(This article is the original article of the self-media author "Lao Yang Dialect Literary History", plagiarism and washing are strictly prohibited, and may not be reproduced without the consent of the author.) ）
Corps is a collective name for combat units at the army, division, and brigade levels. As we all know, there are 19 corps in the history of the People's Liberation Army. The commanders and political commissars of these corps are the military and political "number one" of each corps, and they are all senior and experienced generals, and in the 1955 major awards, except for 6 who were not awarded the rank of lieutenant general, the rest were awarded the rank of general or above, and one of them was the founding marshal.
Since our army implements the "double-chief system", generally speaking, every corps has a commander and a political commissar. For example: the 2nd Corps of the First Field Army, the commander is Xu Guangda (general), the political commissar is Wang Shitai (unnamed title); the 5th Corps of the Second Field Army, the commander is Yang Yong (admiral), the political commissar is Su Zhenhua (admiral); the 10th Corps of the Third Field Army, the commander is Ye Fei (admiral), the political commissar is Wei Guoqing (general); the 15th corps of the Fourth Field Army, the commander is Deng Hua (admiral), the political commissar is Lai Chuanzhu (general); the 19th corps of the North China Field Army, the commander is Yang Dezhi (general), The political commissar is Luo Ruiqing (senior general).
However, of the 19 corps, 4 corps had only one chief officer, that is, the commander and the political commissar shouldered the burden. Are these 4 corps small in size? Aren't these corps unimportant? None of them, but the qualifications and abilities of the commanders of these corps were extraordinary. Two of them later became founding generals, and one was also a founding marshal!
Wang Zhen – Commander and Political Commissar of the 1st Corps
Among the generals of the People's Liberation Army, there are many generals who are called "bearded", in addition to the founding marshal He Laozong, the most prestigious is the "wang beard" Wang Zhen.
Wang Zhen, a native of Liuyang, Hunan Province, joined the Communist Party in 1927 and participated in the Changsha workers' movement. As early as 1929, Wang Zhen participated in the formation of the Xiang'e-Gansu Border Region's Changliu Xiang Special District Committee and guerrilla units, and on this basis, the 6th Division of the Red Guards was formed, with more than 10,000 people. The 6th Division fought both the landlords' armed forces and the regular Kuomintang army, and twice cooperated with the main force of the Red Army to attack Changsha, and the reputation of "Wang Beard" was very great. Later, in Yan'an, Mao, Zhou and other leaders saw him and called him "Wang Beard".
Wang Zhen was one of the main founders of the Xianggan Red Army, and successively served as the political commissar of the Xiangdong Independent Division, the political commissar of the division, and the acting political commissar of the Red 8th Army. On the Long March Road, Wang Zhen, as the political commissar of the Red 6Th army, charged forward many times. The captured commander of the enemy division saw him carrying a large knife and a grenade around his waist, and thought he was a company commander.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Zhen successively served as deputy brigade commander, brigade commander and political commissar of the 359th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, commander of the Yan'an Military Subdistrict, commander of the garrison, and commander of the southward detachment. In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he led his troops to ambush the Japanese army several times, destroyed enemy transportation, and effectively cooperated with the development of the Xinkou Campaign; in 1938, he led his troops to recover 7 counties in a row, making important contributions to the creation of the anti-Japanese base area in northwestern Jin, and then created the Yanbei base area. In 1941, Wang Zhen led the 359th Brigade into Nanniwan, relying on himself and working hard, making this desolate land into a "good Jiangnan on the plug".
In 1944, Wang Zhen led the southward detachment of the Eighth Route Army to go deep into the enemy's henchmen to open up new base areas, traveled for 659 days, fought in 8 provinces, fought more than 300 battles, galloped among millions of strong enemies, withstood extremely severe tests, and wrote a glorious page in the history of our army. This southward campaign is called "the second long march in the history of our party."
Wang Zhen led the 1st Corps to liberate Qinghai and push straight into Xinjiang, contributing to the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang and making great contributions to the liberation of the Great Northwest. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Zhen was awarded the rank of general and made new contributions to the railway cause and agricultural reclamation cause of New China. In his later years, he was elected as a deputy national leader, which is well deserved.
Chen Geng – Commander and Political Commissar of the 4th Corps
Chen Geng is the most legendary general of the People's Liberation Army, and in terms of talent and contribution, Chen Geng is the best among the founding generals.
Chen Geng was born in 1903 in Xiangxiang, Hunan, after the General gate of the Xiang Army. At the age of 14, Chen Geng joined the Communist Party of China at the end of 1922 because he was dissatisfied with arranged marriages and joined the Communist Party of China, a qualification comparable to that of those marshals. In 1924, Chen Geng entered the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy, and after graduation, he participated in major revolutionary and military operations such as the provincial and Hong Kong strike, the Shaji Massacre, the Second Crusade, and the suppression of Liu Yang's rebellion.
In the Battle of Huayang, Chen Geng carried the overwhelmed "Principal Jiang" desperately to get out of danger and became Jiang's savior. Although "President Jiang" greatly appreciated Chen Geng as a "good student," Chen Geng did not forget his original intention, resolutely broke with the reactionary clique, participated in the Nanchang Uprising, and then went to work in the Shanghai Central Special Branch, where he maneuvered between the enemy and us, persisted in working under the extremely difficult white terror, and wrote a rare legend among senior generals.
At the end of 1931, Chen Geng went to the Eyu-Anhui base area and successively served as the commander of the 4th Army, the commander of the 12th Division, and the chief of staff of the Red Fourth Front. General Xu Haidong and General Xu Shiyou were once his subordinates.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Geng was the commander of the 386th Brigade, one of the six main brigades of the Eighth Route Army. Under the command of Chen Geng, the 386th Brigade became the most effective brigade of the Eighth Route Army, and most of the achievements of the 129th Division were related to the 386th Brigade. Night attack on Jingxing, Changshengkou ambush battle, Xiangchenggu ambush battle, Guanjia'an battle, Qinyuan siege... Chen Geng's 386 Brigade was the main force. In the TV series "Bright Sword", the Japanese army hated the 386 Brigade to the bone and could not help it, and the armored vehicle read "Specialized in fighting the 386 Brigade", which truly reflected the extraordinary achievements of the 386 Brigade in the War of Resistance.
At the beginning of the Liberation War, Chen Geng, as the commander of the Taiyue Column, participated in the Shangdang Campaign, the Linfu Campaign, the Southwest Jin Campaign, and the Fenxiao Campaign... Beginning in 1947, Chen Geng's corps went through hundreds of battles to establish the Liberated Area of Yushan and Shaanxi, and then attacked the Pinghan Front and participated in the Battle of Huaihai. In February 1949, Erye formed the 4th Corps, and Chen Geng, with his excellent talents, profound qualifications, and a high status in the party (the seventh alternate member of the Central Committee), served as the commander and political commissar of the corps.
Subsequently, Chen Geng commanded the 4th Corps to participate in the Battle of crossing the River, marched into Southern China, liberated Yunnan, and made great achievements for the liberation of all of China. In 1955, Chen Geng was awarded the rank of General, ranking fourth.
Xiao Jinguang was the commander and political commissar of the 12th Corps
Xiao Jinguang, a native of Changsha County, Hunan Province, joined the Party in 1922 and went to the Soviet Union twice to study, and was one of the earliest veteran comrades of our Party to set foot in the military field. In 1925, at the age of 22, Xiao Jinguang returned from the Soviet Union and was appointed party representative of the Sixth Division of the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army, with the rank of lieutenant general. The later founding marshals and generals were far inferior to him at this time.
During the Red Army period, Xiao Jinguang served as the principal of the Central Military and Political School, the political commissar of the Fifth Red Army, the commander of the Fujian Military Region and the commander of the Seventh Army, and his rank was comparable to that of Marshals Lin and Nie. If he hadn't been mishandled in 1933, he would have developed even better. Despite this, after arriving in northern Shaanxi, he still served as the commander of the Red 29 Army and the chief of staff of the Central Revolutionary Military Commission.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xiao Jinguang undertook the heavy responsibility of defending the Party Central Committee and defending Shaanxi,Gansu, and Ningxia, and successively served as director of the Rear Guard Office of the Eighth Route Army, commander of the Left Guard Corps, and deputy commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jinsui Joint Defense Army. He led the remaining regiment to eliminate the bandits in the border area in less than a year; he adopted the tactic of "attacking halfway and taking the initiative to attack the enemy", resisted the enemy in Hedong, successfully smashed more than 70 attacks of the enemy size, and built a copper wall and iron wall for the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
During the Liberation War, Xiao Jinguang served as deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army. When he was also the commander of the South Manchuria Military Region, he commanded the battles of "Four Bao Linjiang" and "Three Lower Jiangnan"; in 1948, he also served as the commander of the First Front Command of Dongye (later known as the First Corps), leading his troops to besiege and liberate Changchun. At the end of this year, the First Corps was renamed the 12th Corps, and the political commissar Xiao Hua was transferred to the commander of the Dongye Artillery Corps, and Xiao Jinguang commanded the political commissar to shoulder the shoulders. Under the command of Xiao Jinguang, the 12th Corps participated in the Battle of Pingjin, the liberation of Wuhan, the Battle of Crossing the River, and the march into Hunan. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xiao Jinguang served as a naval commander for 30 years. Among the founding generals, Xiao Jinguang ranked sixth.
Xu Shuai and Zhou Shidi – Commander and Political Commissar of the 18th Corps
The 18th Corps, formerly known as the 1st Corps of the North China Military Region, was reorganized from the forward command post of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region in May 1948, and its main task was to capture Taiyuan, the old nest of Yan Xishan. In February 1949, during the rest of the attack on Taiyuan, the regiment was renamed the 18th Corps of the People's Liberation Army.
Before the end of the Battle of Taiyuan, the commander and political commissar of the 18th Corps were xu shuai. Why part-time? Because his first position was deputy commander of the North China Military Region. Xu Shuai was born in 1901 in Wutai County, Shanxi Province, graduated from Huangpu Phase I, was the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front, one of the three main forces of the Red Army, and one of the founders of the people's army. Xu Shuai's military talent was few among the founding generals.
After the end of Taiyuan, the 18th Corps was ordered to march into the Great Northwest and incorporate it into the first field army structure, at this time the commander and political commissar of the corps were still a person who served as a person, he was Xu Shuai's classmate Zhou Shidi in the Huangpu Phase I.
Zhou Shidi is a native of Qionghai, Hainan (formerly part of the Guangdong Music Society). Zhou Shidi's early qualifications far exceeded that of many marshals. He joined the Party in 1924 and in 1925 served as the captain of Sun Yat-sen's "Grand Marshal's Office IronClad Team", which was expanded into the famous "Iron Army", the Ye Ting Independent Regiment, and he served as battalion commander, regimental chief of staff, acting regimental commander and regimental commander. After the Nanchang Uprising, Zhou Shidi was the commander of the 25th Division, the main force of the rebel army, and at this time, two of his subordinates, Lin Zong and Chen Lao, who later became marshals, and Xu Guangda, who later became a general.
After the failure of the Nanchang Uprising, Zhou Shidi experienced ups and downs, arrived in the Central Soviet Region at the end of 1933, and later served as the chief of staff of the Red 15th Army and the Chief of Staff of the Red Second Front. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhou Shidi served as chief of staff of the 120th Division and chief of staff of the Jinsui Military Region, and was a good helper of General He. At the beginning of the Liberation War, Zhou Shidi shouldered the military and political responsibilities and served as the commander of the Northern Jin Field Army.
From May 1949 onwards, Zhou Shidi led the 18th Corps Advanced Army to the Great Northwest and participated in the battles of Fuyu and Lanzhou, and then the soldiers participated in the liberation of the Great Southwest in three ways, liberated more than 40 counties and towns, and made outstanding achievements. After liberation, Zhou Shidi successively served as the commander of the air defense army and the deputy director of the training directorate, and was awarded the rank of general in 1955.
Conclusion: There are a total of 19 corps in the history of the People's Liberation Army, and among the dozens of commanders and political commissars, only Xu Shuai, Chen Geng, Xiao Jinguang, Wang Zhen, and Zhou Shidi are shouldered by the military and government, which fully shows that their seniority in our army, the level of military command and the high level of political work, they are worthy of being outstanding commanders of the People's Liberation Army and heroes of the people.