There was a famous general in the Fourth Field Army who was decisive in his use of troops and was extremely good at taking moderate risks under reasonable analysis, and his fighting style was very similar to that of Commander Mino, but his official position and authority were not so high. Because in his military career, he has experienced countless major battles and dangerous battles but has always been able to achieve victory in danger, and is known as a fierce general who has won hundreds of battles, and this person is Han Xianchu, the "whirlwind commander" of Siye.
There is a very interesting phenomenon in Han Xianchu's military career, that is, he often participates in commanding major battles as a deputy, but because of different military opinions, he forces his superiors to fight according to his intentions. But then again, these generals finally listened to Han Xianchu's opinion, that is, they were able to win the battle, and thus achieved this general with no defeat in his military career, which is extremely rare in our army.
The first person to have this experience was Hu Qicai, former commander of the Fourth Column of the Northeast Democratic United Army. Hu Qicai was once Han Xianchu's direct superior, and he was also a fierce general, but his military command level was still slightly inferior to Han Xianchu's. Han Xianchu's seniority was slightly weaker than Hu Qicai's, and in the Liberation War, Han Xianchu's official position became higher and higher with continuous victories and achievements. In the Battle of Xinkailing in 1946, Hu Qicai and Han Xianchu commanded the Fourth Column to annihilate the 25th Division, an ace unit of the Kuomintang army known as the "Thousand Mile Horse".
During the battle, the 25th Division occupied favorable terrain, and the stronger Liao Yaoxiang New Sixth Army was on the way to support, so Commander Hu Qicai, in view of the weak strength of our army in southern Manchuria, did not dare to confront the 25th Division for a long time, so he ordered the withdrawal of the army. Deputy Commander Han Xianchu resolutely opposed this opinion, believing that as long as the situation between the enemy and us was combined and persisted for a period of time, it was possible to annihilate the 25th Division before the enemy reinforcements arrived. The two different opinions were deadlocked at the headquarters, and the generals who finally supported Han Xianchu, the deputy commander, accounted for the majority, and the fourth column finally gritted its teeth and insisted on fighting, completely annihilating the enemy 25th Division. Afterwards, Hu Qicai greatly appreciated and admired Han Xianchu, and in his later years recalled the Battle of Xinkailing, and gave the main credit for this battle to his former deputy Han Xianchu.
The second boss who experienced Han Xianchu's greatness was Zeng Kelin, commander of the Third Column of the Democratic Coalition Army in 1947. Some people say that Zeng Kelin is not the direct leader of Han Xianchu, how can he be influenced and commanded by him? This is related to the arrangements of the superiors, and according to the strategic deployment of the Democratic Coalition Army, the third and fourth columns, as the remaining troops in Southern Manchuria, are to fight together. Zeng Kelin held a higher position, and he commanded the two columns in a unified manner (Hu Qicai was recuperating from his wounds at this time). However, before the battle to annihilate the enemy's 89th Division, Han Xianchu had a dispute with the commander of the Three Columns, because Zeng Kelin believed that the comprehensive strength of our army in southern Manchuria was not outstanding enough, and for the sake of safety, we should wait for the temporary 20th Division that the other side was about to arrive at the battlefield, and then the whole army attacked to eliminate this weak enemy, rather than the stronger Kuomintang 89th Division.
Han Xianchu held that although the provisional 20th Division is weaker and can fight with certainty, the 89th Division has already reached the battlefield, and the turtles caught in the urn should not be spared; if the second wave of enemies is delayed, then our army will miss the opportunity to annihilate, and the situation of the third and fourth columns will be very critical. The two argued, and finally, after consultation, decided to ask the superior leaders Xiao Jinguang, Chen Yun, and others to make a decision. As a result, the boss quickly sent a telegram, clearly replying: Han Xianchu's idea was correct. The superiors not only affirmed Han Xianchu's style of play, but also handed over the command of the two columns to Han Xianchu in order to ensure victory. Sure enough, under the command of Han Xianchu, our army in southern Manchuria annihilated the 89th Division of Chiang Kai-shek's army.
If the first two leaders could not restrain Han Xianchu because their military ability was inferior to han Xianchu's, then the third one would be different. This boss was the famous Deng Hua, who later became the acting commander and commander of the Volunteer Army. Before the Battle of Hainan in 1950, Deng Hua and Han Xianchu were already senior generals of the Northeast Field Army, with Deng Hua serving as the commander of the 15th Corps and Han Xianchu as the deputy commander of the 12th Corps. The 40th army and the 43rd army under their command are the main ace forces of the Four Wilds and shoulder the heavy responsibility of liberating Hainan. Deng Hua had a strong view of the overall situation and acted prudently, hoping that the troops would make full preparations before launching a sea crossing operation; however, Han Xianchu's ability to judge the international situation was particularly strong, and he believed that if it was too late, it would change, and it was necessary to rely on limited conditions to quickly conquer Hainan Island with a single blow.
The two men had another dispute, and even Li Zuopeng, commander of the 43rd Army, the main force, opposed Han Xianchu and explicitly sided with Deng Hua, but Han Xianchu did not waver in the slightest because of his low official position, saying that Deng Hua could not even send a telegram to the chairman several levels in a row, asking him to fight according to his own plan. The chairman did not ask Him to follow Deng Hua's opinion because Han Xianchu was the deputy commander of the corps, but believed that Han Xianchu's judgment was more accurate, so he specially approved the launch of the Hainan Campaign immediately. In the end, under the correct opinion of Han Xianchu, although the fight was more risky, Hainan was liberated in advance to avoid leaving historical problems. As strong as General Deng Hua, he was inferior to Han Xianchu in terms of military judgment, which showed that this "whirlwind commander" who won every battle was worthy of his name.
Many friends know Han Xianchu's outstanding achievements in the Liberation War, but in fact, he was even more expert in foreign wars. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, Han Xianchu, as deputy commander of the Volunteer Army, performed extremely commendably. Everyone knows that the 38th Army of the Banzai Army performed well in the second battle and completed the feat of long-distance raids and encircling the rear roads of the US army, but in fact, it was Han Xianchu, the deputy commander of the volunteer army, who pressed the front in Liang Xingchu's army headquarters, and his firm and valuable guidance played a very important role.
Later in the third campaign, the Volunteers pushed back the UN forces in a big stride, and many people, like the Korean People's Army, hoped to drive the US troops all the way down the Pacific. The first to see through Li Qiwei's ruse and demand that the volunteer army stop pursuing was not General Peng, but Han Xianchu, the commander at the front line: he immediately provided the command with the correct advice, believing that the US army was luring the enemy deeper, and our army, regardless of the difficulty of pursuing capabilities and logistical supplies, was no longer allowed to pursue forward, so as not to fall into the enemy's trap. In the end, Shiji made the right decision to stop the pursuit immediately, avoiding a crisis that could affect the whole situation.
For more exciting content, follow the History column