On the morning of March 19, 1947, the reorganized 1st Division of the Reorganized First Army of Chiang Kai-shek's army listed its headquarters and carefully climbed into the empty Yan'an, and when it was found that our army had all withdrawn, it sent an urgent telegram to ask for credit. Hu Zongnan, the "director of the Xi'an Appeasement Office," immediately fabricated the results of the battle to report to Nanjing that he had won the victory, and the elder Jiang was overjoyed when he heard the news and announced that Hu Zongnan would be awarded the Order of the Second Class. In many historical documents, another text has been added to promote Hu Zongnan to the title of "second-class general of the army", but in fact, there is no such thing at all.
In October 1945, after Hu Zongnan's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was just promoted to the Jin Dynasty"
Lieutenant General added the rank of General
", is lining up to wait, there is no position of second-level general in front of it.
(Special general during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the collar badge is special)
First, the National Revolutionary Army formally established the rank system of general in 1935.
On December 29, 1928, Zhang Xueliang, commander-in-chief of the security of the three northeastern provinces, sent a telegram to the whole country and announced compliance
The Three People's Principles
obey
National Government of Nanjing
and descend all over the northeast
Beiyang Government
target
Five-color flag
It was replaced with the flag and badge of "Blue Sky and White Sun", which is called "Northeast Yizhi" in history, which means that the National Government in Nanjing has completed the unification of the country in form. However, at this time, among the more than 2 million troops in the country, they were actually divided into many factions, large and small, with as many as 124 officers with the rank of general in the army alone, and a large number of lieutenant generals and major generals, and the major systems of the Central Army, the Northwest Army, the Jin Sui Army, the Gui Army, and the Northeast Army all had the right to confer the ranks of the officers under their command.
In 1929, the old Chiang Kai-shek held a dispatch meeting, the theme of which was disarmament and sorting out the chaotic military and political affairs, and several major armies were dissatisfied, so many new warlord melee battles broke out, which did not stop until the end of 1930, followed by the "918 Incident", the Songhu War of Resistance, the Great Wall War of Resistance, and the second dismissal of Chiang Kai-shek, and when the Nanjing government finally had time and conditions for military and political consolidation, the time had reached the end of 1934. To this end, the Military Commission of the National Government set up a special "Quanxu Hall", with Lin Wei as the director of the department, and began to evaluate and award officers in the national army.
so-called
Civil service
It means ancient China
Through the special vocabulary of officials' qualifications, talents, and achievements to determine ranks and positions, this term was also used during the Republic of China. The Central Military Commission's Quanshu Hall
It is in charge of the personnel and rank management of the army, with one director, one lieutenant general, one deputy director, and one lieutenant general or major general, and three departments in the department: the office of the director is in charge of the personnel management and affairs of the whole department, and the first office is in charge of the appointment and dismissal of general-level personnel; The second division is in charge of the appointment, removal, review, statistics and other matters of personnel below the school level, and the third is in charge of personnel assessment, rewards and punishments. The chiefs and deputy chiefs of the divisions are all at the level of major generals, and there are sections under the division, and the chief of the section is the rank of colonel.
(During Li Zongren's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a first-class general in the army)
After the necessary preparations, on March 30, 1935, the National Government promulgated the "Regulations on the Appointment of Special Generals", which formally established the title of "Special General of the Army, Navy and Air Force", and was specially set up for Chiang Kai-shek, Chairman of the Military Commission, so this rank had two characteristics, the first of which covered all the services at that time, without the need to add the word "Army", because in which service he was a special general, which was a necessary means for chiang Kai-shek to implement military dictatorship; second, no one could be promoted to this rank from now on. In fact, it is already equivalent to the honorary rank of "Grand Marshal".
In the ten years from 1935 to 1945, Lao Jiang wore a special general badge, but it should be noted that it is also three stars, and the difference between this collar badge and other admirals (including the first-class general, the second-level general and the lieutenant general plus the rank) is that there is a border around it, which should be paid special attention to. It was not until after 1946 that senior generals of the Nationalist army gradually changed into American uniforms, and the five-star logo began to appear on the neckline of the old Chiang Kai-shek, and then five stars were embellished on the shoulder loop as a way of reflecting the rank of "special general", so it was inaccurate to call this rank "five-star general".
After all, that is the official rank title of the US military, and this special general has also hung three stars for ten years, which is not in line with the rules, and the professional title is
Grand Admiral
。
(During Bai Chongxi's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a second-class general in the army)
Second, the list of first-class generals of the army (navy) army and the principle of promotion.
Also on March 30, 1935, the National Government also promulgated the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Appointment of Generals", according to the suggestions of German military advisers, the previous single specification of the rank of general in the army, navy and air force was divided into the first and second levels, thus changing the tradition that since the founding of the Republic of China, the military generals were simply divided into three levels: general, lieutenant general and major general. In accordance with the rules of the Regulations governing the administration,
The posts of the first-level general should be maintained at a ratio of about one third to one quarter of the total number of generals and should be filled on the basis of vacancies
That is to say, there will be a fixed amount at the first level of active duty, and in the absence of vacancies, promotion will not be achieved at the second level.
On April 2, 1935, the first batch of candidates awarded to the list of generals of the army ranks mainly considered the seniority of the Northern Expedition, current positions and factional balance, rather than taking military merit as the first element
Feng Yuxiang, Zhu Peide, Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Zhang Xueliang, Chen Jitang, Tang Shengzhi, Yan Xishan
Wait for eight people, note that this order is exquisite. In September of the same year, Chen Shaokuan was again awarded the title of admiral of the first class of the navy, which was to take care of the balance between the services, and the Chinese navy at that time was actually relatively weak, and the naval affairs were skipped in this article.
(He Yingqin, a first-class general in the army during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression)
Feng Yuxiang
He was the boss of the Northwest Army, the commander-in-chief of the Second Army during the Second Northern Expedition, although he lost his military power in the Central Plains War, he was the vice chairman of the Military Commission at the time, and his seniority and rank were there;
Zhu Peide
He was a representative of the Dian Army who followed Sun Yat-sen, the commander of the Third Army during the First Northern Expedition, and the chief of staff of the Military Commission at that time;
Li Zongren
He was the boss of the New Gui clan, the commander of the Seventh Army during the First Northern Expedition, and the commander-in-chief of the Fourth Army during the Second Northern Expedition
Nanning
Office of Appeasement
director.
He Yingqin
Of course, he was a representative of the Central Army of the Huangpu Department, the commander of the First Army during the First Northern Expedition, the commander-in-chief of the First Army during the Second Northern Expedition, and the Minister of Military Affairs of the Nationalist Government at that time.
Chang
He was the boss of the Northeast Army, and was once the deputy commander-in-chief of the army, navy and air force, although he was young, but he had made meritorious contributions to the Northeast Yizhi and the Central Plains War, and was then the acting commander-in-chief of the Northwest Suppression Army.
Chen Jitang
It was a representative of the Guangdong Army, and originally this rank should have been Li Jishen, commander of the Fourth Army of the Guangdong Army during the first Northern Expedition, but because Jiang Li turned his face, Chen Jitang, who had become the "King of the Southern Heavens", was hit in the head, and he was then a member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and deputy commander-in-chief of the border regions of the four provinces of Gansu, Guangdong, Fujian, and Hunan (Jiang Jian);
Tang Shengzhi
He was a representative of the Xiang Army, the commander of the Eighth Army during the First Northern Expedition, and the president of the Military Senate at the time;
Yan Xishan
He was the boss of the Jin Sui Army, the commander-in-chief of the Third Army during the Second Northern Expedition, and then a member of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and the director of the Taiyuan Appeasement Office.
(After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, He Yingqin's four-star epaulettes)
Among the eight army generals mentioned above, Zhu Peide died of illness in February 1937, and the vacated position was in February 1939, represented by the Xiang Army, the commander of the Sixth Army during the first Northern Expedition, and the chief of staff of the Military Commission at that time (soon became the commander of the First Theater).
Cheng Dive
Replacement (former second-level general). Zhang Xueliang was stripped of his rank after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, and the vacancy was made by a representative of the Gui clan and then deputy chief of staff
Bai Chongxi
The date of replacement was October 5, 1945. Feng Yuxiang was forced to retire in 1947 by the elder Jiang, and the vacancy was held by the Huangpu Department
Temporary
He was appointed "Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Defense" on February 21, 1947.
During the mainland period, the Nationalist government also posthumously awarded Liu Xiang (a second-class general) to the Sichuan Army, the Beiyang generals Cao Kun and Wu Peifu, the Northwest Army generals Song Zheyuan (a second-class general), and the Anhui Dynasty Chen Tiaoyuan (a second-class general) as first-class generals in the army, but these were all posthumous honors, not first-class generals in active service. By the time they fled Taiwan in 1949, the Kuomintang army had only been awarded the rank of general of the army
Feng Yuxiang, Zhu Peide, Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Zhang Xueliang, Chen Jitang, Tang Shengzhi, Yan Xishan, Cheng Qian, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng
There were 11 people in total, and the other Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi, and so on were all second-class generals in the army, and this should be particularly noted.
(Yan Xishan, first-class general of the Army after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression)
Before the change of American military uniforms in 1946, the army's special generals, first-class generals, second-class generals, lieutenant generals and second-level generals all hung three-star collar badges, but only after the senior generals all changed their American uniforms, four stars appeared on the shoulder loops of the first-class generals
、
Yan Xishan, Cheng Qian, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng
Among them, Chen Jitang and Tang Shengzhi were already idle, and they basically lost the qualification to command the army to fight.
So what we can often see in film and television dramas, there are only four stars hanging
Li Zongren, He Yingqin, Yan Xishan, Cheng Qian, Bai Chongxi, Chen Cheng
Wait for six people, if there is someone else wearing four stars, it is a common sense error in history.
(Cheng Qian was promoted from the second level general to the first level)
Iii. The list of second-class army generals in the first batch of Quansu and the changes
On April 3, 1935, the Nationalist government awarded Chen Tiaoyuan, He Chengjun, Zhu Shaoliang, Han Fuyu, Song Zheyuan, Liu Xiang, Liu Zhi, Wan Fulin, He Jian, Bai Chongxi, Liu Zhenhua, Gu Zhutong, Shang Zhen, Fu Zuoyi, Xu Yongchang, Yu Xuezhong, Yang Hucheng, Jiang Dingwen, Long Yun, and Xu Yuanquan as second-class generals of the army. In summary, among them, the Central Army of the Huangpu Department only had three people, liu Zhi, Gu Zhutong, and Jiang Dingwen (Zhu Shaoliang's miscellaneous cards in the family), and the others were miscellaneous generals such as the Northwest Army, the Northeast Army, the Jin Sui Army, the Gui Army, the Dian Army, and the Shaanxi Army.
At the end of the same year, Yang Aiyuan, a general of the Jin Sui Army, was appointed as a second-class general of the army, and on January 11 and December 31, 1936, he was appointed as a second-class general of the army Cheng Qian and Li Liejun respectively, so that before the outbreak of the all-out War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937, the Kuomintang army actually had 1 special general, 9 first-class generals of the army and navy, and 23 second-class generals of the army, a total of 33 people. According to the principle that the proportion of posts of generals at the first level does not exceed one quarter, the basic number is fixed at about 8 people, and no vacancy can be promoted.
In the first narrative in 1935, a considerable number of senior generals such as commanders-in-chiefs and commanders of the army were compressed from the top to lieutenant generals, including 93 people, including Chen Cheng, Wei Lihuang, and Qian Dajun, which inevitably caused some contradictions. Therefore, on February 29, 1936, the National Government promulgated the "Interim Regulations on the Addition of Ranks of Lieutenant Generals in the Army", which specially introduced the provisions of "lieutenant generals plus the rank of second-class generals", which is what we often call the addition of lieutenant generals to the rank of generals. From 1936 to 1949, the National Government issued a proclamation to appoint, promote, donate, and add various types of army lieutenant generals, posthumously award the rank of general of the army, totaling 53 people.
(Qian Dajun added the rank of lieutenant general to the army)
Among them, from September 1936 to October 1937, a total of 28 people were appointed to the rank of lieutenant general plus the rank of second-class general, although there were vacancies and additions during the period, but the total number of generals active in the Kuomintang army, including special generals, first-class generals, second-level generals, and lieutenant generals plus general ranks, was always relatively stable. According to the statistics published in the "National Government Gazette", there were 1 special general, 8 first-class generals (Zhu Peide died), 23 second-level generals, and 28 lieutenant generals plus generals, a total of 60 people, until October 1938, in order to meet the needs of the War of Resistance Against Japan, it was stipulated that 5 new general posts of the army at the second level were added.
According to the recollection of the general in the Seventh Period of the Huangpu History: "On the eve of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, 28 generals were added to the rank of lieutenant general, most of whom were ready to be the commander-in-chief of the group army. For example, Zhang Fakui, Zhang Zhizhong, Chen Cheng, Xue Yue, Xiong Shihui, Yang Jie, etc. were all added to the rank of general by lieutenant generals at that time. From then until the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, there were no ranks of generals or generals, and the ranks of senior generals were also reduced, With Hu Zongnan and Tang Enbo promoted to deputy commanders, and Du Yuming rising to the commander of the Northeast Security Command, whose rank was still lieutenant general, and his promotion was later than his rank. ”
(Feng Yuxiang during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, General of the Army)
Among the groups of army generals plus general ranks, there were 16 people, including Chen Cheng, Zhang Fakui, Xue Yue, Zhang Zhizhong, Sun Lianzhong, Yu Hanmou, Wei Lihuang, Deng Xihou, Lu Han, Ma Hongkui, Xiong Shihui, Chen Yi, Lü Chao, Zou Zuohua, Kong Geng, and Yu Feipeng, who were successively promoted to second-class generals in the army through vacancies or special assignments (Chen Cheng was later promoted to the first rank). For example, Wei Lihuang and Chen Cheng were promoted to the second rank general of the army on May 2, 1939, Wei Lihuang made up for the lack of Han Fuyu, who was shot, Chen Cheng made up for the lack of Liu Xiang, the commander of the Seventh Theater who died of illness, and so on.
In addition, 32 people during their time on the mainland, always added the rank of lieutenant general, and did not officially promote to the rank of second-class general of the army: He Yaozu, Qian Dajun, Jiang Baili, Yang Jie, Shen Honglie, Liu Jianxu, Tian Songyao, Li Pinxian, Zhang Zizhong, Liao Lei, Zhu Zhiguang, Sun Weiru, Liu Wenhui, Yang Sen, Pang Bingxun, Xia Wei, Huang Shaohu, Huang Xuchu, Sheng Shicai, Tang Shizun, Qin Dechun, Sun Zhen, Yao Yiyue, Pan Wenhua, Ma Zhanshan, Cai Tingkai, Jiang Guangnai, Liu Xing, Wang Miaoxu, Wang Lingji,
Tombaugh
, Luo Zhuoying, Feng Zhi'an, Wei Yunsong, Huang Qixiang, Zhang Xiao,
Hu Zongnan
, Ma Bufang, Liu Duoquan, Deng Baoshan, Ma Hongbin, Feng Qinzai, Gu Zhenglun,
Lin Wei
, Liu Shiyi, Li Han soul (posthumously promoted to second-rank general does not count).
(Lin Wei and US Military Brigadier General)
The general situation of the changes in the army's second-class generals are: Han Fuyu was executed in January 1938, Wei Lihuang was the first vacancy in May 1939; Liu Xiang was promoted to first-class general in February 1938, Chen Cheng was second filled in May 1939; Cheng Qian was promoted to first-class general in May 1939, Sun Lianzhong was third filled in 1942; Song Zheyuan was promoted to first-class general in May 1940, Xue Yue was fourth filled in February 1944; Chen Chaoyuan was promoted to first-class general in February 1944, and Zhang Fakui was fifth filled in October 1945. After Yang Hucheng was stripped of his rank, Zhang Zhizhong was filled in the sixth vacancy in October 1945.
Bai Chongxi was promoted to first-class general in October 1945, Yu Hanmou was the seventh vacancy in 1946; Liu Zhenhua retired due to illness on November 5, 1945, Xiong Shihui was eighth filled in February 1947; Li Liejun died of illness in February 1946, Chen Yi was ninth filled in February 1947; He Chengmao retired in July 1946, Deng Xihou was vacant in February 1947; Wan Fulin was retired in July 1946, Kong Geng was absent in November 1947, but retired at the same time; Xu Yuanquan retired in July 1946 In November 1947, Zou Zuohua was the twelfth filled in the vacancy, but at the same time retired; in 1949, Fu Zuoyi, a second-class general in the army, was stripped of his rank, but his promotion was stopped according to the regulations, so no one filled the vacancy.
(Five Star Epaulettes of Grand Admiral)
Fourth, the epaulettes of the army general group during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression are explained.
From the beginning of the official recounting in 1935, until the large-scale change of American military uniforms in 1946, the Kuomintang army always showed its military ranks in the form of collar badges, including special generals, first-class generals, second-level generals, lieutenant generals and generals are all signs of "three stars", except for the special general badges, all other first-level generals, second-level generals, lieutenant generals plus generals, the collar badges of military regular uniforms are without any difference, are"
The golden plate is decorated with three three-dimensional triangular gold triangular stars
”。
On non-major formal occasions, the rank of general, second-class general, first-class general, and special general can also be collectively referred to as army general.
The reason why there is no difference in military uniforms is because there are differences in the large dresses of generals at all levels, and the big dresses are the same as we see in the old photos, and almost every general has left a photo of the big dress, but we don't pay much attention to it. Therefore, when wearing a large dress on a major occasion, it is still possible to distinguish the rank of general:
On the armband of the gown, the special general adds three rounds of shape to the plum blossom, the first rank general adds two horizontal rings, and the second rank general and the army lieutenant general plus the rank of general do not have a ring.
(He Yingqin's first-class general's dress)
Of course, the other difference is in the file and salary, which is not explained here. In fact, since 1944, some senior generals have changed into American military uniforms, but still wear collar badges to indicate military ranks, and the shoulder loops are blank, so from this time to 1946, when the stars were officially embellished on the shoulder loops, it can be called a "transition period", such as old Jiang and Bai Chongxi have left such historical photos:
The military uniform is American, but the collar badge is still old-fashioned.
Generally speaking, under the circumstance that the total number of special generals, first-class generals, second-level generals, and army lieutenant generals plus the rank of second-level general is controlled at about 60 people, Chiang Kai-shek has repeatedly stressed the need to strictly control the number of general ranks, and even put forward the slogan that "the lower our personal class, the higher the status of the country." Therefore, it is very difficult to promote the army's second-level general, or to appoint or promote the rank of lieutenant general plus the rank of general. In July 1946, the retirement system was officially implemented, and after November 1947, all promotions to the rank of general were stopped, which basically changed the situation of the flood of general ranks in the Army in the Beiyang era.
Feng Yuxiang, Wan Fulin, Xu Yuanquan and other miscellaneous generals were ordered to retire during the Liberation War.
(Photo of Bai Chongxi's transition period)
V. Explanation of the presentation of the rank of general in the army after 1946.
After the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the emblem of the rank of general was changed from collar badge to epaulette, of which the epaulettes of the special general were decorated with five stars and a ring arrangement, the epaulettes of the first rank were decorated with four stars and diamond-shaped arrangement, and the epaulettes of the second rank general and the army lieutenant general plus the second rank of general were decorated with three stars and arranged in a triangular arrangement. However, all the generals were paid equally, so many history lovers used to call them five-star generals, four-star generals, and three-star generals, which was actually unprofessional and inaccurate, and we must consider the actual situation in the decade from 1935 to 1945.
In the classic movie "Armageddon", especially in the part of the Battle of Huaihai, He Yingqin, Bai Chongxi, Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi and others all hung four stars in the camera, which was obviously wrong, and by 1948, Bai Chongxi's rank was indeed a first-class general in the army, he Yingqin was very early, but Gu Zhutong, Liu Zhi and others were only second-level generals in the army, and it was correct to hang three stars. In this regard, the new version of the TV series "Armageddon" and the previous "Liberation" have been revised, and the basic historical common sense of war film and television dramas with historical themes should still be followed.
(Liu Zhi in the movie Armageddon)
As previously written, the Kuomintang army has always practiced the practice of coexisting with official (Quanxu) ranks during the mainland period since the implementation of the new rank system in 1935. Rank of Quansu
It is a rank officially appointed by the Quanxu Office and issued by the National Government, which does not change with the transfer of posts except for the seizure and promotion of generals. A rank is a temporary rank issued by the Chairman of the Military Commission (the President), and once the position is changed, the rank will also change accordingly, or it may be called a temporary rank.
But pay special attention to:
The rank of general general is generally not, mostly lieutenant general division commander, major general brigade commander and so on.
More special are Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the 18th Army Group, and Shangguan Yun, deputy commander of the Third Theater, who belong to the rank of "specially awarded army general" rank.
It should be noted that the situation of the general group of the National Revolutionary Army introduced in this article is based on the end of 1949, such as Gu Zhutong, Xue Yue and others who were promoted to the first-level general of the army, all of which occurred after Chiang Kai-shek's escape from Taiwan, including the rule of adding the rank of lieutenant general to the rank of second-level general in the army, and it was no longer implemented after the escape from Taiwan.
As for the promotion and replacement situation after fleeing Taiwan, we are no longer very concerned, and there is no need to introduce it.
(Liu Zhi and Gu Zhutong in the drama version of Armageddon, three stars on their shoulders)