Author: Mast
As the saying goes, "Wen Wu is the first, Wu wu is the second". Many friends like to compare the combat strength of the army, and there are many such articles on the Internet, such as comparing the combat strength of the three fields and the four fields, ranking the combat strength of each army within the field army, and so on. The author also made a scene, talked about who has stronger combat strength in the four fields of various armies, and chatted with friends who like military history. Welcome to discuss and exchange.
(1) Shino could have set up 5 more armies, but Lin Biao suggested that fewer should be set up
Shino formed and commanded 19 corps, including the 38th-49th Army, which was reorganized from 12 main columns in November 1948. Later, the 50th Army was reorganized by the Changchun Uprising, the 51st Army was reorganized by the ZhangYi Uprising, the 52nd and 53rd Armies under the 21st Corps were reorganized into the Changsha Uprising Troops, the 58th Army reorganized by the tongbai Military Region, the 54th Army, which was combined by the 44th and 45th Armies, and the 55th Army, which was combined by the 48th Army and the 21st Corps.
The Higashino 1-12 Column was reorganized in three stages: from August to October 1946, the First Large-scale Reorganization of higashino's troops, based on the kannai troops advancing into the northeast, was organized into three columns in Northern Manchuria, 1st, 2nd, and 6th, plus the 3rd and 4th columns formed in Nanman from January to February of that year, for a total of 5 main columns; from August to September 1947, it was organized into four columns of 7, 8, 9, and 10 with 12 independent divisions; and from February to March 1948, it was organized into 5, 11, and 12 columns with 9 independent divisions. By the time of the Liaoshen Campaign, the field troops had a total of 12 infantry columns, 15 independent divisions, 1 artillery column, 1 railway column, 3 cavalry divisions, 1 tank regiment, etc. A total of more than 700,000 people, plus local troops, the total strength of the troops at this time was 1.03 million.
By November 1948, when the whole army was unified, Higashino could be organized into 17 corps according to the three-three system, that is, 15 independent divisions could be organized into 5 additional corps. However, Lin Biao considered that the war of liberation would soon end and that too many troops would cause difficulties in future disarmament, so he suggested to the headquarters not to increase the number of troops, only to rename 1-12 columns to the 38-49 Army, but to add 1 division to each army. Therefore, among the five major field armies, each of the other field armies has 3 divisions, but the four field armies have 4 divisions. When Shino entered the pass, most of the troops were around 60,000, almost catching up with the corps of other field armies. It should be said that Lin Biao is far-sighted on this issue.
(2) The most powerful army in the four fields was originally formed into 5 columns
The author gradually narrowed the scope: the 19 armies that Shino successively commanded were definitely the most effective in the earliest 12 armies, and certainly in the first 5 columns, that is, in the 38th, 39th, 40th, 41st, and 43rd armies. Why? In a previous article, the author has said that the combat effectiveness of a unit is composed of three major elements: style, tactics, and command. These five armies have great advantages in these three aspects.
The first is a good style.
Among the three elements of combat effectiveness of the troops, work style is the first. However, the cultivation of the work style of the troops requires the accumulation of time and the tempering of the flames of war, that is, fine traditions. The first 5 columns were the essence of the old eighth road in Kannai, and their style was naturally better than that of other units. Of course, this is not absolute, the history is long, the style is not necessarily natural, the most typical is the 359 Brigade, after entering the northeast, it is weaker in fighting. The "Military Materials of the Three-Year Liberation War in Northeast China" says: "This division is one of the units with the oldest historical foundation among the units in the northeast, many of which are the backbone elements of the agrarian revolution and the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the vast majority of cadres at or above the company level are veteran cadres who joined the army in Guannei, but the style of the troops is very tired, lack vitality, are conservative, make slow progress, have a passive fighting style, and have not been able to give full play to their combat effectiveness; their unit history should be included in the main divisions of the northeast units, but their combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the ordinary old units and the new units that cannot catch up with the rapid progress."
The troops of the 359th Brigade marching into the northeast were developed on the basis of the 717 regiment and were the old foundation of the Red 6th Army. In 1939, this unit was transferred back to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to garrison, and at the end of 1940, it went to Nanniwan to clear the land, stayed away from the front line for a long time, engaged in production and business, and weakened the war, because of the "very tired style." However, the 359th Brigade is only an isolated phenomenon, and the old foundation of the troops is there, and when it encounters historical opportunities or fierce generals, its potential will be stimulated and the state will change immediately. After the 359th Brigade was reorganized into the 10th Column and 28th Division in 1947, it was "fiercely attacked" by Liang Xingchu, who "struck iron", and his style immediately changed, and he was justified in the Battle of Montenegro.
The second is tactical high.
These five columns, which were first incorporated into field troops, were also the first to systematically carry out tactical training. Under Lin Biao's six major tactical principles, the Dongye troops actually carried out standardized tactical training. The older the troops, the longer the training time, and the higher the tactical level naturally. The same is true of the facts.
The third is strong command.
These five armies are the "Five Tigers" in Lin Biao's hands, and they will be used in important or key positions in each battle, which naturally attracts special attention. Therefore, the commanders of these 5 columns are naturally carefully selected, have undergone the test of war practice, and are the survival of the fittest and the strong hands in the strong hands. In a unit, style and tactics are the basis of combat effectiveness, and a commander with strong ability will often sublimate the combat effectiveness of a unit.
The aforementioned 10th Column 28th Division is an example of this, before and after Liang Xingchu's command, it was judged to be two units. In addition, when the same commander does not play well, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be greatly reduced. Take Liang Xingchu as an example: In the first campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea, because of the erroneous information of a "black regiment," he hesitated for a moment, and as a result, he was scolded by General Peng. The author has always believed that There may be an implicit reason why General Peng scolded Liang Xingchu: the 38th Army was developed on the basis of the Red 3rd Army, and its own old units, the so-called "deep love, deep responsibility" it.
Liang Xingchu
(3) There are four armies whose combat effectiveness is inseparable
Among the five columns of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 that were first formed by the Eastern General Headquarters, in terms of combat effectiveness, the 1st, 2nd, and 6th columns of the original Northern Manchuria were far stronger than the 3rd and 4th columns of the Southern Manchuria. In this regard, do not be convinced, and say two examples: First, in February 1946, the Democratic Coalition Army fought two typical examples: one was the Battle of XiushuiHezi, which fought the first annihilation war after entering the northeast; the other was the Battle of Shaling, which fought a notoriously defeated battle. Xiushui Hezi was fought by the predecessors of the 1st Column and 6th Column (which had not yet been reorganized at that time), while the Battle of Shaling was fought by the 3rd column and the 4th Column. During the Siping Defense War, the enemy's new 6th Army broke through the 3-column position in only 4 hours, causing the entire defense line of Siping to collapse, while the predecessor units of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Columns fought even better and more heroically and tenaciously.
They are all the old eight roads in Guannei, why is there such a gap? The author believes that the main problem is in style. The predecessor of the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Columns was the main force of the 115th Division, the old foundation of the Red 1st and Red 15th Armies. The predecessors of the 3rd column and 4th column units were the Shandong and Jidong troops formed during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, although most of the main cadres were also old Red Army, but after all, the number was small, and there was no inheritance of the formed Red Army units. Whether there was a tempering during the Red Army period and the Long March, there was still a big difference in work style.
As mentioned earlier, nothing can be absolute. Later, under the tutelage of Han Xianchu, the combat strength of the 3rd Column rose rapidly, and by the time of the Liaoshen Campaign, it was comparable to the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Columns. Therefore, the strongest combat strength of the four fields should be the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th columns, that is, the later 38th, 39th, 40th, and 43rd Armies. At this point, when Shino organized four corps in March 1949, he gave a conclusion: at that time, each corps had 3 corps under its jurisdiction, according to the combination of strong, medium and weak, of which the 40th, 38th, 39th, and 43rd armies were organized into the 12th-15th Corps as the strongest army.
(4) In this army, the author believes that the 43rd Army is more effective
Among the above four armies, if we have to distinguish between combat effectiveness, the author believes that the 38th Army and the 43rd Army are relatively stronger. The reason is that the "Military Materials of the Three-Year Liberation War in Northeast China" evaluates 36 divisions of 12 columns in Dongye, of which a total of 7 are called "first-class main divisions", namely, the 1st Division and the 2nd Division of the 1st Column, the 5th Division of the 2nd Column, the 7th Division of the 3rd Column, the 10th Division of the 4th Column, the 16th Division of the 6th Column, and the 17th Division. That is to say, there are 7 first-class main divisions, 2 each of the 38th Army and 43rd Army, and only 1 of the other 3 corps. The "first-class main division" is the embodiment of combat strength.
Which of the 38th Army and the 43rd Army is more effective? It's really hard to tell the difference. I have to distinguish between them, the author believes that the 43rd Army is slightly stronger, the reason is that the 2 armies are inseparable in field combat and defense capabilities, but because there is a tiger 128th division, the overall offensive capability of the 43rd Army is stronger than that of the 38th Army. Li Tianyou, commander of the 38th Army, also recognized this.
In addition, the 43rd Army has a longer history, a better foundation and style of work, although some pride and complacency, but no matter where it is placed, it can withstand it, and the Blockade and Interception of the Lijia Shack in the Liaoshen Campaign is the best example: the 6th Column and 2 Divisions forcibly marched for more than 30 hours, facing about 100,000 elite enemy troops of the 12 divisions that were eager to escape, they began to fight when they encountered it, there was no time to build fortifications, there was no fear or hesitation, regardless of fatigue and heavy casualties, they had to stand up for 1 day and 1 night. How many troops can withstand such a battle? Yang Kun, chief of staff of Liao Yaoxiang's corps, who was captured in the Battle of Western Liaoning, said that "the 6 columns in the north and 3 columns in the south" have the strongest combat effectiveness.
In this regard, some friends may not be convinced. Mainly because the 43rd Army's record may not be as good as that of the 39th Army and other units. But combat effectiveness and combat performance are not exactly the same thing. The size of the battle record depends on whether the superior or the battlefield gives or what kind of opportunity is given. In a major war, the position of each unit has a great impact on the record. Some of the main forces are often used as reserves or placed in mobile positions, and may not have much success.
For example, after the Battle of Liaoshen, Li Tianyou, commander of the 1st Column, complained: "We were always used as reserves, and as a result, only a few shots were fired in such a big battle." "The 38th Army's achievements during the Liberation War were not as good as those of the 39th Army, nor the 43rd Army, and its fame was mainly due to the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the situation along the southeast coast was also very tense, and the headquarters always left the 43rd Army as a mobile force in South China. Missing the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea is also a major regret of the 43rd Army.
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