In the 1955 all-army awards, the marshals were very particular about the order. Mr. Zhu, who is at the top of the list, is undoubtedly superior to others in terms of qualifications and status. Marshals such as Mr. Peng and Mr. Lin who followed closely also had their own unique advantages. As for the generals, there were 57 in total, and their order in that year was mainly based on the department and military region in which they served. And Xiao Ke was able to rank first among generals, mainly because he was the deputy minister of defense at that time, and the importance of the department gave him a priority status, not really having special treatment over other generals.
Regarding the allusion to "General Xiao Kezhen", this is actually the 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. It is worth noting that although Comrade Su Yu ranks first among the top ten generals and his outstanding military achievements can even be compared with that of a marshal, the term "General Su Yuzhen" is rarely heard of, and few people will 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 evaluating the title, 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, and the qualifications are very important. Overall, Su Yu does not have a clear advantage in seniority compared with other generals.
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. As early as 1909, Zhang Yunyi had joined the League and had a deep friendship with Mr. Sun Yat-sen. What is even more amazing is that he personally participated in the Huanghuagang Uprising in 1911 and the Xinhai Revolution, which are enough to make him unique among the founding generals.
Zhang Yunyi not only had rich early experience, but he also made important contributions to the history of our party: he personally led the Baise Uprising, fought side by side with political commissar Deng, and the Red Seventh Army they jointly founded occupied a pivotal position in the early days of our army's construction. In contrast, Su Yu's early beginnings were relatively 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 "generation" word, 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 appropriate to say "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.