On April 23, 1949, at the critical moment of the battle of crossing the river, the East China Military Region established the leading organization of the East China Military Region Navy in Baimamiao Township. Over time, this day was established as the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy.
After the official establishment of the Navy, Senior General Xiao Jinguang became the first commander of the Navy, and then Ye Fei, ** and Zhang Lianzhong successively took over the position of Commander of the Navy.
Today, let's listen to the story of Zhang Lianzhong, the fourth commander of the Navy.
Zhang Lianzhong, a native of Qingdao, Shandong, was born in 1931 and grew up in a rural family in Jiaodong. In 1947, during the Liberation War, Zhang Lianzhong, who was only 16 years old, joined the barracks, joined the people's army, and became a soldier in the first company of the 15th Regiment of the 5th Division of the Jiaodong Military Region of the Eighth Route Army.
With the merger of the Shandong Field Army and the Central China Field Army into the East China Field Army, Zhang Lianzhong's unit was also reorganized into the East China Field Army.
In the East China Field Army, Zhang Lianzhong served as a communicator of the 37th Division of the 13th Column, and accompanied the 13th Column to fight in major battles such as the Jiaodong Defense Campaign, the Jinan Campaign, and the Huaihai Campaign.
After the establishment of Sanye, Zhang Lianzhong joined the 31st Army and was gradually promoted to the deputy squad leader, squad leader, and platoon leader of the 1st Company of the 273rd Regiment of the 91st Division. By 1955, Zhang Lianzhong was already the company commander of the company.
In 1956, in order to allow Zhang Lianzhong to receive a formal military education, the organization specially sent him to study at the Shijiazhuang Senior Infantry School. Two years later, he graduated with honors and was assigned to the Fuzhou Military Region as an infantry company commander, and the following year he was promoted to chief of staff of an infantry battalion.
In 1960, in order to strengthen the naval construction of New China, Zhang Lianzhong was transferred from the army to the navy, entered the captain class of the submarine school, and began his naval construction career.
In 1965, Zhang Lianzhong graduated from the captain class of the Naval Submarine School and entered the military career, successively serving as a naval submarine trainee captain and captain. In 1975, he was promoted to deputy commander of the submarine detachment, and two years later to detachment commander.
After that, the organization sent him to the senior department of the Military Academy for further study, in order to train him to become a more outstanding general.
After graduating from the Advanced Department of the Military Academy, Zhang Lianzhong joined the North Sea Fleet as Deputy Chief of Staff. In 1985, he was appointed deputy commander of the Navy, responsible for logistics and equipment construction.
In 1988, Zhang Lianzhong succeeded *** as the fourth commander of the Navy. In the same year, the PLA reinstated the rank system, and at the age of 57, he was promoted to vice admiral.
In 1993, at the age of 62, he was promoted to general. In 1996, 65-year-old Zhang Lianzhong stepped down with honor, and Shi Yunsheng took over as commander of the Navy.
As a senior general of the People's Liberation Army, Zhang Lianzhong treated people kindly and loved soldiers like children, and won the respect of his subordinates. His subordinates affectionately called him "Company Commander Zhang" for probably two reasons.
First, because his name is a bit like "Company Commander Zhang", after a long time, his subordinates naturally call him "Company Commander Zhang", which not only shows respect for him, but also is as cordial as his name.
When the title was conferred in 1955, Company Commander Zhang was awarded the title as a company commander, and then entered the infantry school for further study, and his position was still company commander. During his time at school, because he had served as a company commander for a long time, his classmates used to call him "Company Commander Zhang".
Not only that, Zhang Lianzhong also studied in the infantry school for two whole years, so the title of "Company Commander Zhang" gradually became deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even if Company Commander Zhang was promoted to a senior general, in order to show their closeness and respect for him, his subordinates still used to call him "Company Commander Zhang".
This title not only reflects Zhang Lianzhong's excellent command ability, but also highlights his leadership charm in uniting his subordinates. It is precisely thanks to many outstanding generals like Zhang Lianzhong that our army can not be afraid of any opponent and achieve brilliant results.