The 6th Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army was the fifth field column established after the 1st Column, 2nd Column, 3rd Column, and 4th Column, and the first commander was not the familiar Wang Jinshan, but the more senior Wang Hongkun.
Why did Wang Hongkun leave the 6th Column, and why was Wang Jinshan able to take over the commander of the 6th Column?
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang and the Communists began peace talks. However, Chiang Kai-shek continued to dispatch troops to launch attacks on the Liberated Areas. During the Shangdang Campaign, Yan Xishan became the head bird, and was attacked by Liu Deng's concentration of 31,000 people, annihilating 35,000 enemy troops.
Immediately afterward, Liu Deng planned the Battle of Handan, mobilizing the first, second, and third columns, as well as the troops of the Taihang Military Region, and annihilating more than 23,000 enemy troops. It dealt another heavy blow to the Nationalist army.
Whether the Kuomintang army was really in peace talks or fake peace talks has been made clear, and the troops have to make complete preparations. At the end of 1945, the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region was formed into a 6-column, and Liu Deng talked to Wang Hongkun and made him commander, Duan Junyi as political commissar, and Wang Jinshan and Wei Jie as deputy commanders.
Why was Wang Hongkun chosen?
Among the generals under Liu Deng's command, there were few who were more suitable than Wang Hongkun in terms of being able to fight and have old qualifications. Yang Dezhi was the commander of the first column (later Yang Yong), Chen Zaidao was the commander of the second column, Chen Xilian was the commander of the third column, and Chen Geng was the commander of the fourth column.
The 6th Column was formed from the Wei Jie Department, the Qin Jiwei Department, and the Shi Zhi Headquarters, and was later reorganized into the 16th Brigade, the 17th Brigade, and the 18th Brigade. The Red Army of the troops has a weak foundation and is weaker than the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th columns in terms of combat effectiveness. However, Liu Deng assigned this unit with hard-line cadres.
Chairman Mao said that the work style and combat effectiveness of a unit are related to cadres, and in layman's terms: A strong general has no weakness under his command.
Wang Jinshan and Wei Jie were both tough commanders in combat, especially Wang Jinshan, who was known as the "Wang Madman". During the Period of the Red Army, they spared no expense in fighting wars; during the War of Resistance Against Japan, under the command of Liu Deng, many ambush battles were fought. In terms of personal achievements, he commanded the ambush battle in Qiquan Village and eliminated the Japanese "battlefield watching group", which made his reputation famous.
The three brigade commanders under his command were Wei Jie, Shi Zhiben, and Xiao Yongyin, who had rich combat experience, strong ability, hard style, and young age. Later, the three brigade commanders changed, but the style was very hard.
However, as soon as the unit was formed, it received important tasks, because it was not too clear about the cadres, resulting in slow action, and was also criticized by Liu Deng. To this end, Wang Hongkun took the initiative to take responsibility.
After the initial establishment of the 6 groups, there were several battles, but because the political commissar did not arrive at his post, the ideological work was not better unified. In order to avoid the passive situation of the troops, the political work of the six verticals should be strengthened. He took the initiative to propose to Liu Deng to change himself to political commissar and let Wang Jinshan, who can fight, be the commander.
Wang Jinshan can fight wars and has a tough fighting style, and everyone knows that Wang Hongkun has already learned during the Red Army period. Such a configuration, it is reasonable to say that Liu Deng should not refuse, but they did not express their position.
According to Wang Hongkun's opinion, Liu Deng only adopted half of it, and let Wang Jinshan serve as commander; the second half did not materialize, but instead transferred him out of the field army and let Du Yide transfer him to use.
The transfer of Wang Hongkun away from the 6 columns was the result of the overall consideration of Chief Liu Deng. Before Wang Hongkun concurrently served as the commander of the 6th Column, he served as the deputy commander of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region.
Liu Deng wanted to lead the main force to fight, and the rear needed cadres who understood military affairs, with deputy political commissar Bo Yibo and deputy commander Teng Daiyuan still relatively weak in combat. To allow Wang Hongkun to return to the military region is to strengthen military leadership work.
In this way, Wang Hongkun returned to the military region, and Wang Jinshan served as the commander of the 6th Column.