When the rank was conferred in 1955, a total of 55 people were awarded the rank of general, and of these 55 people, 7 of them studied in the Soviet Union at different times, namely Liu Yalou, Yang Zhicheng, Li Tianyou, Ulanfu, Gan Siqi, Fu Zhong, and Yan Hongyan. Of the 7 people, the first 3 went to the Soviet Union to study during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, all of whom studied at the Frunze Military Academy, and during the Liberation War, they all worked in Siye, of which Yang Zhicheng was responsible for military logistics, and Liu Yalou and Li Tianyou were responsible for front-line operations.
We all know that the award of the title in 1955 mainly takes into account three points, seniority, battle merit, and the previous position of the title, and the War of Resistance Against Japan, as an important part of the war merit, has an important impact on the award of the title, these three people were basically in the Soviet Union during the War of Resistance, why were they all awarded generals in 1955? Especially Liu Yalou and Li Tianyou, after all, Yang Zhicheng is mainly responsible for logistics, which is different from front-line combat, so the criteria for evaluating military ranks are also different.
In fact, missing out on the War of Resistance did not affect their qualifications as admirals, as they had performed very well in other time periods.
Liu Yalou inspected the wreckage of the DOWNED US plane
Liu Yalou joined the revolutionary work in 1927 and joined the Red Army in 1929, is an uncompromising old Red Army, in the 10-year agrarian revolutionary war, he successively participated in the bloody battle of the Xiangjiang River, the wisdom of Zunyi, the capture of Loushan Pass, the capture of Zhiluo Town and other battles, and became the commander of the main division, which can be described as full of seniority and outstanding military achievements. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the director of the Training Department of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University and the chief of education.
In 1939, he, Li Tianyou, Yang Zhicheng and others, as the first batch of special dispatches of the Communist Party of China to study in the Soviet Union, entered the Frunze Military Academy in the Soviet Union to study military affairs, and it was not until August 1945 that they entered the northeast with the Soviet army. From the education director of the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University to the students of the Frunze Military Academy, after 8 years of the War of Resistance, Liu Yalou did not have a chance to fight with the Japanese devils, which has to be said to be a pity. It is worth mentioning that chairman Mao insisted on not letting Liu Yalou go to the Anti-Japanese Battlefield and went to the Soviet Union to study.
However, After completing his studies, Liu Yalou played a huge role in the liberation war that followed, and after he returned to China, he first reorganized the headquarters of the National Coalition Army (the predecessor of Siye) and served as chief of staff, and then organized and staffed many classic battles, including the Liaoshen Campaign, the Pingjin Campaign, etc. When Siye went south, he was assigned as the commander of the Fourteenth Corps.
Liu Yalou accompanied Peng Dehuai and others to watch the air force performance
In late 1949, he was appointed commander of the Air Force, responsible for the formation of the Air Force, Chairman Mao personally made him the commander of the Air Force for two reasons, one is that he has "eaten foreign bread" and has a clear concept of modern military, and in addition, it is more convenient to communicate with the Soviet Union later; second, he served as the principal of the aviation school in the northeast. If he had not studied in the Soviet Union, Liu Yalou would not have been able to sit in the position of commander of the Air Force. It was also the position of the first air force commander that laid a solid foundation for him to be made a general. With the help of the Soviet Union, after the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Chinese Air Force had more than 3,000 fighters, ranking third in the world in terms of comprehensive strength. In a sense, staying in the Soviet Union for 6 years filled the gaps in the War of Resistance.
Compared with Liu Yalou, who did not fight with the Japanese army, Li Tianyou fought with Japanese devils before going to the Soviet Union, he was the commander of the main attack regiment in the PingxingGuan Victory, and in the Baierling Blockade Battle in 1938, he led a company to repel 800 Japanese troops, covering and protecting the headquarters of Wei Lihuang, deputy commander of the Kuomintang Second Theater. As for the 10-year agrarian revolutionary war, his merits were even more outstanding, and he became a company commander at the age of 15, a regimental commander at the age of 19, and a division commander at the age of 21.
In 1938, he went to the Soviet Union to study, and in 1944 he returned to China, like Liu Yalou, in the Liberation War, he used the advanced tactics he learned in the Soviet Union to strike hard at the Kuomintang army, such as taking Siping in 23 hours, capturing Tianjin, eliminating bandits in Guangxi, etc., with outstanding achievements.
Li Tianyou
Li Tianyou and Liang Xingchu successively served as commanders of the 38th Army (when Li was the commander of the 38th Army, Liang Xingchu was the commander of the 47th Army), although Li Tianyou did not participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea like Liang Xingchu, but in the War of Liberation, Li Tianyou's commanders were basically concurrent, and often commanded multiple columns in battles, which Liang Xingchu could not simply command a column. In addition, during the Battle of Pingxingguan, Li Tianyou was the commander of the 686th Regiment, and Liang Xingchu was the commander of the third battalion of the 685th Regiment. When Liang Xingchu was awarded the title in 1955, he was a lieutenant general, and it was reasonable for Li Tianyou to be awarded the title of general.