In 1955, there was a criterion for awarding the title, that is, only those who held actual positions in the army could be awarded military ranks, and those who did not serve in the army, such as Teng Daiyuan, Zhang Dingcheng, ** and others, although they all had the qualifications to award generals, but unfortunately they did not participate in the awarding of titles in the end.
Among the top ten generals, most of them have military positions, Su Yu is the chief of the General Staff, Chen Geng and Huang Kecheng are both deputy chiefs of the General Staff, Tan Zheng is the first deputy director of the General Political Department, Xiao Jinguang is the commander of the Navy, ** is the commander of the Public Security Army, Xu Guangda is the commander of the armored forces, and Wang Shusheng is the director of the General Ordnance Department.
However, there were also two who did not hold actual positions in the army at that time, but were still awarded the rank of general. Why is that?
One is Xu Haidong, the second largest general of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Since the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Haidong has been recuperating for a long time, and until the founding of the People's Republic of China, he did not hold a specific position, and his physical condition did not allow him to work. At that time, he was only a member of the Central Military Commission and a member of the National Defense Commission, and had no actual military position.
It stands to reason that Xu Haidong should not participate in the awarding of titles.
However, Xu Haidong's revolutionary contribution was too great, and he single-handedly pulled up the Red 25th Army and was the founder of an important army. The Red 25th Army took the lead in completing the Long March, consolidating the base area in northern Shaanxi, and making great contributions to welcoming the Red Army to the north.
When the Red Army first arrived in northern Shaanxi and the economy was very difficult, Xu Haidong had a very strong party spirit and generously took out 5,000 oceans to support the Red Army. This was not a loan, but a gratuitous gift to the **Red Army, which allowed the **Red Army to survive a difficult period.
Sending charcoal in the snow, this enlightenment, this affection, made *** very moved, and will never forget. ** Said that Xu Haidong was a person who made great contributions to the Chinese revolution.
The Red 25th Army came out of Han Xianchu and Liu Zhen, the founding generals of the country, especially Han Xianchu, known as the commander of the whirlwind, was the main hero of the liberation of Hainan Island, and fought for Xu Haidong very much, if Xu Haidong did not award the general, they probably would not accept it.
The second is Zhang Yunyi, whose situation is different from Xu Haidong, he was not absent from all stages of the Chinese revolution, and he also had a military position after the founding of the People's Republic of China. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Yunyi was the commander of the Shandong Military Region, and then went south to Guangxi and served as the commander of the Guangxi Military Region.
These are all important military positions. However, Guangxi's anti-bandit work was not done well, and Zhang Yunyi was exhausted after being criticized by ***He was very old, he was nearly sixty years old at the time, and the most important thing was that he was not in good health, and he had been sick from long-term overwork.
So in 1952, Zhang Yunyi took the initiative to resign from his leadership position. By the time of the 1955 award, he was only a member of the National Defense Committee and had no actual position in the military. But Zhang Yunyi must also be awarded the rank of general.
The first is his revolutionary credentials. Zhang Yunyi has participated in the League and the Xinhai Revolution, and his revolutionary qualifications are older than many marshals.
Secondly, Zhang Yunyi led the Baise Uprising, and when the revolution was at a low ebb, he pulled up a heroic team for the party, that is, the Red Seventh Army. He was an important creator of an army and certainly qualified to be awarded the rank of general.
Zhang Yunyi is also an important founder of the New Fourth Army, a veteran of the New Fourth Army, Ye Ting was invited by him, after the Southern Anhui Incident, he was the deputy commander of the New Fourth Army, and his status was above General Su Yu, comparable to the first marshal.
Finally, the Red Seventh Army also produced many famous generals, such as the founding generals Li Tianyou and Wei Guoqing, the founding lieutenant generals Mo Wenhua and Wei Jie, and so on. If the old army commander does not award the general, they probably will not accept it.
The revolution must admit that Xu Haidong was an important founder of the Red 25th Army, and Zhang Yunyi was an important founder of the Red Seventh Army.