General Su Yu, a military genius of our country, has always been highly respected for his military talent and command style, and he has created many military miracles on the battlefield with his eclectic way of employing troops and superb military talent.
General Chen Shiyu is known for his broad global vision and excellent determination, and he is especially good at fighting tough battles, so he is deeply trusted and respected.
At that time, Su Yu served as the deputy commander of the East China Field Army, while Chen Shiyu served as the chief of staff of the East China Field Army.
Originally, according to common sense, the two should have commanded operations together at the headquarters and worked together for the great cause of the revolution, but in many major battles of the East China Field Army, as long as Su Yu commanded, Chen Shiyu could not be seen in the headquarters, and he did not perform the duties of chief of staff.
This makes people wonder, why was Chen Shiyu not at the scene? It turned out that in 1946, Song Shilun, then chief of staff of the Shandong Field Army, was under great pressure, and he was overwhelmed by the defeat of several battles.
At this time, ** arranged for Chen Shiyu to come and take over and became the second chief of staff of the Shandong Field Army. At this time, Su Yu was the deputy commander of the field army.
Su Yu and Chen Shiyu had different military concepts and strategies. Su Yu emphasized "mobile" operations to avoid the shortcomings of our army's weak ability to attack fortified positions; Chen Shiyu, on the other hand, is good at concentrating firepower to fight tough battles.
Although there were many frictions in their battles, such as in the Subei and Lunan battles, although both battles were resoundingly victorious, the process of victory was still a bit tortuous.
In the Subei Campaign, the two field armies of Central China and Shandong held their own views and were unwilling to sit down and discuss a compromise method.
Su Yu was eager to seize the fighter plane, and went directly to the mountain field headquarters single-handedly to announce the appointment of ** and *** to him. Under his leadership, this group of fierce generals won the battle of northern Jiangsu.
Although they obeyed the orders of ** and cooperated with Su Yu's work, the lack of run-in between the two sides made the battle very difficult. The soldiers of Huaye had become accustomed to the way of mobile warfare, while the mountains and fields commanded by Chen Shiyu were mainly fortified battles, and this difference and disagreement eventually led to some contradictions, which were further exacerbated during the Lunan Campaign.
After the Battle of Subei, General Chen Shiyu proposed to let the troops return to Lunan to fight. In the telegram, he reported in detail the differences between Huaye and Shanye, and analyzed the pros and cons of the two battle plans in northern Jiangsu and southern Lunan.
In the end, ** decided to give up northern Jiangsu first and gain a firm foothold in Lunan first. The general was dissatisfied when he learned of this, and he thought that Chen Shiyu was complaining to him.
But in fact, this disagreement is not a big deal in war, and there is no problem with it. Because different armies and commanders will have different military philosophies.
The Battle of Lunan went through two phases, and under the leadership of Chen Shiyu, it was finally won. However, in the second phase, the 1st Central China Division encountered difficulties in attacking the fortifications, which made the differences between the two armies more and more obvious.
Su Yu believed that the Shandong troops were too obsessed with attacking fortified positions and lacked the ability to deal with mobile warfare, while Chen Shiyu believed that lacking the necessary ability to attack fortified positions would not work on the battlefield.
In this case, the merger of the two field armies of Shandong and Central China is particularly important, and in this process, the fighting style of the teams must be unified, otherwise it will become a plate of scattered sand.
Therefore, it was decided to make Su Yu in charge of the military command of the two armies in the capacity of deputy commander. This is not to say who is right and who is wrong, it is just that their military philosophies are different.
This is also why in many subsequent battles, we often can't find Chen Shiyu's figure, because of different ideas, he would rather lead troops to other places. And Su Yu also understands this very well, because this avoids embarrassment between the two sides to a certain extent.
The Battle of Lunan was won, but Su Yu, Chen Shiyu and others expressed concern about this. They believed that our army at that time was not strong enough to attack the fortified positions, and the equipment was lagging behind, and the war consumption was too great.
In the Soviet-Chinese campaign, the enemy's strength was only 120,000, and the strength of our army was only 250,000 people, but under the command of Su Yu, our army won seven battles and seven victories, and finally won the victory.
The victory in this battle is enough to prove the combat effectiveness of our army and Su Yu's command ability, although our army is inferior in equipment and strength, but we have successfully defeated a powerful enemy through flexible tactics and firm determination.
* Handing over all the military command to Su Yu is not only an affirmation of Su Yu's style of play, but also an appreciation of the wisdom of decision-making. This is not a rejection of Chen Shiyu, but the war is changing rapidly, and the most appropriate decisions need to be made.
However, at this time, Chen Shiyu's position in Huaye was a little embarrassing. As chief of staff, his duty is to propose various implementable plans according to the situation on the battlefield, ask the commander to decide, and then implement them according to the commander's decision.
As a rule, a good chief of staff plays a greater role than a deputy commander. It can be said that even if the commander is not particularly good, as long as there is a good chief of staff, the army can make a difference.
Because the chief of staff is the planner of the plan, but also the executor.
Although Chen Shiyu is not good at sports warfare, he is not inactive. In the Battle of Laiwu, he adopted an effective strategy, on the one hand, camouflaging the main force to contain the enemy on the southern front, and on the other hand, commanding several columns on the northern front to besiege, successfully handling the relationship with Su Yu.
Chen Shiyu commanded the battle in the Battle of Menglianggu, and even though he joined the main force of Huaye, in the Battle of Eastern Henan, he did not perform the duties of chief of staff because he led the troops to fight abroad.
As the chief of staff, Su Yu felt powerless, so he promoted Zhang Zhen, deputy commander of the Second Column, to serve as deputy chief of staff of Huaye. Chen Shiyu led various columns to besiege Huang Baitao on the front line, and has been fighting on the front line of the Liberation War.
In the end, Chen Shiyu successfully liberated Kaifeng and Luoyang, making great contributions to the victory of the Liberation War.
Although Zhang Zhen was the deputy chief of staff of Huaye, he assumed the duties of chief of staff in actual work, and often discussed tactics and strategies with Su Yu. So, what does Chen Shiyu think about this situation?
In the war, ** will arrange for Chen Shiyu to lead several columns to the front line to fight, this is to maintain everyone's dignity, so that Chen Shiyu does not have to worry about not being able to assist Su Yu, and at the same time, Su Yu can devote himself to tactical deployment, without considering Chen Shiyu's ideas, and fight with his own ideas and ideas.
This form has been recognized by everyone, including **, Su Yu, Chen Shiyu himself, and even the acquiescence of ** and ***. This format is not only comfortable, but also allows everyone to bring out their talents to achieve the best results.
Although Chen Shiyu did not hold the position of chief of staff by Su Yu's side, his contribution to Huaye cannot be ignored. His outstanding performance in combat has been affirmed and praised many times, and even though his command style is different, it is precisely this different military philosophy and disagreement that has provided our army with a variety of combat methods and tactical choices.
In historical records, General Chen Shiyu's experience of participating in the war is often summarized in a few sentences or just a few lines. However, we should respect and remember our ancestors who sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause, and General Chen Shiyu is a hero who will always deserve our respect.