The large-scale promotion in 1955 was a major turning point in the history of Chinese affairs, marking the formal implementation of the military rank system and an affirmation of the leading merits of the older generation of revolutionary generals. Of the 1,048 generals who were promoted, some were prominent and some were obscure, a difference stemming from their different responsibilities and military exploits in the war. He Jinnian belongs to the latter, although he cannot be compared with those generals with outstanding military achievements, but *** specially promoted him to major general. So, what is the story behind He Jinnian?He Jinnian was born in 1910, just as the Qing Dynasty was about to fall. The country was in turmoil, and his parents were farmers, and his family was not wealthy. At a young age, he knew that he had to help his parents with the household chores he could. Seeing that he was sensible, his parents were very distressed, so they cut down on food and clothing for him to study, hoping that he could have a better life instead of glorifying his ancestors.
At the age of 16, he was admitted to a normal school and became one of the few intellectuals in his hometown of Shaanxi. He originally wanted to teach and educate people, but in the face of the social situation at that time, he resolutely chose the revolutionary road. In 1928, he joined the Communist Party, initially in charge of military movement, and often operated in Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and other places. Although he did not go to the front line, he continued to send troops to the front line. In that era of the White Terror, conscription was extremely difficult, and most of the people were afraid of the cruel methods of the Kuomintang. However, thanks to He Jinnian's efforts, many young men joined the Red Army, demonstrating his outstanding political work skills. It can be seen that He Jinnian's revolutionary qualifications are quite rich, but he is obscure because of the different division of labor. He didn't care about the level of his position, he only had in mind to work for the final victory of the revolution. During the period of anti-"encirclement and suppression", he established a base in the Shaanxi and Gansu regions and served as the deputy captain of the cavalry.
The cavalry was the most elite branch of the Red Army at that time, and He Jinnian's ability to take on this important task shows that he was an outstanding leader of both military and political affairs. By 1935, he had been promoted to army commander and was one of the founders of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi. During the Anti-Japanese War, he was in charge of border security and served as a member of the Northwest Bureau, and achieved outstanding achievements in both military and political work. He Jinnian made brilliant achievements on the battlefield, the most outstanding is the complete destruction of several powerful local bandits, these bandits have been doing evil and oppressing the people for a long time, under the successful extermination of He Jinnian, the army respectfully called him "the commander of the bandits". During the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army imposed a blockade, which made it difficult to transport a large number of military supplies into the base area, and the garrison faced the dilemma of lack of materials. He Jinnian led the troops to actively participate in the large-scale production movement, and some troops were stationed in the trilateral areas in turn, while the other part cooperated with the local people to carry out production activities.
Under his personal leadership, the military and civilians worked together to successfully resolve the crisis of material shortage, so He Jinnian was hailed as a "labor hero". After more than ten years of war baptism, during the War of Liberation, He Jinnian became the deputy commander of the Corps and participated in the Liaoshen and Pingjin Campaigns. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region, was responsible for rear support in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and won many combat victories with his brother troops. Although He Jinnian's military exploits may not be very dazzling, he is undoubtedly a shining star in the bright starry sky. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of colonel. The first person who saw He Jinnian being "downgraded" was Mr. He, who fought side by side in the trenches with He Jinnian during the Anti-Japanese War, and was like a brother, and he saw He Jinnian's contribution to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, and thought that He Jinnian's seniority and military merits should not be assessed at such a low military rank.
Other generals also felt unfair about this, and they reported the situation to ***. **After seeing He Jinnian's name in the list of colonels, he pondered for a moment. He Jinnian was once an outstanding general he praised, but now he is only awarded the rank of colonel, which is a little unfair. ** Knowing He Jinnian's ability, it is believed that his failure to be promoted to general was mainly influenced by some people, and not He Jinnian's fault. Therefore, He Jinnian was specially promoted to major general. In the 1955 award, He Jinnian became the founding major general. Although he saw that his comrades who fought with him were of higher rank than himself, he was neither jealous nor resentful, because he believed that surviving on the battlefield was the greatest honor. He did not care about personal interests at all, and all his life he cared about the building of the party and the army, and selflessly dedicated his strength.
He was humble and not arrogant, detached from things, and displayed the noble ideological realm of the revolutionary military leaders of the older generation. What he left behind was an immeasurable spiritual treasure.