai. He is a Class AAA general of the People's Liberation Army, 51, and his bio card places him at Base Rat in Jinan. His tactics on the card: advanced tank divisions. He likes to build well-armored tanks and crush the enemy with them.

After a win Kwai reminds you that tanks are the key to any victory. After a loss he warns that "the Tigress" will avenge him, meaning General Leang, the final opponent of Generals' Challenge.

How Kwai's army differs from China

His features on the general card: the Emperor Tank, Tank Drop, all tanks start as veterans, tanks cost less, aircraft cost more, and no Nuke or Inferno Cannons.

Compared using the Zero Hour 1.04 files:

Unit	Kwai	Regular China	What changed
Emperor	1900, 20 s, 1100 health, cannon 80 / 175	Overlord: 2000, 20 s, 1100, 80 / 175	−100 and a built-in Propaganda Tower
Battlemaster	700, 12 s	800, 10 s	cheaper but slower to build
Dragon Tank	700	800	−100
Gattling Tank	700	800	−100
Listening Outpost	950	800	+150
Helix	2000, 25 s	1500, 20 s	+500
MiG	1600, 12 s	1200, 10 s	+400
Red Guard	375, 12 s	300, 10 s	+75
Tank Hunter	375, 7 s	300, 5 s	+75
Black Lotus	1875	1500	+375
Nuke Cannon, Inferno Cannon	none	1600 and 900	no artillery

The Emperor has the same stats as the Overlord, but the Propaganda Tower is already mounted on the hull: it speeds up fire and slowly heals nearby vehicles. There is still room to add a Gattling Cannon on top for infantry and aircraft.

Real-world prototypes of Kwai's units

• Emperor. An Overlord with a Propaganda Tower. Like the Overlord itself, it has no prototype.
• Battlemaster. Based on the Chinese Type 59 and Type 79 tanks; more on the China army page.
• China's real tanks. The most modern Chinese tank in the year Zero Hour came out was the Type 99, which entered service in 2001.

Strengths

• Tanks leave the factory as veterans: they have an experience bonus before their first fight and are closer to elite rank.
• A 700 Battlemaster is cheaper than for any other Chinese general.
• The Emperor heals its own column, no Propaganda Center nearby needed.
• The Tank Drop general power lets you open a second front.

Weaknesses

• No artillery. Enemy defenses have to be taken head-on, which gets expensive against US Fire Bases and GLA tunnels.
• Expensive aircraft: a 1600 MiG and a 2000 Helix rarely pay for themselves.
• Infantry costs more and builds slower, so Tank Hunters against enemy armor arrive late.
• A mass of slow tanks is vulnerable to Granger's aircraft and to SCUDs.

The other Chinese generals: Tao with nuclear weapons and fast tanks, Fai with infantry. Base numbers are on the China units page.

Playing Kwai on a phone

Playing Kwai means steering one big armored column, and on a phone that is easier than most other generals:

1. Box-select your tanks: press and drag. A tap on an empty slot "1" in the left-hand bar saves the group.
2. Put Emperors in group "2" and keep them in the second line so the propaganda aura reaches everyone.
3. Gattling Tanks for anti-air go in "3" and always travel with the column.

To add new tanks to the squad, double-tap to select every Battlemaster on screen and overwrite the group. Holding a slot until it fills red clears it. The rest of the gestures are on the controls page.

FAQ