The 57 founding generals of the People's Liberation Army are shining brightly. They are the backbone of the high-ranking generals, who not only have deep revolutionary history and outstanding merits, but also have different talents. There are those who are fierce and brave, such as Xu Shiyou, He Bingyan, and Chen Zaidao; there are those who dare to attack and are good at striking surprise attacks, such as Yang Dezhi, Yang Chengwu, Yang Yong, and Chen Xilian; there are those who are good at defense, such as Song Shilun; there are those who are both military and political; such as Deng Hua and Ye Fei; there are experts in logistics work, such as Hong Xuezhi, Yang Zhicheng, and Zhao Erlu; there are outstanding political workers, such as Xiao Hua, Li Zhimin, Tang Liang, and Wang Ping.
There is also a group of generals, who serve neither as military chiefs nor political commissars, who do not lead the troops to fight in the front, nor who are responsible for grain and grass in the rear -- they are the chief of staff who are willing to go behind the scenes and make plans and suggestions for the military chiefs. Among the 57 generals, there are the four most famous chiefs of staff, all of whom are Zhuge Liang in the army, and one is called "Living Map".
The first famous chief of staff among the generals was Lai Chuanzhu. Lai Chuanzhu, a native of Ganxian County, Jiangxi Province, was one of only three generals in Jiangxi Province (the other two being Chen Qihan and Xiao Hua). At the beginning of 1928, the 18-year-old Lai Chuanzhu led the armed rebellion of the peasants in Dabu, Ganxian County, and during the Long March, Lai Chuanzhu was the political commissar of the Red First Division, and together with the division commander Li Jukui, led the Red First Division to serve as the pioneer, Yang Dezhi, Huang Yongsheng, Deng Hua and other generals, all of whom were his subordinates during this period.
Lai Chuanzhu's career as a staff officer ran through the entire period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. In the early days of the establishment of the New Fourth Army, Lai Chuanzhu served as the chief of staff of the military department. In 1939, the Jiangbei Headquarters of the New Fourth Army was established, and Lai Chuanzhu served as chief of staff. In 1941, after the Anhui Incident, the New Fourth Army Headquarters was rebuilt, and Lai Chuanzhu officially served as the chief of staff of the New Fourth Army, and later became a member of the Standing Committee of the Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
During the Liberation War, Lai Chuanzhu was sent to the northeast and later served as the political commissar of the 15th Corps. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the first vice minister of the General Cadre Department of the People's Liberation Army and the political commissar of the Beijing Military Region. Lai Chuanzhu died of illness in 1965 at the age of 56.
The second general's chief of staff was Chen Shiyu. Chen Shiqu was a native of Wuchang, Hubei Province, and went up Jinggang Mountain after participating in the Autumn Harvest Uprising. During the Red Army period, Chen Shiyu began to work as a staff officer, serving as the chief of staff of the 34th Division, the chief of staff of the Red 4th Division, and the chief of staff of the 30th Army. After the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, Chen Shiyu first served as the chief of staff of the 343rd Brigade of the 115th Division, participated in the Battle of Pingxingguan, and was promoted to chief of staff of the 115th Division in 1940, becoming Luo Shuai's right-hand man.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Shiyu became the right-hand man of General Manager Chen and Su Yu, and successively served as chief of staff of the New Fourth Army, Shandong Military Region, and chief of staff of the East China Field Army, and participated in the command of the battles of Menglianggu, Eastern Henan, and Huaihai. In the third phase of the Battle of Huaihai, Su Yu fell ill, and Chen Shiyu took command of him, winning the final victory of annihilating more than 250,000 enemy troops. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Shiyu served as the commander of the engineering corps and was known as the "King of Engineers".
The third famous chief of staff, in today's parlance, was a "net red" general. He is Liu Yalou, who is known as "Grandpa Lei". Liu Yalou is a native of Wuping, Fujian Province, who has attended middle school and is a relatively cultured person among the generals. Liu Yalou was one of the backbone generals of the Red First Army, serving as the political commissar of the Red Second Division, and led his troops as a vanguard together with the division commander Chen Guang during the Long March, and made great military achievements. In 1939, Liu Yalou went to the Frunze Military Academy in the Soviet Union for further study, and his military quality was further strengthened.
During the Liberation War, Liu Yalou has been serving as the chief of staff of the Northeast Field Army (previously known as the Northeast Democratic United Army) and has become one of the famous "Lin Luo Liu", Who once said: "Three chiefs of staff on the top of a Liu Ya Building". In the Battle of Pingjin, Liu Yalou commanded more than 300,000 men and horses, and captured Tianjin in less than 30 hours. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lin Zong served as the commander of the Air Force and became one of the main founders of the People's Air Force. Unfortunately, Liu Yalou died of illness in 1965 at the age of 55, one of the shortest-lived founding generals.
The last famous chief of staff among the generals, General Li Da, can be said to be the "professional" chief of staff of our army. Because he was the chief of staff almost all his life. Born in 1905 in Mei County, Shaanxi Province, Li Da joined the Northwest Army in his early years and was the only general who came out of the Ningdu Uprising (the troops of the Ningdu Uprising were reorganized into the Red Fifth Army. Who are the generals of the rebel army? How did it end? In the Battle of the Western Expedition, the entire army was destroyed).
After the Ningdu uprising, Li Da became the "professional" chief of staff. During the Red Army period, he successively served as the chief of staff of the Independent 1st Division, the chief of staff of the Red 17th Division, the chief of staff of the Red 6th Army and the Red 2nd Army, and the chief of staff of the Red Second Front, and successively assisted Xiao Ke, He Laozong and others. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was Liu Shuai's right-hand man, serving as chief of staff of the 129th Division and the Jin-Hebei Luyu Military Region. After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he continued to assist Chiefs Liu and Deng and served as chiefs of staff of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Field Army, the Central Plains Field Army, and the Second Field Army.
Unlike the previous three generals, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Da was still the chief of staff. He has served as chief of staff of the Chinese Volunteer Army and deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army. The marshals spoke highly of Li Da, With Liu Shuai saying that "Li Da is a living map" and Mr. Chen praising Li Da as "our good Zhuge Ge."