Friends who are familiar with history know that during the War of Liberation, in addition to having a unique number, each corps also had a habitual name. For example, the Central Plains Field Army is affectionately known as Liu Deng's army because the army's supreme commander and political commissar are Liu Shuai and Deng Gong respectively. Similarly, the East China Field Army is known to everyone as Chen Su's army, and its leadership is led by General Chen and General Su Yu as commanders and deputy commanders. In addition, Chen Geng's fourth column was also known under the name of Chen Xie's corps. The Xu Tan Corps of the East China Field Army got its name precisely because of the outstanding leadership of its commander Xu Shiyou and political commissar.
However, it is not limited to the corps named after commanders and political commissars. Among the field units of the North China Military Region, there is a high-profile corps named after the commander, political commissar, and chief of staff, that is, the Yang Luogeng Corps, which is intimidating in North China. Originally known as the Second Corps of North China, this corps was led by Commander Nie Shuai and was the main force in the liberation of North China.
Friends who are familiar with history know that during the War of Liberation, in addition to their unique names, each corps was also known by the name of its top leader. For example, the Second Corps in North China, the Yang Luogeng Corps, was led by the commander General Yang Dezhi, the political commissar General ***, and the chief of staff of the civil and military forces, General **. These three were all outstanding military generals of our party during the revolutionary war years, so the corps was also affectionately known as the Yang Luogeng Corps.
In the battle to liberate North China, Yang Luogeng's corps showed military strength that could not be ignored. For example, in the early days of the Liberation War, the Battle of Qingfengdian was the representative work of the Corps, and it became a classic battle of encirclement and reinforcement in North China. In this battle, Commander Yang Dezhi adopted the tactics of encirclement and reinforcement and successfully captured the ** general Luo Lirong, demonstrating the essence of the corps' battle. In addition, the Battle of Shijiazhuang was also an important battle of Yang Luogeng's corps in North China, which captured a fortified city for the first time and uprooted a strategic point of Fu Zuoyi in North China. This victory connected the two liberated areas of Shanxi, Chahar and Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, and Henan, and laid a solid foundation for the later Pingjin decisive battle.
Those who are familiar with history know that in the Pingjin Campaign from 1948 to 1949, Yang Luogeng's corps played a key role. In the Xinbao Campaign, the corps successfully annihilated the 35th Army, which Fu Zuoyi relied on the most, forcing the army commander Guo Jingyun to commit suicide. This victory not only provided an important bargaining chip for persuading Fu Zuoyi to surrender to the uprising, but also prepared for the subsequent battle to liberate Lanzhou. Soon after, Yang Luogeng's corps was reorganized into the 19th Corps, which consisted of three corps with a total strength of more than 80,000 troops, and Yang Dezhi was still the commander, the political commissar, and the chief of staff.
With the liberation of North China, the 19th Corps was transferred to the northwest and actively participated in the liberation of Lanzhou. After the victory of the Liberation War, the corps, under the leadership of Commander Yang Dezhi, continued to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea until the end of the war. The 19th Corps won widespread praise for its outstanding military exploits and eventually returned home.
However, at this time, Yang Dezhi, ** and ** did not get together again to command the battle of the corps. With the development of affairs after liberation, the political commissar *** focused on public security work and assumed the post of minister, dedicated to defending the homeland and maintaining social tranquility. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of general, becoming the highest-ranking figure among the three members of Yang Luogeng's corps.
At the same time, the Chief of Staff ** also made remarkable achievements after the liberation. Although he missed the opportunity to be graded in 1955, he turned his career to diplomacy and later succeeded as Minister of Defense, becoming the only Minister of Defense in New China without a military rank. In contrast, as the commander of Yang Luogeng's corps, Yang Dezhi has successively served as the commander of Jinan, Wuhan, Kunming and other military regions since he returned home from defeating the enemy. In addition, he has held key positions such as Chief of the General Staff and Deputy Minister of Defense.
It can be said that after the liberation, the Yang Luogeng Corps, an army that shook North China, was led by three outstanding founding generals, and its development momentum was good. The three generals have achieved remarkable achievements in different fields, from high-level military command to defense and foreign affairs, and they have all played key roles. This not only won them prestige for themselves, but also left a strong mark on the glorious history of Yang Luogeng's corps.