In the first anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle in the ** base area, Zhang Huizan, a lieutenant general of the 18th Division of the Kuomintang, was captured, becoming the first senior Kuomintang officer captured by the Red Army. The main contributors to this feat were Li Tao, political commissar of the first column of the Red Third Army, and Chen Bojun, division commander. Li Tao worked closely with Chen Bojun to successfully defeat the 18th Division of the Kuomintang, won the first victory against "encirclement and suppression", and captured Zhang Huizan. Li Tao was a wise and brave general, he was born in Rucheng County, Hunan Province in 1905, from a family of scholars. In the process of receiving education, influenced by progressive ideas, he began to actively explore the way to save the country and its people. In 1926, Li Tao officially joined the Communist Party of China, and then under the guidance of the party, he mainly participated in the workers' movement and actively participated in the fierce revolution. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, Li Tao gradually went underground and went to Guangdong, Jiangxi and other places to join the Red Army.
In the first anti-"encirclement and suppression" battle, Li Tao performed well, and together with Chen Bojun, the commander of the Red Seventh Division, captured Zhang Huizan and dealt a heavy blow to the enemy. Subsequently, Li Tao also served as the head of the Enemy Engineering Department of the Political Department of the Red Army. In October 1934, Li Tao participated in the Long March with the Red Army and successfully arrived in northern Shaanxi. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Li Tao went to Wuhan and served as the director of the Eighth Route Army's office in Wuhan, mainly responsible for raising military funds and supplies for the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. At the same time, he also carried out a lot of work to consolidate the united front, such as rescuing progressives and sending patriotic young people to Yan'an, the holy land of the revolution. During the war years, Li Tao was an outstanding cadre who was able to control the situation at critical moments, and was a senior staff officer and right-hand man beside the chairman. ** He once commented on Li Tao and praised him as "a very high level, rich experience, both an excellent leader and an excellent teacher".
For example, during the three major campaigns, Li Tao served as the head of the Operations Department of the Central Military Commission, not only responsible for commanding operations and participating in the formulation of various important operational plans of the Central Military Commission, but also responsible for intelligence collection, communication and liaison, military affairs, equipment deployment, troop training, map surveying and mapping, and other work, and even including sorting out the important operational data of the Central Military Commission, summarizing the battle situation, drafting telegrams, and providing intelligence and combat experience to various field armies. Li Tao not only participated in all the battle plans, but was also responsible for the appointment, dismissal, and deployment of cadres at and above the division level in the whole army. At that time, the military did not have a unified organization for the management of cadre work. It was his ability to take charge of the overall situation at critical moments that those crucial battles, logistics and personnel arrangements were successfully completed.
On the eve of the battle of crossing the river in 1949, a British Navy frigate named "Purple Quartz" broke into our defense area without permission, and exchanged shelling with our troops in the waters of the Yangtze River, and was finally damaged by our troops and ran aground. In response to this incident, Li Tao, as the spokesman of our military headquarters, made our position clear in a statement sternly condemning the atrocities committed by the British ** ship. This statement not only demonstrated the Chinese people's resolute opposition to imperialist aggression, but also evoked strong repercussions at home and abroad. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first military commission seal letter was activated. One of the seals is kept by Li Tao, showing that he not only has the ability to take charge of the overall situation at critical moments, but also is deeply trusted. Li Tao also made strict regulations on the use and custody of seals, and properly kept seals, stamps, customs defenses, and name seals. In 1955, Li Tao was awarded the rank of general and became the founding general.
Subsequently, he took up the post of third political commissar of the General Staff and devoted himself to the construction of our army. However, due to long-term hard work, Li Tao's body gradually collapsed. In 1965, he recuperated due to illnessIn 1969, he was evacuated to GuangzhouIn 1970, he died of illness at the age of 65.