In 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army officially began to implement the military rank system, preparing to award medals to officers on active duty.
Article 7 of Chapter II of the "Regulations on the Service of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army" adopted on February 8, 1955 clearly pointed out: The highest military rank of our army is marshal, which is divided into two levels: generalissimo and marshal.
It is clear that this rank of generalissimo is reserved for the great leader. After all, in terms of contribution to the People's Liberation Army and military command capabilities, ** obtaining this rank is well deserved.
Therefore, as early as 1954, when the title was determined, ** had already decided to award the rank of generalissimo to *** and even made a generalissimo uniform specifically for ***.
What no one expected was that when *** saw the generalissimo uniform, not only did he not choose to accept it, but said: "Generalissimo, stand aside!."”
So, why don't you want the rank of generalissimo?What was the story when he was awarded the title in 1955?
The military rank system is a system that originated in Europe, which was introduced in China at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and is very different from the "military merit title system" implemented in ancient China.
Military rank is not only a symbol of personal honor and status of a soldier, but also reflects the majesty of the army. At the same time, with the encouragement of the rank system, the enthusiasm and initiative of the officers of the army can be more fully aroused, and their sense of responsibility and honor can be stimulated. Therefore, for the military rank system that will be implemented in the PLA, ** and *** are very concerned.
In fact, as early as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, our army had several awards, but because the people refused to issue equipment to our army and military salaries, they took the initiative to suspend the work of determining titles from a practical point of view.
The implementation of the military rank system is an indispensable part of the people's army's march toward regularization and modernization. Therefore, soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the work of conferring titles was put on the agenda.
In September 1950, the commander-in-chief made it clear at an important meeting: "We strive to mark the military rank on next year's clothing." ”
It is a pity that the Korean War broke out before the Military Commission had time to start the work of determining the ranks, and it was not until 1952 that the war situation in Korea entered a stalemate stage, and the Military Commission began to discuss the work of awarding titles and discussing which country's military rank system to study.
* Period, our country mainly borrowed from the United States military rank system, the highest military rank is general, and the general is divided into three grades: "special, first, and second", among them, the title of special general is also known as "generalissimo of the sea, land and air", and only Chiang Kai-shek himself has obtained it.
When the People's Republic of China was founded, it was deeply influenced by the Soviet Union, and even the army was no exceptionWe must learn from the advanced experience of the Soviet Union and build our army into the second best revolutionary contingent in the world. Therefore, when drawing up the system of awarding titles, the *Military Commissar decided to "continue to study the big brother of the Soviet Union."
At that time, the highest military rank in the USSR was "Marshal", and the marshal was divided into four ranks, the first of which was "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union";The second rank is "Marshal of the Soviet Union", Marshal of the Navy of the Soviet Union;The first is the "commander of the arms and services";The fourth level is "Marshal of the Services".
On November 26, 1952, the General Logistics Department and the Military Affairs Department set up a set of plans modeled after the Soviet Union and reported them to the Soviet Union
The first version of the military rank scheme was very similar to the Soviet military rank system, which was divided into 6 classes and 20 grades, and the first class of marshal was also divided into generalissimo, state marshal, and military marshal. In this plan, except for one more "brigadier general" than the Soviet Union, it can be said that it is basically completely consistent with the Soviet military rank system.
However, this plan was finally resolutely opposed by the Soviet adviser Kasurin, and after fully listening to the opinions of the Soviet side, the relevant departments came up with a second set of "6 classes and 21 grades": deleting the rank of brigadier general and adding the rank of general;The rank of "colonel" was added, the rank of "first-class lieutenant and second-class lieutenant" was deleted, and the ranks of lieutenant and warrant officer were added.
The military rank system has been basically drawn up, and the next step is to assess the ranks. On February 17, 1953, the Military Commission established the "Military Rank Implementation Committee" headed by the Military Commission to officially carry out the evaluation work.
After all, there are so many officers in the People's Liberation Army that we must consider their qualifications and contributions, as well as their political influence. However, compared with the rank of generals and ordinary commanders and fighters, the rank of generalissimo is relatively easy.
Obviously, the title of "Generalissimo" is not something that anyone can hold, not only does he have a supreme position in the whole party and the whole army, but in terms of military command ability alone, he is also a well-deserved grand strategist, and his contribution to our army in the revolutionary years is obvious to all.
Moreover, the USSR chose to award the rank of "Generalissimo of the Soviet Union" to Stalin. Then, as the supreme commander of the People's Liberation Army, *** was awarded the rank of "Generalissimo", which is also well-deserved and undisputed.
In 1954, after the evaluation of military ranks was basically completed, the Military Rank Implementation Committee transferred Li Ping, director of the Military Affairs Division of the General Staff Headquarters, to the post and put him in charge of the specific planning for the implementation of the military rank system in the whole army and the design and organization of the military uniform system.
In the late autumn of 1954, the military uniform system had been basically determined, and the military rank office specially customized a batch of sample military uniforms, with different rank logos, so that Li Ping led people to "wear" the military uniform on the wooden model's body, and put it in the small hall of Zhongnanhai, waiting for the inspection of *** and other ** leaders.
The "Generalissimo Epaulette" designed by Li Ping for *** is 14 cm long and 5 cm wide8 cm, edge width 025 cm, the plate pattern is 5 cm wide, the layout is golden yellow, the edge is red, the upper part of the layout is embroidered with gold wire with the national emblem of New China, the lower end is embroidered with silver wire with the five-pointed star emblem, and the periphery of the five-pointed star is also embroidered with silver wire with a circle of pine branches.
At the same time, the generalissimo's uniform was decorated with a ribbon and tassel made of gold wire on the front chest, and the cuffs and collar were trimmed with pure gold thread, and the side of the trousers was also decorated with gold and red stripes.
On the morning of this day, **accompanied by *** and other **leaders, I came to the small auditorium, and at a glance I saw the generalissimo uniform in a conspicuous position.
When Li Ping saw the leaders coming, he led them to the model who was "wearing" the generalissimo's uniform, and said proudly: "*This is the generalissimo's uniform we designed." ”
Looking at the dress, he didn't seem to be interested in it, he stretched forward with a cigarette in his right hand, flicked the cigarette ash at the model, and said disapprerovingly: "Generalissimo?".You stand aside”
**'s words immediately made everyone present laugh, **and *** glanced at each other, and the experience of getting along with *** for many years made them know their habits and hobbies well, and they saw it, ** didn't seem to want to accept the rank of generalissimo.
After leaving the "Generalissimo" model, he **again** the wooden model wearing the marshal's uniform and the general's uniform next to him, and asked Li Pingdao: "How are the ** of these new military uniforms compared to the military uniforms that the soldiers are equipped with now?"”
Li Ping knew that *** was a person who attached great importance to thrift and thrift, and hurriedly told *** that we paid special attention to the problem of saving fabrics when designing the new military uniform, and the new military uniform looked much better than the old military uniform, and it did not need to spend too much money. "
** Very satisfied with this, said: "It is to start from the principle of economy, the style is good-looking, unified."
First, it is regular and economical, which is very good. After that, ** left with the chiefs, and the style of the new military uniform was decided.
In February 1955, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress formally deliberated and adopted the Regulations on the Service of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, in which the ranks and grades were again adjusted and the rank of state marshal was deleted.
The conditions for the award of generalissimos and marshals are clearly stipulated in the Regulations:
The Supreme Commander of the People's Republic of China who has made outstanding meritorious contributions to the creation of the National People's Armed Forces and the leadership of the National People's Armed Forces in the revolutionary war shall be conferred the rank of Generalissimo of the People's Republic of ChinaThe rank of marshal of the People's Republic of China shall be conferred on senior generals who have made outstanding meritorious contributions in the creation and leadership of the people's armed forces or in the leadership of campaign corps.At the same time, the Military Commission also sent a proposed list of titles.
After discussion by the members of the Military Commission, it was decided to award the current chairman of the Military Commission and the members of the Military Commission the rank of marshal, of which the rank of generalissimo is naturally awarded to 13 people, in addition to the top ten marshals we know, there are also three people.
The rank of general was awarded to 14 people, and the other four people who were proposed to be awarded the rank of general were: ** and Zhang Dingcheng.
When *** saw this list, he immediately frowned, waved his hand and said, "I don't deserve that generalissimo!."Then he crossed out his name from the list.
After this decision spread, it immediately caused an uproar in **, **'s contribution in the revolutionary period is obvious to all, he is not only the leader of our party, but also the leader of **, both the founder of the national people's armed forces, and the supreme commander of our armed forces.
For this reason, the top management decided to hold a meeting to resolve the matter.
At a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, a large number of democrats enthusiastically spoke, saying that they should be awarded the rank of generalissimo and three first-class medals (the first-class eighty-one medal, the first-class Medal of Independence and Freedom, and the first-class Liberation Medal) with their qualifications, merits, and prestige.
One of the delegates even proposed on the spot that a resolution should be formed at the congress to make *** the generalissimo. The chairman of the "All-People's Standing Committee", who was responsible for presiding over the meeting, knew ***'s temper and understood that it was impossible to change the decision made by ***, so he tactfully told the deputy: ** may still not agree to this matter.
After hearing this, a democratic figure who participated in the meeting stood up directly and said: "It is not easy for us to disobey the decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. ”
After hearing this, he smiled helplessly and said: "Yes, our people's congress can make a decision to award him the rank of generalissimo, but he is *** The decision we make must be signed by him before it can take effect." ”
The democrat did not give up, and said: "Our people have made a decision, and he has to sign an order to agree as a ***." ”
The delegates debated for a long time at the meeting, but still did not agree on how to solve the problem.
Seeing this, he proposed: "We have been discussing here for a long time, and we can't get any results from the discussion, and in a few days, Comrade *** and others will go to report the military rank evaluation plan to ***, and ask them to persuade the chairman to agree to accept the rank of generalissimo, this time, we will not make a decision for the first time." ”
Seeing that *** said so, the delegates at the meeting couldn't say anything, so they had to agree with him.
Soon after, ** rushed to Zhongnanhai with Song Renqiang, Lai Chuanzhu and others, reported the progress of the work with *** and other ** leaders, and persuaded *** to accept the rank of generalissimo.
** said: "As early as June 7, 1945, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR awarded Comrade Stalin the title of Generalissimo of the Soviet Union. ”
As a result, *** chose to refuse again, and said to him: "What the Soviet Union has, we don't necessarily have to copy." ”
After a pause, ** continued: "I can't have this generalissimo, it's not comfortable to wear this**, and it will be inconvenient for me to go to the masses to move and speak in the future." ”
Speaking of which, **looked at the *** beside him and said: "You have also done it in the army, I think you should be rated as a marshal." ”
Seeing this, he quickly refused, saying that he had long ceased to work in the army, so he should not be rated as a marshal, and then ***asked *** if his marshal still wanted to be evaluated, ** also waved his hand and said "don't evaluate".
Driven by *** and ***, the four people who attended the meeting also said that they didn't want the rank of general.
In this way, in the list of titles approved by the Politburo meeting on August 19, 1955, the rank of generalissimo was vacant, and 11 people, including ***, were proposed to be awarded the rank of marshal.
At the beginning of September, the CCP once again discussed the issue of the rank of marshal.
* A regulation has been promulgated that in principle, cadres of military units working in local areas will not participate in this award. Among the proposed marshals, ** and ** are members of the **Military Commission and vice chairman of the National Defense Committee, and are also engaged in ** and party affairs.
Among them, ** is the vice premier of ***, and ** is the secretary general of the Communist Party of China, according to the organizational regulations, the two of them belong to the ranks of "can be granted or not awarded".
When the *** who was in Beidaihe knew about this, he specially gave *** a **, proposing that Comrade ** should be awarded the rank of marshal, and ** also began to advocate not awarding himself the rank of marshal.
On September 23, at the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the list of titles submitted by the National People's Congress was reviewed and the "Resolution on Conferring the Military Rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China" was adopted.
At half past two in the afternoon of September 27, 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Rank Conferment Ceremony was officially held in the *** auditorium, and the general appointment certificate was handed over to the hands of the nine founding generals (General Xu Haidong was recuperating from his wounds in Dalian at that time and did not participate in the award ceremony).
Two hours later, except for *** and ***, who were not in Beijing for some reason, all 7 marshals in Beijing arrived at the lounge of Huairentang in Zhongnanhai wearing navy blue marshal uniforms.
The marshals were very affectionate after meeting, and laughter was heard from time to time in the lounge. At this moment, *** in a gray tunic walked in with a smile and said, "Yo, everyone is wearing new clothes, congratulations to everyone." Seeing this, the marshals hurriedly greeted him, and looked at *** and said sincerely: "You should also be awarded the title!."”
After hearing this, he smiled and waved his hand, and said: "I am the staff of **, I am serving the marshals, and I should be your logistics!.""* The selflessness of the Grand Duke made the marshals respect him even more.
In the blink of an eye, the time for the marshal award ceremony to begin was up, and Song Qingling and other party and state leaders slowly walked onto the rostrum and sat down. After that, Vice Chairman Peng Zhen read out the order to confer the rank of marshal, and the audience immediately burst into tsunami applause.
Immediately after the "March of Victory" sounded, *** in a tunic stood up while clapping his hands, handed over the letter of appointment and 3 first-class medals to the hands of the ** marshal, and then shook hands with him tightly.
At this time, it has been 27 years since the two of them shook hands for the first time in Longjiang Academy in Ninggang in 1928.
After that, *** awarded military ranks and medals to 6 marshals including ***.
This award ceremony is destined to go down in history, at this award ceremony, ** awarded the rank of 12 military cadres disabled by the war, 37 ethnic minority generals and 15 rebel generals.
Among them, on the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China, three generals Dong Qiwu, Chen Mingren, and Tao Zhiyue, who led the uprising, were even awarded the rank of general. In addition, this award ceremony also produced a "foreign general", that is, Major General Hung from Vietnam.
At this ceremony, a total of 1,048 founding generals were produced. However, ***, who is the main founder of the people's army, took the initiative to refuse the rank he should have received as a "generalissimo", and the generalissimo uniform specially designed for him was "put aside" as he said.
In fact, before the start of this award ceremony, many founding generals were infected by ***'s courage and took the initiative to ask *** to give up their titles or take the initiative to request demotion.
For example, the marshal who presided over the evaluation of the title wrote to *** that he had participated in the revolution for a short time and made a small contribution to the revolution, so please do not award himself the rank of marshal.
** The marshal also made a special report to the chairman: "I put the rank of general at most, this is the judgment of history. ”
It is precisely because our party and our army have such high-spirited leaders and high-ranking generals that we can lead the people of the whole country to advance from victory to victory and ultimately establish a brand-new China.