Which eight of the "eight major branches of service" are our army? Who were the first commanders?
Xiao Jinguang: The first commander of the Navy
In 1950, Xiao Jinguang was appointed commander of the Navy, which was a new topic at the time, and it was a difficult problem. Before that, Xiao Jinguang had gone to the Soviet Union twice to study military affairs, but he had studied both army subjects and had never been in contact with the navy. What branches of the Navy are made up of? What weapons and equipment do you need? What is the past and current state of navies? What are the strategic and tactical principles of naval warfare? What should be the starting point in the construction of the navy? ...... He overcame a series of difficult problems and completed the task of creating a navy in a relatively short period of time, until it was built into a sea force with a considerable scale and successfully completed the mission of defending coastal defense.
Liu Yalou: The first commander of the Air Force
Some people say that some people go to the Soviet Union to study and come back, and they have not seen much progress, and Liu Yalou is one of the most successful generals, mainly due to his personal talent. Liu Yalou had unique views on the large army corps, regularization, and offensive battles, and his thinking was more advanced than many people at that time. Moreover, during the Red Army period, he was a division commander, and he was originally a person who led soldiers to fight.
Born in 1910 in Dayangquan Village, Xiangdian Township, Taolan District, Wuping County, Fujian Province, Liu Yalou engaged in underground revolutionary activities in the winter of 1927, joined the Party in 1929 and joined the Red Army. He was medium-sized, handsome, shrewd and capable, and had a fiery personality. When he was the commander of the Air Force, he was known as "Grandpa Lei". He went from forming an air force with nothing to shooting down the Ace fighter jets of the U.S. military on the Korean battlefield, creating no small miracle.
Xu Guangda: The first commander of the armored corps
Xu Guangda is the kind of person who has far-sighted vision and is good at thinking, and he has his own unique views on some issues, sober analysis, and scientific foresight. In 1939, the outbreak of World War II, the German army swept through fourteen countries in Western Europe with lightning tactics, and launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union, capturing a large area of soviet territory in one fell swoop, and the world was shocked. Some people believe that Blitzkrieg is invincible and is the latest method of warfare. On July 31, 1939, Xu Guangda published an article written after scientific analysis, arguing that Hitler's Blitzkrieg was bound to collapse in the Soviet-German war. Five months later, the Red Army launched a counter-offensive against the German army, winning the defense of Moscow, and the German army was seriously injured until it was defeated and collapsed. The course of the war confirmed Xu Guangda's prediction.
After the founding of New China, Xu Guangda was ordered to form an armored corps. In June 1950, he was appointed commander of the armored corps, leading the establishment of the armored corps organs, units, academies, bases and scientific research institutions. He attached great importance to the training of cadres and the use of intellectuals, and served as the principal of the tank school and the president of the armored corps academy.
Chen Xilian: The first artillery commander
After the founding of New China, everything was in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt, and the artillery headquarters was put on the agenda at this time, and Chen Xilian served as the first artillery commander. From the beginning of only 4 artillery divisions, more than 70 artillery regiments, a small number of artillery detachments, and more than 20,000 kinds of artillery captured from the battlefield, it has gradually developed and grown into the largest branch of the army, and in the struggle against the enemy to consolidate national defense and resist aggression, it has fulfilled its mission and successfully completed the arduous task of defending the homeland and defending the country.
Chen Shiqu: The first commander of the engineering corps
During his time in the Red Army, he served as chief of the Operations Section of the Headquarters of the First Red Army. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as chief of staff of the 115th Division, the main force of the Eighth Route Army. During the Liberation War, he moved to East China and served as the chief of staff of the Third Field Army, where he had made great achievements. After the founding of New China, the general was the first commander of the engineering corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and served as the commander and political commissar of the special engineering corps command. General Chen Shiyu has been a man of great service throughout his life and has made outstanding achievements in battle, and he personally organized and commanded the construction of China's "two bombs" base.
Wang Zhen: The first commander of the Railway Corps
Wang Zhen was a brave and warlike tiger general in our army, who joined the revolution at the age of 19 and became a senior commander of the Red Army at the age of 22. He commanded the troops to fight heroically in the Xianggan Soviet area, effectively cooperated with the anti-"encirclement and suppression" struggle in the central revolutionary base areas, and won the third-class Red Star Medal.
In the winter of 1944, Wang Zhen led 4,000 people from Yan'an, crossed the Yellow River, crossed the Yangtze River, defeated the enemy's heavy blockade along the way, and finally arrived at the border of Hunan and Guangdong, opening up a new area. Later, due to the change in the enemy situation, the troops were ordered to return to Yan'an. The expedition lasted two years, traveled 14,000 kilometers, and fought more than 300 battles, creating another miracle in military history and being praised as "the second long march of our army." ”
After the end of the Liberation War, Wang Zhen went to Xinjiang to quell the bandit plague, develop production, and make indelible contributions to stabilizing the western frontier. Later, because of overwork, he had to go to the Soviet Union to recuperate. In 1953, Wang Zhen had just returned from the Soviet Union. On 28 February 1954, he was appointed commander of the first Railroad Corps. During this period, he made a lot of contributions, building the Lizhan Line, the Guikun Line, and even building the road to the roof of the world and the Daxing'anLing, which was quite outstanding.
Zhou Shidi: The first commander of the Air Defense Force
Zhou Shidi was a graduate of the first phase of the Whampoa Military Academy and one of the commanders of the first revolutionary armed forces directly controlled by the CPC. On October 19, 1950, he was appointed commander of the Air Defense Forces, and he assembled the units responsible for air defense tasks in major cities and formed a new branch of the Army, the Air Defense Force
Xiang Shouzhi: The first commander of the Second Artillery
Xiang Shouzhi's experience is full of legends, he participated in the arduous Long March, made many achievements in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, and saw people participate in the Fifth Campaign to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the Battle of Shangganling. He was one of the pioneers of strategic missiles and served as the commander of the Second Artillery. In 1960, he returned from his studies at the Nanjing Military Academy and went to xi'an Artillery School as the principal to train high-precision missile weapons talents for the People's Liberation Army. He led the school staff, relying on the spirit of self-reliance and hard work, starting from scratch and constantly achieving breakthroughs.
Many of these eight figures have overcome many difficulties and finally achieved impressive achievements after stepping into unfamiliar territory, and their contributions will always be remembered.