In 1955, China began to implement a military rank system, which brought more than 1,000 generals to the fore. Among this group of generals, there were two who had a very special experience, who missed a critical moment in the war of liberation, but were awarded high military ranks. So, why is that?The situation of these two people is different, let's talk about one of them, Zhang Aiping, first. In her early years, Zhang Aiping was engaged in underground activities in Shanghai, and later volunteered to go to the battlefield and was sent to serve in the Red 14th Army.
The Red 14th Army was the only regular Red Army unit in Jiangsu, but unfortunately it failed due to its location in the enemy-controlled core area. Army commanders, political commissars and other senior cadres were sacrificed, and although Zhang Aiping was only a middle-level cadre at that time, after being transferred to the **Soviet region, he had become one of the few backbones of the Red 14th Army. By 1955, he became a representative of the Red 14th Army, which was symbolic, so it was an important factor when awarding the title. During the Agrarian Revolution, Zhang Aiping's position was not particularly high, but during the War of Resistance Against Japan, he made rapid progress.
After Peng Xuefeng's death in 1944, Zhang Aiping took over the position of division commander of the 4th Division of the New Fourth Army. At that time, the six division commanders of the New Fourth Army were: Su Yu, Zhang Yunyi, Huang Kecheng, and Zhang Dingcheng. Because the latter three did not participate in the awarding of titles, and these three are all general-level figures, Zhang Aiping was once tied with them, and considering this is also one of the reasons for the award. Originally, Zhang Aiping could also show her skills in the Liberation War, but she encountered an accident. At the beginning of 1946, Zhang Aiping led the troops to Jinpu Road, preparing to defeat the expansion of **.
To save time, he drove to the front of the line in a captured old car. However, the car kept breaking down along the way, and they repaired it as they went, so a lot of time was wasted. When they finally arrived in Suining County, they were blocked by the small carts of the people in front of the branch. Faced with the situation that she could not pass, Zhang Aiping ordered the driver to stop and wait for the crowd to pass before moving forward. The staff officers in the car felt that they had nothing to do, so they got out of the car one after another to breathe and buy some food by the way. Zhang Aiping stuck her head out of the car window and told everyone not to go too far, and to set off as soon as the road was opened.
However, just then, an accident happened. Because the road was too slippery, the car slid down the slope, just sandwiching Zhang Aiping's head between the door and a wall, and he lost consciousness instantly. The people around immediately pushed the vehicle away and rescued Zhang Aiping. Upon examination, it was found that his skull was cracked open and bleeding profusely. If it weren't for the hat on his head, the situation might have been even more serious. Zhang Aiping was an outstanding PLA general who experienced many thrilling battles, the most memorable of which was when he was wounded in a fierce battle, but he still heroically commanded his troops to victory.
Despite his injuries, he resolutely went to the Soviet Union to undergo ** for more than two years. Later, he originally hoped to participate in the three major battles, but because there were no vacancies for suitable positions, he was finally appointed commander of the East China Military Region Navy. The appointment is significant, as it marks the first time that the PLA has a naval force. In 1955, Zhang Aiping led the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to successfully occupy Jiangshan Island, which was the first time in the history of the PLA that the army, navy and air force carried out a joint sea-crossing and landing operation. Based on the above achievements, Zhang Aiping has made outstanding contributions and should be awarded the rank of general.
Compared with Zhang Aiping, another PLA general, Xu Haidong, was in a more prominent position during the Agrarian Revolution, serving as the commander of the Red 25th Army and conducting an important small Long March. This operation was of great significance for the formation of the Red 15 Army Corps in the Shaanxi-Gansu region. When Xu Haidong was the commander of the Red 15th Army, he led his troops to win many victories, which terrified the Kuomintang army. These news appeared in the newspapers and saved the Red Army from a critical situation. After the Russian Boundary Conference in 1935, the Red Army never found a suitable base and even intended to conduct a long-term guerrilla war without a base base.
However, when it was learned that Liu Zhidan's troops had occupied six county towns and might join Xu Haidong's forces, ** decided to continue their march towards northern Shaanxi. Several leaders still had concerns at the time, because they had just experienced a meeting with Zhang, the leader of the Red Fourth Front Army, and Xu Haidong was born in the Red Fourth Front Army. They worry that something unexpected might happen. However, Xu Haidong dispelled these doubts through his own actions.
When the Red 15th Army was still fighting against **, when he heard that ** had arrived in northern Shaanxi, Xu Haidong commanded his subordinates to repel the enemy's attack, and let others take command on his behalf, and he rushed to the ** station. He was very excited when he saw *** and expressed his full support. This move relieved *** and others, and they switched to fighting for nearly a year and finally found a foothold. However, the Red Army passed through the south, experienced many bloody battles, and the current situation is extremely bad. Lack of money, lack of food, lack of clothing, lack of equipment and ammunition, one can say that there is a shortage of everything.
The team of more than 7,000 people had only 1,000 oceans left, and could not survive the winter in northern Shaanxi. **After careful consideration, he decided to borrow money from Xu Haidong and made an IOU of 2,500 oceans. What is touching is that Xu Haidong still took out 5,000 oceans to support ** when he was very nervous. He also gave part of the **ammunition of the 15 Corps to ** and set aside a cavalry regiment to be placed under the command of **. These actions are difficult to describe in words, and a simple "charcoal in the snow" is far from being able to express Xu Haidong's kindness and gratitude to him.
Decades later, I still remember the camaraderie. Since 1940, Xu Haidong has been recuperating for a long time and has not participated in the entire Liberation War. However, in 1955, ** still insisted on awarding Xu Haidong the title of General. If it weren't for Su Yu's outstanding military exploits, Xu Haidong might even become the first choice among the generals. This gesture is undoubtedly a warm reward and an expression of gratitude for the grace of saving lives.
Xu Haidong's daughter later also mentioned two things: **When reviewing the list of presidium members before the Ninth National Congress, she found that Xu Haidong's name was not available, and immediately called the staff to ask for it to be added. On the occasion of the convening of the Ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, ** has been waiting for Xu Haidong, he stood on the stage and looked back and forth, did not see Xu Haidong, so he asked *** Comrade Xu Haidong did not come?"After asking three times, the prime minister said to send someone to pick him up. When Xu Haidong didn't arrive, he didn't even start the meeting, and he waited until Xu Haidong arrived. It's very moving.
In general, although General Zhang Aiping and General Xu Haidong did not participate in the Liberation War, their contribution was definitely no less than the military rank they received later!