In the 1955 award of military titles, the rank of marshals had its special significance. Commander-in-Chief Zhu, who is ranked first, undoubtedly has qualifications and status that surpass others. The subsequent marshals such as Mr. Peng and Mr. Lin also had their own unique advantages. As for the generals, there are 57 in total, and their order is mainly based on the troops and military districts in which they are located. Shaw was at the top of the list of generals mainly because he was then the deputy minister of defense, and the importance of his department gave him a priority status, not because he enjoyed special treatment over other generals. The allusion to "General Xiao Kezhen" is actually an affirmation and praise of his military career by the army and the people, and there is no exact official basis. But this statement is widely circulated, and it is indeed in line with the prestige of General Shaw.
Interestingly, although Comrade Su Yu ranked first among the top ten generals and his military exploits were so outstanding that they could even be compared with marshals, the term "General Su Yuzhen" was rarely heard of, and few people would say so. Why is that?In short, the reason is "uncontrollable". General Su Yuda's glorious experience before the founding of the People's Republic of China was mainly concentrated in the period of the War of Liberation. His outstanding military exploits made him firmly at the head of the generals, and even had the strength to "sprint" the marshal. If it weren't for *** strongly recommending *** as a representative of the New Fourth Army and the Sanye system, Su Yu's rank in 55 years might really be higher. However, when assessing military ranks, it is necessary to comprehensively consider the military experience in the three stages of the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the All-Out War of Resistance and the War of Liberation, and even the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Overall, compared with other generals, Su Yu does not have a significant advantage in seniority. When mentioning the founding generals, Zhang Yunyi's name is particularly prominent.
His revolutionary journey was so rich that it surpassed even the other nine generals and even many marshals. In addition to the fact that Zhang Yunyi joined the League as early as 1909 and had a deep friendship with Dr. Sun Yat-sen, his figure was also deeply integrated into the development of modern Chinese history. He is known for his personal involvement in the Huanghuagang Uprising of 1911 and the Xinhai Revolution, two events that make him unique among the founding generals. Not only that, Zhang Yunyi also left an important contribution in the history of our party: he personally led the Baise Uprising, fought side by side with Political Commissar Deng, and jointly founded the Red Seventh Army in the early days of our army's founding. In contrast, Su Yu's early beginnings were more low-key, and his contributions to army building could not be compared with Zhang Yunyi's. Su Yu's status as a general comes more from his later exploits.
During the Red Army, Su Yu's highest position was Chief of Staff of the Corps, while Zhang Yunyi served as Deputy Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters of the Red Army. In the Anti-Japanese War, both of them served in the New Fourth Army, Su Yu served as the division commander, and Zhang Yunyi served as the deputy commander of the New Fourth Army. Su Yu's outstanding performance was mainly during the War of Liberation. In 1948, he served as the ** commander of the East China Field Army, although there is a word "generation", but he can also be regarded as the head of the field army. During this period, Zhang Yunyi served as the deputy commander of the East China Military Region, and was once surpassed by Su Yu in rank. Although Su Yu served as the chief of the general staff of the whole army in the fifties, every time he saw Zhang Yunyi, he would still respectfully call him "old chief". Therefore, there is Zhang Yunyi, and it is not very appropriate to call him "General Su Yuzhen".
In addition, Xiao Jinguang, one of the founding generals, also held a significantly higher position than Su Yu during the war years, especially during the Red Army, and he was the political commissar of the Red Seventh Army Corps and directly led Su Yu. Although Su Yu ranks first among the generals and his military exploits are unmatched, if you want to call "Su Yuzhen General", this statement is not appropriate enough.