In 1949, the Chinese Navy was formally established, and General Xiao Jinguang was appointed as the first commander of the Navy. In the years that followed, he always shouldered the heavy responsibility of naval commander and made great efforts for the construction and development of the Chinese navy.
It is worth mentioning that the chairman has great trust in General Xiao Jinguang, and he once commented: "Xiao Jinguang is the lifelong commander of the Chinese Navy. As long as he is there, the position of commander of the Navy will no longer change hands. ”
The general to be introduced next is inseparable from the navy, he is the first deputy commander of the navy - Wang Hongkun. Since 1950, Wang Hongkun has served in the Navy for a long time, holding the position of deputy commander.
However, in 1977, at the age of 68, he was removed from his post. What's going on here? Let's explore the legendary story of Wang Hongkun together.
In 1909, Wang Hongkun was born in Macheng, Hubei. In November 1927, shortly after the defeat of the Revolution, he participated in the Jute Uprising in his hometown, and from then on joined the Red Army and entered the Red Fourth Front.
Subsequently, he followed his troops to participate in the anti-"encirclement and suppression" in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui Soviet Region and the anti-"three-way siege" and "six-way siege" in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet region. In 1935, Wang Hongkun followed the Red Fourth Front Army to embark on the great Long March.
It is worth mentioning that the Red Fourth Front Army was once led by Zhang Guotao. In June 1935, after the Red Army and the Red Fourth Front Army met in Maogong, Sichuan, Zhang Guotao relied on the growth of the team to openly compete for leadership with the Military Commission, and finally led the Red Fourth Front Army to the south, openly defeating the Red Army.
Wang Hongkun chose to follow Zhang Guotao in this incident and closely followed in his footsteps. In October 1936, after the three main forces of the Red Army met, Wang Hongkun still insisted on carrying out Zhang Guotao's order and withdrew his troops without authorization, resulting in the failure of the Red Army's plan for the Haida Campaign.
Although he made mistakes during the agrarian revolution, Wang Hongkun always fought bravely for the revolution in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and he was a hero who created New China.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was ordered to assist General Xiao Jinguang in establishing the New China Navy, and at the same time was appointed deputy commander of the Navy in 1950, becoming the first deputy commander of the New China Navy.
Wang Hongkun served as deputy commander of the Navy for a long time, from 1950 to 1966, a total of 16 years as deputy commander of the Navy, objectively speaking, during this period, he made important contributions to the development and growth of the Navy.
In 1966, Wang Hongkun was appointed second political commissar of the navy, but he failed to stay awake and was eventually lost in the maelstrom of power. During this period, he cooperated with Li Zuopeng and others in an attempt to overthrow Xiao Jinguang, who was the commander of the Navy at the time, and criticized Xiao Jinguang and others, which brought negative effects to the Navy.
In October 1977, Wang Hongkun was dismissed from his post as the second political commissar of the Navy after an enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee of the Navy Party Committee, and was also sentenced to party probation.
After that, he left his post to recuperate according to the salary of the regular corps, and lived mainly in Beijing after retirement. In 1993, Wang Hongkun died of illness at the age of 84.
It is worth mentioning that Wang Hongkun's cousin Wang Shusheng is also an excellent general from the Red Fourth Front Army. In 1936, after the three main forces of the Red Army met, the Red Fourth Front Army was reorganized into the Western Route Army, and Wang Shusheng entered the Western Route Army, crossed the Yellow River, and went to fight in Ningxia, Gansu.
After the defeat of the Western Route Army, Wang Shusheng returned to Yan'an after many hardships, and then actively participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, witnessing the birth of New China. After that, Wang Shusheng was awarded the rank of general and became the founding general, and Wang Hongkun was awarded the rank of general in 1955, and the two of them also became one of the few "brother generals" of the People's Liberation Army at that time.