During the Liberation War, Siye was adapted from the Northeast Field Army, with many excellent soldiers and powerful generals, and had 4 corps and 12 armies under its jurisdiction.
Those who can become the commander of the corps are all generals with outstanding military achievements, such as Xiao Jinguang, Cheng Zihua, Liu Yalou and Deng Hua. Among these four, the first two are senior veterans and have always held very senior positions, so it is natural that they will become the commanders of the corps.
Liu Yalou's change from chief of staff of the field army to commander of the corps is also in line with common sense. And for Deng Hua, his record is not the most outstanding, so why can he become a commander?
At the time of the founding of Siye, Han Xianchu and Li Tianyou were the two most eye-catching column commanders, and they won the respect of the people with their outstanding achievements. Although Han Xianchu's position was not high after entering the Northeast, he was mainly responsible for practical work and was responsible for the work of the 4th Column, and Hu Qicai was responsible for his rear recuperation.
Hu Qicai is not in good health, while Han Xianchu is a person who is good at fighting tough battles, he is not only groundbreaking, but also has strategic vision. The Battle of Anhai is one of his masterpieces, he forced the enemy to revolt in a division, although it was actually only a few thousand people, but this was the first time in the Northeast Theater.
The Battle of Xinkailing, together with Hu Qicai, annihilated an entire division, setting a precedent for the Northeast Battlefield to annihilate a division.
Since then, Li Tianyou has won many victories in the Battle of Sibao Linjiang and the Battle of Meihekou by virtue of his courage and wisdom that are evenly matched with the enemy. After being transferred to the 3rd Column in the autumn of 1947, he made a surprise attack on Weiyuan Fort and annihilated a division of the enemy in one fell swoop, which became a classic case in the textbooks of the Military Academy.
Then, in 1948, he captured Yixian, conquered Jinzhou, liberated western Liaoning and other battles, showing outstanding command skills and fearless fighting spirit, making his achievements very brilliant.
Li Tianyou was not only a brave and warlike general, but also known as a "little tiger who attacked fortifications" during the Red Army. After being transferred to the 1st Column in 1947, he began to command the large corps to attack the fortified positions, although the three battles and four draws failed to achieve victory, but the experience he accumulated laid a solid foundation for the subsequent four battles and four draws, as well as the Jinzhou Offensive and Tianjin Offensive.
In the Jinzhou Siege, Han Xianchu led the main force of the 1st Column as the strategic general reserve, and although they performed well, they failed to play a role at the front. Therefore, in the Tianjin Siege Battle, Han Xianchu took the initiative to ask Ying to take on the task of attacking the fortification, and formed two assault groups with the troops led by Deng Hua, and finally won the victory.
Although generals such as Huang Yongsheng, Deng Hua, and Liang Xingchu were also very capable of fighting, compared with Han Xianchu, they had less experience in tough battles, vicious battles, and annihilation of the enemy. So, why did Han Xianchu only serve as the deputy commander of the corps in the end, and Deng Hua could stand out as the commander?
In fact, this is related to the phenomenon that when the whole army was reorganized in 1949, many corps commanders were from political work. **Yang Yong, Wang Jian'an, Ye Fei, Xiao Jinguang, Cheng Zihua, Liu Yalou, Deng Hua, Yang Chengwu and others all held the post of commander of the Corps.
This shows that being a corps commander requires not only the ability to fight, but also political and local work experience. Deng Hua's experience is undoubtedly more prominent in this regard, and his comprehensive ability is stronger than that of Han Xianchu and Li Tianyou, which makes him stand out from the competition and become the commander of the Corps.
Although Han Xianchu has his own set of fighting in war, as the commander of the corps, his leadership and teamwork skills are slightly insufficient compared to Deng Hua. Despite this, he was always able to lead his soldiers to amazing victories in many situations where he was not favored.
In contrast, Deng Hua has shown excellent consistency and leadership in the fight. He participated in the whole process of four battles and four draws, and together with Han Xianchu, he formed two major assault groups in the Jinzhou Siege, attacking from two directions.
In the Tianjin Siege Campaign, he and Li Tianyou formed two assault groups to attack from two directions. Deng Hua's ability in all aspects has shown one word - stability.
During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, with his excellent leadership and teamwork skills, he successfully succeeded Mr. Peng in commanding a million-strong army, which made many veterans willing to obey his command.
He is both humble and decisive, and has demonstrated extraordinary leadership qualities.