At the beginning of 1950, the marshal had to go to Qingdao, Shandong Province to recuperate due to an old illness. There, he met General Su Yu, who was also recuperating from illness. The two met with knowing smiles, as the newly formed republic gave them time to recuperate.
They did not expect that in June of the same year, a large-scale scuffle would break out in East Asia. By the beginning of July, the formation of the troops to resist US aggression and aid Korea was imperative. China's original plan to unify the whole country with more than 600,000 troops led by Su Yu was also shattered by this war.
**The marshal deeply regretted it, walked directly into General Su Yu's ward, and sighed: "Comrade Su Yu, you are too strong. First of all, the great cause of reunification, and now you also need to lead the army to aid Korea.
But I have to report your illness to the leader. Su Yu is not angry, he knows that his physical condition is not suitable for combat, and he should send other people, such as **, etc.
But it's hard to say. ** The marshal did not take the initiative to ask for help, and Su Yu was about to become the commander. Therefore, he must obey orders. However, why did ** choose to appoint Su Yu instead of sending *** marshal, who was first-class in tactics at that time, to aid Korea?
This requires an understanding of the life story of Marshal ***.
** The marshal was known as a rare military genius in his youth, and he was good at turning the tables against the wind. As a Whampoa student, he has a unique style and superb strategy. He is known for his ability to fight tough battles and fight big battles, thanks to his outstanding ability to manage the discipline of the troops.
In the early days of the army, many people believed that guerrilla warfare did not require strict discipline, but Marshal *** insisted that the environment of guerrilla warfare was harsh, and the completion of the task could not be guaranteed without steely discipline.
Therefore, he took "strict discipline" as the guiding principle for the construction of our army, and guided the formation of an atmosphere in which officers and men and cadres take the lead in setting an example. As for the materials collected, he emphasized fair distribution, transparency and openness, and he knew that only by working together can the army be indestructible.
In the face of the soldiers' violation of discipline and slackness, he did not just blindly punish them, but let the instructors teach, select the advanced, praise and encourage, and rejuvenate the army.
No matter from the perspective of leading troops or fighting wars, the first marshal is a strategic, courageous and knowledgeable military strategist in our army.
** There are three extremely important combat experiences in the life of the marshal, they are the Hubei-Henan-Anhui anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign. When Chiang Kai-shek launched the third offensive against **, western Hunan-Hubei, Hubei-Henan-Anhui and other places, ** decided to take active action.
He combined the characteristics of the regular Red Army movement with extensive mass guerrilla warfare, and used rush warfare to constantly interfere with the enemy's train of thought when the enemy's deployment was not ready. At that time, our army attacked in three steps, first clearing the outlying strongholds and looking for the weak points of the enemy's forces, then shrinking the encirclement to fight the enemy's reinforcements, and finally attacking the defenders.
This is the "encirclement and reinforcement" that many military enthusiasts are familiar with. In these three steps, we fought a total of four battles, and in the end, we used 30,000 soldiers to fight 15 divisions of the enemy and completely annihilated 14 regiments of reinforcements, creating a great development of the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area in the war.
This battle is known as the classic Battle of Qianfoshan, with an army of 80,000 led by Marshal *** against more than 200,000 enemy troops, successfully covering the main force of our army to cross the river. In 1935, the Red Fourth Front Army developed in the Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu regions, and the Battle of Qianfoshan became an important node in the struggle with the local gentry forces.
Chiang Kai-shek wanted to establish victory, so he sent his trusted subordinates to deploy troops in Sichuan. In the face of the great disparity in the strength of the enemy and us, the battle lasted for 73 days, and the ** used by our army was limited to broadswords and homemade earth mines.
During this difficult period, our army relied on the support of the local people and taught them how to identify and collect wild vegetables in the mountains, and they survived the difficulties together. In the rolling river banks and stretching mountains, he led the troops to survive with difficulty, eating wild vegetables and fruits to satisfy hunger, living in bamboo sheds, weaving straw shoes, completing the requirements of holding the position, and striving for conditions for the transfer of the main force of our Red Army.
This feat successfully smashed Chiang Kai-shek's plan to encircle, pursue, and intercept, and pinned down 89 regiments of the enemy. Witnesses once lamented in their memoirs that such conditions and achievements are rare in history.
This is the period depicted in "The Seven Laws: The Long March".
During the War of Liberation, due to illness, he successfully commanded 60,000 of our army from his hospital bed, conquered 130,000 people in Yan Xishan, and laid a solid foundation for the comprehensive liberation of Shanxi.
Later, ** arrived in Shanxi and decided to capture Linfen first, because this was the gateway to Taiyuan and the only stronghold of Chiang Kai-shek in southern Jinnan, and the strategic position of Linfen had a profound impact on the later attack on the entire southern Jinnan.
However, Linfen is surrounded by water on three sides of the plain, and our army lacks siege artillery cover, how to rush into this easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack city while protecting the first army? ** Thorough surveys and field visits were carried out and relevant deployments were made.
First of all, without the cover of siege artillery, he dug five tunnels to the city wall nearby. He then ordered his troops to blow up a gap in the east of the city, feint in the south of the city, and hold back the fleeing enemy in the southwest.
In the end, they fought all the way into the city and successfully annihilated the defending enemy and liberated Linfen. ** highly affirmed this, and pointed out in the telegram that **'s experience in tackling tough problems is a very significant victory.
** is a native of Shanxi, he liberated Shanxi with his own hands, and this feat is breathtaking. In the siege battle, the marshal fought bravely, but he was ill and missed the Second Session of the Seventh Central Committee in 1949.
Although he wrote to the great man many times, saying that as long as he could contribute to the country, the title of marshal was not important, but he was politely refused. The founding generals of our army all suffered from various sequelae because they fought for the liberation of the motherland during the war years, and the first marshal was no exception.
He was too ill to take command, but it all started in 1939. At that time, it was during the period of the full-scale War of Resistance Against Japan, and the first marshal was responsible for managing the anti-Japanese troops in northern Jiangsu and other places.
He recruited troops in the local area, strengthened training, and solved the problem of manpower shortage for Liu Deng to advance into Dabie Mountain. In order to cope with the large-scale attack of the enemy, ** often did not sleep for several days in a row, dealing with problems one after another, so the accumulated work became a disease.
The marshal was one of the representatives of the Shandong region, and he intended to convene the Seventh National Congress, and he was going to northern Shaanxi to attend the meeting. However, due to the vicious turn of events in the war, all the delegates could not be assembled, and the meeting was forced to be postponed again and again.
In order to reach his destination as soon as possible, the marshal rode on horseback and unfortunately fell off his horse, resulting in a fractured tibia. At that time, the medical conditions in northern Shaanxi were not good, and the ** marshal decided to give anti-inflammatory drugs to the wounded who had retreated from the front line, regardless of his own pain.
So he studied in the party school and did not get enough rest and recuperation, leaving a lot of sequelae. Although he was unwell, he still actively asked to return to work.
In order to take care of his health, ** arranged for him to take the position of principal.
In 1944, he was bedridden due to pleurisy, and even the later Seventh National Congress could only be absent, and the affairs of the university could only be handled by others.
But while recuperating in the rear during the Liberation War, he studied how to take Shanxi, formulated a detailed siege plan, and applied to ** to fight on the front line.
Although there are only more than 60,000 people left for ***, ** knows that he is always confident, and just reminds him that if he is unwell, he must report it in time and not drag down his health.
In the siege battle for more than half a year, ** stuck to Shanxi with illness, and his physical condition continued to deteriorate. In August 1948, ** instructed him to return to northern Shaanxi for recuperation.
Although he attended several meetings after returning and put forward his idea of attacking the city, "* can be rebuilt, but our soldiers must not make unnecessary sacrifices", but he only used the time of the unit's training to stay in the hospital for less than half a month, and then returned to the front line.
** With practical actions to interpret what is the spirit of perseverance and daring to take responsibility.
The *leadership was very worried about ***'s health and repeatedly called on him to return to the rear to rest, emphasizing the importance of good health. ** Inspired by these telegrams, the correspondent made up catchy sentences, printed on propaganda leaflets, and constantly dropped them into the city of Taiyuan to break down the enemy's psychological defenses, and at the same time shouted at the enemies on the position, encouraging them to let go ** and join our army.
These seemingly insignificant tactics, combined with the constant offensive of our troops, played an important role. In the end, Yan Xishan went to Nanjing for a meeting under the pretext of being defeated. Although a phased victory was achieved, ***'s health condition was no longer able to continue commanding the battle.
According to the first instruction, Mr. Peng stayed on the Taiyuan front line and was responsible for the final operational command, and finally Taiyuan City was liberated.
In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, with his outstanding historical achievements and outstanding combat achievements, he was successfully elected as one of the top ten marshals and became the first chief of general staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
During his recuperation in Qingdao, due to health reasons, General Su Yuda was unable to immediately go to the Northeast to take up his post. Despite this, the marshal paid close attention to the international situation in East Asia and was ready to go on the expedition at any time.
Despite his age, he still longs to go into battle and kill his enemies. After more than half a year of rest, the marshal began to collect relevant materials and deeply realized the necessity of sending troops to aid Korea.
When the North Korean authorities won a resounding victory in July 1950, the marshal was already worried. Sure enough, it didn't end there. Therefore, when he learned that our army was forming troops, he began to pay attention to diet and exercise.
At this time, he was only 49 years old, three years younger than Marshal Peng, who was later determined, and had not yet entered the stage of old age. It is a pity that although General Su Yu was ill and could not lead the troops, the marshal was also sick because of the hard work during this time, and the old injuries continued.
After learning that the marshal had been rejected for his self-recommendation, he gave up his preparation for the request.
**Although the marshal was unable to bring illness to the DPRK, he made outstanding contributions to the country and the people within the scope of his duties. His spirit deserves our admiration and learning.