In June 1969, the founding general Xu Guangda died of illness. At that time, the political situation in the country was turbulent, Xu Guangda was also wrongly criticized, and even after the death of the old general, some people tried to destroy his body. **Upon learning of this, he immediately reported it to ***, and after a moment of contemplation, important instructions were given. Xu Guangda was born in November 1908 in Changsha, Hunan. He is known as the "youngest founding general", a year younger than Su Yu, who also enjoys this title. Whether in war or peacetime, Xu Guangda made tremendous contributions to the building of the party and the state, the people of all nationalities throughout the country, and even the People's Liberation Army. Due to his family's poverty, Xu Guangda began herding cattle at the age of seven, but his desire for an education led him to listen to the voices of the classroom outside the school window. A teacher surnamed Zou cared for this poor child and took him in for free. After entering the school, Xu Guangda lived up to expectations and was admitted to Changsha Normal University with excellent results in the autumn of 1921.
In Changsha in the 20s of the 20th century, there was not only the troubles of the ruffians and warlords, but also a group of intellectuals who had received Western education, who brought back to China revolutionary ideas and new cultures from abroad. Under the influence of these progressive ideas, Xu Guangda joined the Communist Youth League in September 1925 and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. In September 1926, he was admitted to the Fifth Artillery Department of Whampoa. After graduating, the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation failed, but Xu Guangda did not hesitate to choose to continue to follow the Communist Party, and rushed to Nanchang, Jiangxi in early August 1927, to prepare to participate in the Nanchang Uprising. Although the rebel army at that time had suffered many defeats, Xu Guangda still firmly followed. Someone once asked him why he followed the defeated army, and General Xu replied firmly: "Although defeated, it is still glorious, although it is dead, it is still alive." "Xu Guangda was an outstanding military strategist and revolutionary, his life is full of legends, and his spirit will always inspire future generations. In October 1928, Xu Guangda returned to his hometown in Changsha and married Zou Jinghua.
Just ten days after the marriage, Xu Guangda learned that his identity as a member of the Communist Party had been exposed, so he left Changsha and came to Shanghai to connect with the party organization. In 1930, Xu Guangda accompanied the Red Second Army to fight in the north and south, and made many miraculous achievements in the battle. In the spring of 1932, during a battle, Xu Guangda was seriously wounded and went to the Soviet Union to receive **. After recovering from his injuries, he was sent to the University of the East to systematically learn how to operate tanks, automobiles, artillery, and other advanced technologies. At the same time, Xu Guangda also mastered the military knowledge that a commander must master, such as tank attack and defense tactics, technical support, marching, and vigilance, which laid a solid foundation for him to lead the construction of the PLA's armored forces in the future. In November 1937, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, and Xu Guangda and his classmates returned to China en masse. Soon, he was appointed as the head of the training department of the Yan'an Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, and devoted all his time and energy to the education and training of the Anti-Japanese University. In July 1939, Xu Guangda was appointed president of the third branch of Kang University, and made important achievements in training military and political cadres and engaging in research on Marxist military theory.
In the spring of 1942, he proposed to ** to work on the front line, and after careful consideration, he was transferred to the commander of the 2nd Independent Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army and the commander of the 2nd Division of the Jinsui Military Region. From 1941 to 1945, Xu Guangda was at his most active. On the anti-Japanese front, he not only commanded the military and civilians in the base areas to resist the Japanese puppet army and develop armed forces behind enemy lines, but also wrote many classic works, such as "On New Tactics" and "A Review of History". These articles expounded in depth and systematically such important issues as the establishment of revolutionary base areas in the countryside, the waging of guerrilla warfare, and strategy and tactics. At the beginning of 1946, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Guangda was ordered to go to Shenyang, Lushun, Benxi and other places to carry out tasks. In November of the same year, he was appointed commander of the third column of the Jinsui Field Army. In the War of Liberation, the three columns led by Xu Guangda belonged to the Northwest Field Army, were commanded by the Northwest Field Army, transferred to the northern Shaanxi region, and successively participated in the battles of Gaojiabao and Shajiadian. By February 1949, the Northwest Field Army was reorganized into the First Field Army, and Xu Guangda was appointed commander of the Third Army.
In a series of battles to encircle and annihilate the main force of the Kuomintang army in the south of Hu Zong, Xu Guangda cooperated with friendly troops to defeat the enemy one after another, and made an important contribution to the total liberation of the northwest region. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Guangda was ordered to form the PLA armored corps and served as the first commander of the armored corps. He devoted tremendous energy to publishing a series of works, and under the guidance of advanced thinking and military thought, he made important theoretical and practical contributions to the tactical strategy of the armored forces of the People's Liberation Army and the daily training and operations of the armored forces. In September 1955, at the age of 47, Xu Guangda was awarded the rank of general, becoming the youngest general at that time. However, after learning the news, he took the initiative to write an application to *** and the Military Commission, requesting that he be awarded the rank of general. Despite this, the ** Military Commission still awarded Xu Guangda the rank of general. ** once commented on him: "Xu Guangda is a mirror, a mirror of the Communists themselves." However, during the special ten-year period, Xu Guangda was illegally detained by the "Gang of Four" and experienced serious criticism, interrogation and torture.
Although the old general suffered, he always had unlimited loyalty to the party and the country. When he was seriously ill, he often said to his wife Zou Jinghua: "We must believe in the party and believe that on June 3, 1976, General Xu Guangda died, and some people with ulterior motives tried to forcibly cremate the general's body, and even planned to scatter the ashes into the wild." This kind of action is equivalent to destroying a corpse!In this special period, ** after learning of the situation, immediately report to ***. ** There was a moment of silence, and finally a clear instruction: "Comrade Xu Guangda's urn should be placed where he should be placed." These few words reveal ***'s trust in Xu Guangda, and it also shows that he does not believe in all the false charges imposed on Xu Guangda. This is also the last thing that *** can do for Xu Guangda, which more profoundly demonstrates the deep revolutionary friendship between the two. Xu Guangda's outstanding contributions in his life will forever be recorded in the glorious history of the People's Liberation Army, and future generations will never forget the touching deeds of this "Spiegel General."
References: Guan Ling, Jin Lixin. Military strategist Xu Guangda. Centennial Tide, 2018(12):72-80 doi:10.16624/j.cnki.11-3844/d.2018.12.008.Ren Zhenjie. Xu Guangda, the loyal general of the republic. Party History Bocai (Documentary), 2012(10):13-17）