In the history of our army, General Peng, Lin, Xu Shuai, and Liu Shuai, who are well-known marshals, are all regarded as senior commanders with the most outstanding military qualities and outstanding battle achievements. Among them, Xu Shuai was the most outstanding in the Red Army period, he commanded the annihilation of more than 800,000 enemy troops during the Red Army period, far ahead of other generals, and was known as the "God of the Red Army". Why did such an outstanding marshal only serve as the deputy division commander of the Eighth Route Army in the course of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression?
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Peng was always the deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, while Lin Shuai was the first division commander of the 115th Division, Liu Shuai served as the commander of the 129th Division, and Mr. He became the commander of the 120th Division. Xu Shuai's military level was not below that of several other full-time division commanders, but after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he only served as the deputy commander of the 129th Division, nominally assisting Liu Shuai, not the military commander of the unit.
First of all, this is closely related to the background of the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the organizational structure of our army during this period. After many negotiations before the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, the other side finally did not agree to the Eighth Route Army's requirement to set up 4 divisions. According to our original conception, there were 4 divisions under the jurisdiction of the Eighth Route Army, and the extra division was led by Xu Shuai. However, due to the compression of the organization and the urgency of the situation in the War of Resistance, we could not continue to stalemate with the Kuomintang on this issue, so we made appropriate compromises and concessions, and only retained the establishment of the 3 divisions of the Eighth Route Army. In this way, it is inevitable that a general with outstanding military achievements will go to a certain division to serve as a deputy. After weighing, Xu Shuai served as the deputy commander of the 129th Division, and worked with Liu Shuai, who was also outstanding in military standards.
Then again, why let Xu Shuai, who had the best achievements in the Red Army period, be the deputy post? Because each of the three divisions has its own characteristics. Among the three divisions of the Eighth Route Army, the 115th Division was reorganized from the former Central Red Army, that is, the Red Army, as the main body, so this unit is best served by the generals with outstanding military achievements in the Red Army, and this position is the most suitable for Lin Shuai; and in the 120th Division, He Lao is always the founder of the Nanchang Uprising, and he is also the leader of the Red Second Front, his position and seniority in the army are few people can compare, and there is no doubt about serving as the commander of the 120th Division. As for the 129th Division, it was based on the officers and men of the former Red Fourth Front, and it was said that Xu Shuai was more suitable to serve as the commander of the division, and it seemed more appropriate for Liu Shuai to be the deputy commander of the division.
Xu Shuai was indeed the best representative of the Red Fourth Front, and he was able to serve as the commander of the 129th Division, regardless of his seniority or military ability. However, this also involved certain historical factors, when the Red Fourth Front had just suffered a heavy blow from the failure of the Western Expedition and was massacred by the Ma Family Army in the course of the Western Expedition. Xu Shuai felt very guilty about this incident, although after argument, the defeat of the Western Route Army and Xu Shuai did not have much to do with it, but due to the adverse effects of the incident, especially in the context of the departure of Zhang Guotao, the top leader of the former Red Fourth Front, the central authorities finally decided that Liu Shuai, who was from the Central Red Army, would serve as the commander of the 129th Division and command the ranks of the former Red Fourth Front, and Xu Shuai would be the deputy division commander in a low profile, which was not a reasonable arrangement.
In his later military career, Xu Shuai also held the role of deputy of the Front Army for a long time. During the Liberation War, he was the deputy commander of the North China Military Region and assisted Nie Shuai. Nie and Xu cooperated very well, and in the military, Nie Shuai fully authorized and trusted Xu Shuai. In the end, Xu Shuai, as the deputy commander of the military region, directly commanded the First Corps of North China, and almost liberated the entire Shanxi Province. At that time, the strength and strength of the Jin Sui Army were far stronger than the local troops in Xu Shuai's hands, but Xu Shuai once again exerted his strong military quality and command skills during the Red Army period, leading the First Corps of North China, which was absolutely inferior in numbers and weapons and equipment, to defeat more than 100,000 Yan Xishan troops and abandon their armor.
Of course, during the Period of the Red Army, Liu Shuai served as chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, and Xu Shuai served as the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front, and the status and military command ability of both men were very prominent: Xu Shuai was more focused on the actual combat style of play, winning more with less, and making strange moves, especially the method of playing in a hurry, encircling points to help and tightening the position, which were several clever tactics created by Xu Shuai himself and used many times; and Liu Shuai's military theory and writing ability surpassed those of other famous generals. Whoever served as the full-time commander of the 129th Division was fully qualified.
In addition, Liu Shuai was able to serve as a division commander to command this unit based on the former Red Fourth Front, and there was also an important historical origin: in February 1937, he was ordered by the central government to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army to rescue the western route army troops in a critical situation. However, shortly after the team set out, they received the sad news that the Western Route Army was close to the total annihilation of the army. Liu Shuai and the Red Fourth Front army had such a close relationship, and when he read a telegram to the cadres at and above the regimental level under his command, he was heartbroken by the heavy casualties of the officers and men of the Western Route Army, and shed tears, and all the cadres present shed tears. In this way, Liu Shuai took charge of the remaining ranks of the Red Fourth Front and became the commander of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army.
Liu Shuai was born in the Central Red Army, but because of special historical events, he became acquainted with the Red Fourth Front, and under his efforts, in 1937, he led the Western Army to bring back as many as 2,000 officers and men of the Western Route Army, preserving the fire for this team. Liu Shuai's Aid to the West army did not announce the end of its mission until the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance in July 1937, and it was quickly reorganized and became an anti-Japanese team to go to the front. Among them, the personnel who were taken back by the Western Army also included Xu Shuai himself, so Xu Shuai was very grateful for Liu Shuai's work and was willing to serve as Liu Shuai's deputy.
Although Xu Shuai was only the deputy commander of the 129th Division during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and his position was lower than that of Liu Shuai, Lin Shuai, He Laozong, and others, no one really regarded him as the deputy division commander. At that time, it was only because of specific reasons that it was impossible to produce an additional division commander's establishment, and Xu Shuai was relegated to the deputy post. In fact, Xu Shuai's contribution to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was very great, especially in the construction of the base area of the Eighth Route Army in Shandong Province, and the rapid growth of soldiers. Xu Shuai has always been very good at uniting the masses, recruiting and developing the team, and once developed the Red Fourth Front Army of more than 10,000 people to a scale of more than 80,000 people during the Red Army period, and it is difficult to imagine other generals, which reflects Xu Shuai's outstanding leadership and organizational skills.
There has always been a saying that the Red Fourth Front is not the Central Red Army, so it has a certain impact on Xu Shuai's personal development, but in fact this is not the case. Xu Shuai did experience the defeat of the Western Route Army in the later stages of his Career in the Red Army, but it was more because of the overall decision-making reasons, and his command was not effective. Xu Shuai not only had outstanding military qualities, but also had a very high reputation among the Red Army, winning praise from superiors and subordinates and being highly respected. Xu Shuai's Red Fourth Front Army, before meeting the Red Army in 1935, had reached more than 80,000 troops, which was the strongest force in the Red Army at that time.
During the establishment of the base area in Sichuan, Xu Shuai successfully commanded the Red Fourth Front to fight a classic campaign against the siege of the Sixth Route, defeating more than 200,000 Kuomintang troops and local warlords, of which more than 100,000 were annihilated by the enemy. This was the largest number of enemies annihilated at once in the history of the Red Army, and Xu Shuai's contribution was indispensable, which was also a point that other generals could not hope for. Xu Shuai truly elevated military command to an art, created a variety of tactical play methods that conformed to the reality of the Red Army, and commanded and annihilated more than 800,000 enemies during the Red Army period, and no one in the whole army was comparable.
Before meeting the division in 35 years, Xu Shuai had been working in the Red Fourth Front, had never really met the Chairman, and he had a respectful and reverential attitude toward the Chairman and the Central Red Army, and sincerely hoped to meet and help the Central Red Army. The cadres of the Red Fourth Front generally did not understand the strength of the Central Red Army before, and it was generally believed that the strength of the Central Red Army was far superior to that of the Red Fourth Front. However, after a long period of war, the Central Red Army has suffered great losses in its soldiers, and it is inferior to the Red Fourth Front in terms of strength and combat effectiveness.
Xu Shuai was a military expert, and there were already considerations and predictions in this regard before this. On the one hand, he analyzed that the Central Red Army may have a strong strength and surpass the Strength of the Red Fourth Front, but on the other hand, there is also a situation in which after continuous conquest, the strength and supply have seriously decreased, and it is very difficult. Therefore, Xu Shuai took the initiative to write a warm handwritten letter to the chairman, expressing his sincere attitude of willingness to do his best to support the Central Red Army, and mobilizing the Red Fourth Front Army to actively produce military supplies and welcome the arrival of the Central Red Army.
After formally meeting with the Central Red Army, Xu Shuai's judgment was confirmed, that is, the strength of the Central Red Army was not as strong as imagined, and there were many difficulties in the serious loss of combat strength. Xu Shuai immediately proposed to the chairman: Next, the Central Red Army will make good replenishment, restore its strength and replenish its troops, and fight a big and vicious battle by the Red Fourth Front. Xu Shuai said so, and indeed did so. He took the initiative to replenish his three elite regiments and a large number of weapons to the Central Red Army in order to strengthen the central defense work and enhance the strength of the central Red Army. This practice is very admirable, reflecting Xu Shuai's high style and sincere heart. Therefore, to say that Xu Shuai was ostracized and jealous within the Red Army is one-sided and irresponsible, and the chairman has always attached great importance to Xu Shuai.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Xu Shuai received unprecedented use, and he was appointed by the chairman as the first chief of the general staff after the founding of the People's Republic of China, commanding the organizational planning and combat work of the entire PLA unit, which is a very important position. However, unfortunately, Xu Shuai's physical condition has been very unsatisfactory because of years of fierce war, and he did not actually come to his post to take charge of the work of the General Staff, but was replaced by Nie Shuai until 1954. In the later period, Xu Shuai gradually recovered and served as minister of national defense and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
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