During the Liberation War, the 66th Army under the jurisdiction of the 20th Corps of the North China Military Region was renamed from the 1st Column of the North China Military Region in February 1949. The 1st Column was formed in November 1947 by the Independent 1st and 2nd Brigades of the Jijin Military Region and the Independent 4th Brigade of the Chahar Military Region to form the 1st Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, and was renamed the 1st Column of the North China Military Region in May 1948, with Tang Yanjie as the commander of the column. After the 1st Column was reorganized into the 66th Army of the 20th Corps, the commander of the army was Xiao Xinhuai, and Xiao Xinhuai was later awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
So, who are the commanders of the three divisions under the jurisdiction of the 66th Army?
The 66th Army consisted of the 196th, 197th, and 198th Divisions.
The commander of the 196th Division was Zeng Mei.
Zeng Mei, born in March 1914 in Xingguo, Jiangxi, joined the Red Army after participating in the local peasant uprising in 1930, and after training and studying in the mapping class of the Shanggan Brigade, he first worked as a surveyor in the Gongluo Infantry School, and then transferred to the General Headquarters of the Red Army as a staff officer, working under the direct leadership of Zhou Gong. His name of "Zeng Mei" was also changed by Zhou Gong, and it turned out that his name was Zeng Zhaotai. Participated in the Long March.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in an all-round way, Zeng Mei rushed to the anti-Japanese front line after studying at the "Anti-Japanese War" and successively served as the commander of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd District of Jin-Cha-Ji, the political instructor of the battalion, the director of the Political Office of the Regiment, the political commissar of the brigade, the leader of the detachment and political commissar, the commander of the 26th Regiment, the captain of the 4th District, and the commander of the Second Subdistrict. During the Liberation War, Zeng Mei successively served as the commander of the Independent 1st Brigade of the Beiyue Military Region, the chief of staff of the 67th Army of the 20th Corps, and the commander of the 196th Division of the main division of the 66th Army.
The commander of the 197th Division was Cheng Shaofu.
Cheng Shaofu, born in October 1917 in Shangcheng, Henan, joined the Red Army at the age of 13, successively serving as a correspondent in the 7th Company of the 217th Regiment of the 73rd Division of the Red 25th Army, a platoon commander in the 3rd Company of the 225th Regiment of the 75th Division of the Red 25th Army, a chief of the Organization Section of the Political Department of the 225th Regiment after joining the Party, an instructor of the 3rd Company of the 225th Regiment of the 75th Division of the Red 15th Army, and an instructor of the 1st Company of the Teaching Battalion.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Cheng Shaofu successively served as the captain of the 2nd team of the Military and Political School of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the acting regimental commander of the 11th regiment of the third sub-district, the leader and political commissar of the teaching brigade, the deputy regimental commander of the 2nd regiment, the commander and political commissar of the 2nd detachment, the leader of the 7th district team, and the commander of the 42nd regiment. During the Liberation War, Cheng Shaofu successively served as the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Column and the commander of the 197th Division of the 66th Army of the 20th Corps.
The commander of the 198th Division was named Zhang Kaijing.
Zhang Kaijing is a native of Jishui, Jiangxi, born in 1905. Zhang Kaijing was an old soldier in the 66th Army, and compared with the previous two division commanders, he was superior in both age and knowledge.
Zhang Kaijing was a former student of the 6th huangpu military academy, and was imprisoned by the Kuomintang reactionaries for participating in the revolution, and after sitting in prison for three years, he was rescued by the organization, and in 1930 he was organized and sent to work in the revolutionary base area in western Fujian, and successively served as the political commissar of the 100th Regiment Company of the 34th Division of the Red 12th Army, the political commissar of the 31st Regiment of the 11th Division of the Red 4th Army, the political commissar of the 101st Regiment of the 34th Division of the Red 12th Army, the political commissar of the Independent 1st Regiment of the Fujian Military Region, and the director of the Mobilization and Armed Forces Department of the Fujian Military Region. After the Long March of the main force of the Red Army, Zhang Kaijing led his troops to persist in guerrilla warfare for three years in western Fujian.
In 1937, after the Kuomintang and the Communists cooperated in the war against Japan, Zhang Kaijing successively served as the chief of the operations section of the headquarters of the 2 detachments of the New Fourth Army, the chief of staff of the advancing column of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the 51st Regiment of the 18th Brigade of the 6th Division of the Fourth Army, and the chief of staff of the 16th Brigade of the 6th Division. During the period of the Liberation War, he successively served as the chief of staff of the Ji-Jin Column, the chief of staff of the 1st Column of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region, the commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Column, and the commander of the 198th Division of the 66th Army of the 20th Corps.
So, what was the outcome of the above three division commanders?
All three division commanders were awarded the rank of major general in 1955, and later Zeng Mei and Zhang Kaijing were awarded the Red Star Meritorious Service Medal of the First Class, General Cheng Shaofu did not receive it due to his death in 1979, General Cheng Shaofu died at the age of 62, and General Zhang Kaijing died on February 24, 1991 at the age of 86;
General Zeng Mei, who lived the longest life, died on January 31, 2015, at the age of 101.