The 24th Army, also known as the Huaye Sixth Column, was a powerful force in East China, often guarding the key points and aiming at the enemy's weak points when the flames of war were burning.
The reorganization of this powerful army has produced four outstanding military leaders.
Not all army commanders were able to assume the post of commander of a large military district, but two of the 24th Army were able to do so.
There are very few commanders who live past the age of 100, but the 24th Army has two brave generals, which can be described as a legendary army.
The first refers to the soul of the 24th Army, that is, the first commander Wang Bicheng.
Wang Bicheng was born in Macheng, Hubei Province, and was an outstanding general of the Red Fourth Front Army.
He was highly valued by Su Yu, from the commander of the New Fourth Army to the Sixth Column of the East China Field Army, this team was all Wang Bicheng's painstaking efforts.
In 1955, Wang Bicheng obtained the rank of founding lieutenant general and served as the deputy commander of the large military region in the Nanjing Military Region for many years.
In 1971, he was appointed commander of the Kunming Military Region, and then transferred to the commander of the Wuhan Military Region, where he served as commander for nine years.
Although Wang Bicheng was the first commander of the 24th Army, his tenure was very short, only more than half a year.
In September 1949, his deputy, Pi Dingjun, took over as commander of the 24th Army.
Pi Dingjun, that is, the hero of the Central Plains breakthrough.
** He once praised him for his "meritorious service, less Jinzhong", and personally awarded him the rank of founding lieutenant general.
This brave and careful general fully supported Wang Bicheng and jointly commanded the sixth column.
After taking over the baton from the army commander, Pi Dingjun led the 24th Army to the Korean battlefield.
After receiving the order to defend Shangganling, he led his troops to march for seven days and seven nights and arrived at the position.
He personally inspected the fortifications of the forward positions, and one of the division commanders, fearing for his safety, assured him that there would be no problems with the tunnels.
However, Pi Dingjun insisted on personally inspecting, saying: "You assure me that it is the responsibility of your division commander, and that I will personally inspect it, and it is the responsibility of my army commander, and it cannot replace each other, and it would be my dereliction of duty not to inspect it."
In 1969, on the recommendation of Marshal ***, Pi Dingjun was appointed commander of the Lanzhou Military Region.
Subsequently, after the rotation of the commanders of the eight major military regions, he returned to the Fuzhou Military Region as commander and served as the commander of the large military region for seven years.
However, in 1976, Pi Dingjun was tragically killed in a plane crash, he was a revolutionary martyr who sacrificed his life for the country, and he was also a powerful subordinate.
The third military leader was Zhang Zhen.
Military legend: Zhang Zhen and Wan Haifeng with the 24th Army on the Korean battlefield, acting commander Zhang Zhen parachuted into the 24th Army, although he is a new face, his qualifications make him well-deserved.
He played an important role in the formation of the Third Field Army as Chief of Staff and was transferred to the Military Commission as Chief of Operations after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
It is worth mentioning that in 1953 on the Korean battlefield, he and two other army commanders left a very precious group photo.
In this group photo, the first from the left is Pi Dingjun, who has been appointed deputy commander of the Fujian Military Region, the second from the left is Wang Bicheng, the first commander of the 24th Army, and the third from the left is Zhang Zhen, the acting commander of the newly arrived North Korea.
The group photo of these three army commanders on the Korean battlefield became a good story.
And surprisingly, another future commander of the 24th Army was also on the Korean battlefield at that time, and he was Wan Haifeng.
Before entering North Korea, Wan Haifeng was the deputy division commander of the 24th Army, but his division headquarters was reorganized into the headquarters of a certain division of the Air Force, and it seemed that he would be changed to become an air force.
However, at a critical moment, Pi Dingjun decided to let him stay and serve as the artillery chief of the 24th Army, and enter the Korean war with the troops.
Artillery has the most lethal ** in the war, so letting Wan Haifeng take charge of the artillery is actually handing over the iron fist of the 24th Army to him.
Wan Haifeng resolutely obeyed the organization's assignment and led the artillery children of the 24th Army to shine on the Korean battlefield.
In 1969, when the veteran army commander Pi Dingjun was promoted to the commander of the Lanzhou Military Region, Wan Haifeng was also promoted to the commander of the 24th Army.
What is proud is that the first two veteran commanders of the 24th Army, Wang Bicheng and Pi Ding, both served as commanders of the large military region and defended one side for the country.
And Zhang Zhen and Wan Haifeng were awarded the rank of general together in 1988, and what is even more legendary is that they both lived past the age of 100.
Zhang Zhen died in 2015 at the age of 101.
And Wan Haifeng is still alive and well, at the age of 103.
This is undoubtedly the supreme glory of the 24th Army.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Zhen also served as the vice chairman of the Military Commission, and there are very few generals who can hold this position.