How did the Twenty-third Army come about? Its predecessor was the Fourth Column of the East China Field Army, and further on, it was the Third Brigade of the First Division of the New Fourth Army, tracing back to the source, which was the original Fourth Regiment of the New Fourth Army, which was reorganized from the guerrilla units of the Red Army that insisted on the Fujian-Guangdong Border.
Who was the first commander of the Twenty-third Army? He is the famous Tao Yong, a native of Huoqiu, Anhui. Tao Yong participated in the Long March with the Red Fourth Front, and then also joined the Western Route Army, and experienced hardships, during which he was arrested and imprisoned, and eventually rescued by the party organization.
When the War of Resistance Broke Out, Tao Yong came to the New Fourth Army to take up his post. As mentioned earlier, the source of the Twenty-third Army was the Fourth Regiment of the New Fourth Army, and soon after the establishment of the Fourth Regiment, Tao Yong served as the regimental commander, and then led this unit from the War of Resistance Against Japan to the War of Liberation.
(Lieutenant General Tao Yong)
As we all know, Tao Yong is one of the three fierce generals under Su Yu, from the central Soviet region to the east China battlefield, experienced in hundreds of battles, and has made great achievements. He was the commander of the Third Brigade of the First Division of the New Fourth Army, the commander of the Fourth Column of the East China Field Army, and the first commander of the Twenty-third Army.
Tao Yong was a founding lieutenant general, and after him, another famous general took over as the commander of the Twenty-third Army, he was Chen Qingxian, a native of Huangpi, Hubei. Although Chen Qingxian's fame is not as great as Tao Yong's, he is also a fierce general, he has been injured seven times in his life, and there are bullet particles in his body that have been with him all his life.
Because of his injury, Chen Qingxian's two legs were not generally long, and he was called "Chen Kidnapper". Chen Qingxian served as the commander of the 12th Column of the East China Field Army and was also a major general. After taking over as commander of the Twenty-third Army, Chen Qingxian participated in the preparations for the liberation of the Zhoushan Islands. He was also a founding lieutenant general.
(Lieutenant General Chen Qingxian)
In 1952, the Twenty-third Army participated in the invasion of Korea, and the commander at that time was Zhong Guochu, a native of Xingguo, Jiangxi. This is a more legendary general. During a battle during the Red Army period, Zhong Guochu was seriously injured, his nose had lost his breath, and everyone thought he was dead, and a memorial service was held for him.
Who knows, at the scene of the memorial service, Zhong Guochu suddenly appeared, and after treatment, he recovered and ran out of the hospital. It was a miracle to attend your own memorial service yourself. Zhong Guochu led the Twenty-third Army to fight in Korea for seven months, experiencing 109 large and small battles and annihilating more than 10,000 enemy troops. He was the founding major general.
Since the establishment of the Twenty-third Army, the commanders have changed three, all of whom are fierce generals with outstanding military achievements, but the military political commissar has never moved, he is Lu Sheng. Lu Sheng's fame is relatively small, but he is also a legendary general. After the Long March of the main force of the Red Army, Lu Sheng stayed in Fujian and Guangdong to persist in guerrilla warfare and preserved a team for the party.
(Lieutenant General Lu Sheng)
It's not easy. Think about it, in the Kuomintang's encirclement and constant "encirclement and suppression," those who can survive and still be able to preserve the troops are all gods. When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, it was this unit led by Lu Sheng that was reorganized into the original Fourth Regiment of the New Fourth Army, with Lu Sheng as its regimental commander.
As mentioned earlier, shortly after the establishment of the Fourth Regiment, the regimental commander was replaced by Tao Yong, and Lu Sheng later became the political commissar of the regiment, and Tao Yong became a good partner. Although later, Tao Yong served as the commander of the column, and Lu Sheng was only a division commander and deputy commander of the column under his command, Lu Sheng, regardless of the level of his position, and Tao Yong sincerely united and became a pair of golden partners.
The Twenty-third Army was established, and Lu Sheng served as the military political commissar for a long time and participated in the invasion of Korea. Tao Yong commented on Lu Sheng and said that when I was a military commander, Lu Sheng helped me a lot. Lu Sheng was also a founding lieutenant general.