In 1988, the ranks of the whole army were restored, and 17 veteran generals were awarded the rank of general, which is the highest honor after the rank is restored. Of course, these 17 veteran generals were all outstanding in battle and had been in the battlefield for a long time, but they also had a necessary commonality, that is, they were all senior generals who were in service at that time.
Those who have retired or retired do not participate in the conferment of titles. Therefore, although many veteran generals are also eligible to be awarded generals, they miss this rare title because they have already left their posts or have just left their posts. For example, General Xie Zhenhua and General Zhang Haoxiu have just retired from the post of chief officer of the Grand Military Region.
There is a veteran who is lucky, he is Wang Chenghan. Many people may not know Wang Chenghan's name, which was once tied to Pi Dingjun. I went to many old revolutionary areas in western Henan to look for the battle sites of General Pi Dingjun.
(Founding Major General Wang Chenghan)
Almost every site has the inscription of General Wang Chenghan, "Iron-blooded General, Forever In History". Why did Wang Chenghan give Pi Dingjun an inscription? That's because he was Pi Dingjun's old subordinate and the first fierce general under Pi Dingjun's account.
Probably from 1943 onwards, Wang Chenghan fought with Pi Dingjun in northern Henan, and then formed the anti-Japanese advance detachment in western Henan, and Wang Chenghan was the first main regimental commander under Pi Dingjun. Then there was the great Central Plains breakthrough, Wang Chenghan was a sword in the hands of Pi Dingjun, opening the way in every mountain and building bridges in the water, making great achievements for the victory of the Central Plains breakthrough.
After merging into the East China Battlefield, Wang Chenghan left Pi Dingjun, and later he went to the North China Battlefield and became the commander of the main division. After returning from Korea, Wang Chenghan served as the commander of the 60th Army and was the founding major general. In 1982, Wang Chenghan became the commander of the Chengdu Military Region.
(Wang Chenghan's inscription to Pi Dingjun)
As the first fierce general under Pi Dingjun's account, Wang Chenghan and Pi Dingjun, like Pi Dingjun, both served as commanders of the Grand Military Region, which is very rare. However, after Wang Chenghan served as commander of the Chengdu Military Region for three years, that is, in 1985, the whole country was disarmed by one million, and the Chengdu Military Region was to be merged into the Kunming Military Region.
After the merger of the two major military regions, the announced head of the military region did not have Wang Chenghan's name, which meant that Wang Chenghan was retiring, and Wang Chenghan was 68 years old at the time, and he had also reached the age of retirement. Proceeding from the overall strategic situation and party spirit, Wang Chenghan proposed to the central authorities that the Chengdu Military Region should be retained and the Kunming Military Region merged into the Chengdu Military Region.
History proves that Wang Chenghan's proposal is correct. The Central Committee eventually adopted his opinion, so the Chengdu Military Region became one of the seven major military regions that remained after the disarmament. Then, Wang Chenghan served in the coordination group for streamlining and reorganization, and did a lot of coordination and aftermath work for the merger of the two major military regions.
At the end of the work, the new commander of the military region came to the Chengdu Military Region to take up his post, and Wang Chenghan completed his mission completely and officially retired. Wang Chenghan lived a retired life, but after only two months, Wang Chenghan was examined in the Beijing Hospital, and the central authorities sent people to visit him and solicit his opinions.
(1988 Admiral Wang Chenghan)
Wang Chenghan said that he has retired and can consider some young and energetic comrades. A few days later, the central authorities sent people to come again and told Wang Chenghan that the Central Military Commission had decided to send an old comrade to the Academy of Military Sciences to lead the class, and wang Chenghan had been selected.
Since the Central Committee had already decided, Wang Chenghan resolutely obeyed, so he was appointed political commissar of the Academy of Military Sciences two or three months after his retirement. Although Wang Chenghan is nearly seventy years old, he is old and ambitious, and with the enthusiasm of young people, he has done a lot of work for the Academy of Military Sciences.
In 1988, Wang Chenghan was awarded the title of general in his capacity as political commissar of the Academy of Military Sciences. So he was lucky. If he had not served in the Academy of Military Sciences after his retirement, Wang Chenghan might not have been related to this rank of general.