The railroad soldiers are an extremely special force, during the war years, they were also called"Guards"., responsible for maintaining the normal operation of the logistics road,There was a long struggle against the enemy's air and artillery strikes.
And in the years of peace,The railroad soldiers are somewhat redundant. The construction of railways, tunnels, etc., there are already other departments, such asMinistry of Engineering, Ministry of Railwaysetc.
1985 year, in order to "reduce swelling" for the troops, * forcefully disagreed, and promoted a large-scale battleDisarmament plan, offended a lot of people during this period. EspeciallyRailroad soldiers
There was a great deal of resentment among the railroad soldiers, and in wartime, they served as the most inconspicuousAncillary work, not to mention no military merits. There is also the threat of being attacked by enemy shells and air strikes without cover.
Therefore, Chen Zaidao, the commander of the railway corps at that time, had very strong opinions on the withdrawal plan, and the staff members also left in a daze in the face of the commander's opinions, and could not continue the disarmament work.
In the face of problems in the execution of the work, ** said resolutely:
"At my age, I won't be in the military commission for long, and these problems must be resolved during my term of office. If you offend people, just let me do it. Where you refuse to execute, you will turn around if you don't get through! ”ArguablyIn modern times, wars have always been indispensable in various forms of negotiation, especially in Europe. After each war, countries meet to mediate their share of disarmament. Disarmament at this time is not for peace, but for the preparation of the next round of war. Everyone wants to let others cut more and cut less.
And by the time of the Cold War,There is a greater breadth of discussion on disarmament.
Out ofFear of a nuclear war on a world scale, of various countriesThe armaments budget is abrupt **, and in our country, due to"People's war".The implementation of the strategy led to the PLAThe number of troops could not be reduced.
Of course, this is not to say that we are going to carry out the so-called"Crowd tactics"., but a kind of assuranceThe bottom of the wara strategic decision,It was widespread both in the USSR and in China。Its most obvious feature is:The ratio of the number of officers to the number of soldiers.
In80s, the ratio of the number of officers to soldiers in the Chinese army has been maintained for a long timeLeft and right,On average, each officer is in charge of less than three soldiers。Such a strategy is for the sake of the troopsWhen faced with a huge **and still canRapid replenishment from the massesA kind of talent pool. The number of Soviet people in the same period was slightly lower, forLeft and right, the United States for, West Germany on the front line of the Cold War was
But such a strategy may seem a bit in peacetimeToo "bloated".。TroopsNot for a long time**The number of officers has only increased, and the manpower and material resources consumed cannot break through the limits of the military system to serve the societyA large amount of military spending was wasted on soldiers' salaries.
China at that time couldNot only are there many officers, but the total number of troops is also impressive, there are enough4 million scale。The path to enter the army had become a kind of resume at that time"Golding".rather than defending the country and its people.
According to the calculations of that time,The PLA's military spending has been maintained at 19.1 billion yuan, even the annual military spending of the USSRNot even a fraction, but it has a total strength that far exceeds the number of US troops. In the event of a conflict, the PLA will inevitably suffer as a result. As a person who jumped out of Dabie Mountain back then, **naturally knows** the generation difference is too big, and it will cause a serious **.
The predecessors of the People's Liberation Army have been fighting in blood and fire all their lives, and they must not let the next generation of the People's Liberation Army continue to be so poor!
Far from being aimed at reducing the combat effectiveness of the armed forces, disarmament is aimed at concentrating resources on tackling more advanced armaments and armaments.
Secondly,There were two other triggers for the 1985 major disarmament, one isCounterattack against Vietnamand the other from the United Kingdom and ArgentinaFalklands War
In the Falklands War,The performance of the British army was extremely crotch-strained in all respectsBut after all, Argentina is too far away from the Falklands, and it has been cut off from supplies and equipment maintenance by France. Under the counterattack of the British, the Argentine Navy fought valiantlyIn the end, it still fell behind. Later inHong Kong negotiations in 1982At that time, Margaret Thatcher tried to rely on the "aftermath" of the Falklands war to discuss"Sovereignty for Governance".
This left a deep impression on the People's Liberation Army at that time, as well as on ***.
To fight, the Chinese are certainly not afraidBut you can't always fight to the death with the other party to talk about everything. Since the West likes to use equipment superiority to bully others, since the result is all to negotiate,Why can't the Chinese in turn improve their equipment strength in exchange for the huge ** that the army may produce?As long as sufficient time and resources are given and the people's army is hard and disciplined, can it be inferior to the Western army that is rampant with corruption?This must be impossible!
Reducing the number of troops in exchange for resources to improve the strength of equipment, and alsoIt shows the peace-loving side of ChinaFrom any point of view, it is a great benefit for China!
Secondly, another war, that isCounterattack against VietnamAlthough it has long been over. And the People's Liberation Army cleared the threats along the road like a plough and swept the holes, achieving the goal of the war. But this war still exposed many shortcomings within the PLAThis is not only a question of equipment, but also a question of the composition, structure, and personnel of the troops.
As early as the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid KoreaThe Fifth Campaigntime, our army is seriousThere is a lack of command personnel in large corpsThe problem was exposed, and the counterattack against Vietnam made the problem even more apparent. In the past, we used to engage in guerrilla warfare, so we didn't need it, but times have changed. And with the passage of time, the ten marshals are aging one after another, and the strong strength of the PLA is still retained, so who will command them later?
To know,The command of a large corps is different from that of a small campaign, every good commander of the large corps,Cultivation is accompanied by untold deaths, not only the enemy's, but also the friendly ones. This is "very easy" to achieve in the context of a world war, and even in a passive situation, there are many good strategists in the troops.
YesIn peacetime, to re-cultivate a genius in the command of a large corps like Su Yu,Maybe there's really no possibilityEven if there is, itsThe price is not something that the Chinese people can afford.
On the basis of this reality, we must admit thatThe strategic thinking of the United States has its correctness. If a large corps is no longer feasible in a short period of time, then it is necessary to simplify the combat strength and scale, make up for it with equipment and other aspects, and accumulate advantages little by little.
Under the expectation of ***, although the Cold War had not yet ended at that time, the international situation was still very tense. But just as *** expected at the beginning,It is very difficult for the two superpowers to fight, they will only slowly weaken at the same time, and the future will be a long era of peace, and it is necessary to build a new people's army with a mindset suitable for the era of peace.
Therefore, while developing the economy, disarmament is a necessary initiative.
1985 yearAt that time, the total size of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was still 4 million1 million to be abolished, that is, it was directly removedA quarter。Among them, there are not a few old people who have made outstanding achievements, and they will obviously encounter great resistance.
Faced with the cold reality, ** announced at the meeting:"If you offend people, let me, the chairman of the Military Commission, do it! ”
In the context of the times at that time, within the People's Liberation ArmyThe most bloatedNot a basic infantry company, butAuthorities at all levels and military officers. Since the founding of the state,The People's Liberation Army (PLA), a glorious unit that "guarantees harvest in drought and flood," has become a priority employment direction for young people in various localities. Especially after the 80s, there have long been many "burdens" within the army, and most of them are veterans left over from the old era.
Among them, the railway soldiers bear the brunt.
There is no refuting the fact that the railroad soldiers have played a great role in past wars. But by the 80s, the role of railways was greatly weakenedIn order to adapt to the emerging development of transportation, priority has been given to highway construction. It is difficult to feed so many railway soldiers with the proceeds of the railway sector alone.
Moreover, since the Ministry of Railways does not belong to the direct military department,In terms of economy, it is too deeply rooted in society and has great power. This is a great hidden danger in the subsequent economic reforms.
Everyone in the army at that time was terrified, afraid"If the temple is gone, the home is gone. ”A general who was the commander of the railroad forces at the timeChen Zaidao, directly found the person in charge of disarmament at that timeYang Dezhi, and asked him if he wanted to make the railroad soldiers take off their uniforms.
In the face of all kinds of doubts, ** said directly:"If you don't get through, turn around! ”This gives crucial guidance.
In fact, the main objectives of disarmament are these organs and unitsNon-combatants, the most fundamental purposeReduction of cadres。Basic personnel such as fighters canTransferred to the relevant administrative and institutional departments。For example, all the staff of the Ministry of Railways were transferred at the end of 1985Ministry of Railway Engineering, although no longer a military man, but still has a place.
In the 1985 disarmament plan, the PLAEstablishment of Headquarters organsIt was halved in one goMilitary districts were merged into 7Thirty-one units at and above the army level were withdrawn, comparable to a protracted oneMajor wars
Since then, new additions have been added to disarmamentTroop retirement system。This also means,There can no longer be a situation in which the leadership of the armed forces continues to occupy positions by the elderlyIt is necessary to bring in fresh blood to expand the leadership team.
The idea of disarmament is just the opposite of the tonnage design idea of the sea ship, the larger the tonnage of the ship, the more room for modification, and the more equipment it is loaded, the more reliable it is.
But in terms of the army as a whole,A more streamlined and reliable total number of personnel is the prerequisite for the troops to continue to improve their technology and equipment. If we do not continue to control our forces, we will be even more helpless in the face of modern warfare in the future.
Five years after the Great Disarmament, the world has shown us what the future war will look like.
Gulf WarIraq was deprived of its eyes, ears and mouth by the United States at the very beginning, even when its equipment was completely inferior to ours. The huge army, after being precisely cut off from command, was completely scattered, just like Liao Yaoxiang in the Liaoshen Campaign, fell into chaos, and there was no room to fight back. This is also a testimony to the correctness of Deng Gong's disarmament policy decision five years ago with practical experience.
After decades of economic development and equipment innovationToday's PLA has completed a complete transformation. The original field infantry unit,It was replaced by a highly synthetic, information-based unit based on artillery, mobility, firepower, electronic warfare capabilities have been pulled to the fullest. Disarmament is not only a political decision, but also a process of rebirth of the armed forces, which is painful but also a path that must be taken.
And now in 2024, what new revelations can the Gaza war that has just broken out and the Russia-Ukraine war bring us? And in the face of an increasingly disorderly international situation, what kind of new path will the development of our People's Liberation Army have? Let's look forward to it.