There is only one example in the whole army: the commander is a colonel, the political commissar is a lieutenant general, and the chief of staff is a major general
Introduction: At the beginning of 1949, according to the instructions of the central authorities, the 16th Army of the People's Liberation Army was formed on the basis of the first column of the Central Plains Field Army, which was subordinate to the Fifth Corps of the Second Field Army. The predecessor of the First Column of the Central Plains Field Army was the First Column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region, which was a heroic unit in Liu Deng's army, and the two commanders Yang Dezhi and Yang Yong, as well as the political commissar Su Zhenhua, were well-known founding generals.
After the establishment of the 16th Army, it should have become the main force of the Fifth Corps, participated in the Battle of Crossing the River, liberated most of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and other areas, and then marched westward, entered the southwest, participated in the liberation of Guiyang and Chengdu, and made great achievements for New China.
In 1955, a number of generals in the 16th Army were awarded the rank of general, including political commissar Wang Huiqiu as a founding lieutenant general, chief of staff Yang Junsheng as a founding major general, Chen Yunkai, deputy political commissar and director of the Political Department, as a founding major general, and even two of the following three divisions were also major generals. However, As a military commander, Yin Xianbing was only awarded the rank of colonel, what is going on?
Yin Xianbing, a native of Hanchuan, Hubei Province, joined the Red Army at the age of 15, and gradually grew into an excellent commander after experiencing the anti-encirclement and suppression of the Red Fourth Front and the Long March, successively serving as a platoon commander, a company commander, and a regimental chief of staff of the Red Army. During the Red Army period, Yin Xianbing's qualifications and military achievements were not outstanding, and he really began to shine in the War of Resistance Against Japan.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yin Xianbing served as the chief of staff and acting regimental commander of the Special Task Force Regiment of the Eighth Route Army Headquarters, and at the end of 1937, the 129th Division formed the Jixi Guerrilla General Brigade, and Yin Xianbing served as deputy commander. Under his leadership, the guerrilla corps was active in the anti-Japanese battlefield behind enemy lines, crushing the enemy's attacks again and again. Especially in the Battle of the Blackwater River in 1940, he commanded the troops to annihilate the Japanese non-commissioned officer training team, and completely annihilated more than 100 Japanese lieutenants, and became famous.
Due to his bravery in battle and excellent command, in June 1940, Yin Xianbing was transferred to the 11th Brigade Commander of the 129th Division, Huang Zhentang as the political commissar, and Qin Jiwei as the deputy brigade commander. In 1955, Qin Jiwei was awarded the rank of lieutenant general and Huang Zhentang was awarded the rank of major general.
In the later period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was transferred to the Jiluyu Military Region as the commander of the Huxi Military Region, commanding the troops to smash the enemy's sweep of the base areas. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the first column of the Jinji-Hebei Luyu Military Region was established, with Yang Dezhi as commander and three brigades under his command, Yin Xianbing as the commander of the second brigade, and dai Runsheng (founding major general) as political commissar.
When the rank was awarded in 1955, the generals who served as brigade commanders in the early days of the Liberation War were basically awarded the rank of lieutenant general, at least major general. For example, Pi Dingjun, commander of the First Brigade of the Central Plains Military Region, Zhang Caiqian, commander of the Second Brigade, and Liu Changyi, commander of the Third Brigade, all have the rank of lieutenant general.
In 1947, the 1st Column was combined with the 7th Column to form a new 1st Column, with Yang Yong as the commander and Yin Xianbing as the deputy commander and brigade commander of the Second Brigade. In the battle of Lu southwest not long after, the 1st Column unexpectedly surrounded Yuncheng and completely annihilated two brigades of the enemy army, which was praised by Liu Deng and the two men, which was the first time that our army annihilated two enemy brigades with "one column alone."
In 1949, after the establishment of the 16th Army, Yin Xianbing became the first commander. After the outbreak of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he led the 16th Army into the Korean War. At that time, the 16th Army was the only composite army in the whole army, and its firepower was the best in the whole army, and the two main divisions had an artillery regiment and independent tank self-propelled artillery regiments.
After the 16th Army entered the DPRK, it immediately attracted the attention of the US military, and during the negotiations between the two sides, it openly stated that the volunteer army put a well-equipped veteran unit on the front line, which was not sincere in the negotiations. In order to put pressure on the US army, Yin Xianbing, at the behest of the Volunteer Army Command, used nearly a hundred artillery pieces to bomb the US 527.7 heights and 488.8 heights, as well as the positions of Western Mountain and Douliu Peak for several minutes, and then led his troops to launch a charge and completely annihilate the defenders in one fell swoop.
Just when he commanded his troops to prepare to take advantage of the victory to pursue and launch a large-scale military operation in which infantry, artillery, and tanks coordinated, he received the news that the US side agreed to an armistice, and had no choice but to give up the idea of a big war.
In the 1952 cadre rating, Yin Xianbing was a cadre of the regular army level, and in 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and half of the cadres of the regular army were awarded the rank of lieutenant general and half of the rank of major general. Yin Xianbing's position and seniority during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation were sufficient to confer the rank of lieutenant general, at least major general.
At the time of the initial designation of the title list, Yin Xianbing was a lieutenant general and was temporarily demoted to colonel before the title was awarded. It was alleged that during the Korean war, he committed a life style problem that led to the female secretary committing suicide after becoming pregnant. After the incident was exposed, the head grew into a light fire, demoting him from the rank of lieutenant general to colonel.
Conclusion:
He was awarded the rank of colonel as a military commander, and Yin Xianbing became the only commander in the history of our army who was not a general. Allegedly, after the title was awarded, Yin Xianbing never wore a military uniform except for formal occasions.