After the Xi'an Incident, Chiang Kai-shek was forced by the pressure of domestic public opinion to stop the civil war and unanimously agree with the outside world, and under this circumstance, the Two Sides reached a second cooperation. In August 1937, the Red Army accepted Chiang Kai-shek's reorganization, and all the Red Army units in northern Shaanxi were unified into the Eighth Route Army, which came under the jurisdiction of the 18th Group Army and the Second Theater.
The newly established Eighth Route Army has three divisions under its jurisdiction, namely the 115th Division, the 120th Division, and the 129th Division. Each division also had two brigades under its jurisdiction, a total of six brigades, and the brigade commanders were Chen Guang, Xu Haidong, Lu Dongsheng (who did not arrive at the post, zhang Zongxun concurrently held the post), Chen Bojun, Wang Hongkun, Chen Geng and other six generals served as the brigade commanders of the Eighth Route Army. Each brigade had two regiments under its jurisdiction, that is to say, the Eighth Route Army had a total of 12 main regiments, which were devoted to the cause of the War of Resistance. So, you know what? In 1937, which of the 12 main commanders of the Eighth Route Army served as tiger generals?
The 685th Regiment and the 686th Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 343rd Brigade were respectively regimental commanders by Yang Dezhi and Li Tianyou, the fierce generals of the Red Army. You know, these two were brave generals during the Red Army period. General Yang Dezhi was a fierce general of the Red First Army, who served as the commander of the Red First Regiment during the Long March, and was a standard sharp knife unit. General Li Tianyou was a fierce general of the Red Third Army, and during the Long March, he led the Red Fifth Division to serve as an avant-garde. One is Lin Zong's love general, the other is Peng Lao's love general, and the 343rd Brigade is also developed from these two legions. Moreover, the two generals later developed well, becoming the main generals of the North China Field Army and the Northeast Field Army during the Liberation War. Both made great contributions to the cause of the revolution, so both were awarded the rank of general.
The 687th Regiment and the 688th Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 344th Brigade were headed by Zhang Shaodong and Chen Jinxiu respectively. Probably everyone is not familiar with these two regimental leaders, mainly because they have not been able to witness the victory of the revolution. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Shaodong could not bear hardships and could not abide by the discipline of the Eighth Route Army, and finally chose to defect and defected to Chiang Kai-shek's military clique. As for where he went from here, there is no detailed record in the history books. Chen Jinxiu, the commander of the 688th Regiment, was a brave general on the anti-Japanese battlefield, and in the face of the invaders, he was not afraid and bravely killed the enemy. But it is a pity that he died heroically in a battle.
The 715th Regiment and the 716th Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 358th Brigade were Wang Shangrong, and Song Shilun served as the regimental commander. Perhaps everyone knows more about the Song Shilun, he was a famous general on the battlefield in East China during the Liberation War, because he was good at defense, the tenth column led by Song Shilun was called the Taishan Column. Including the later famous Battle of Chosin Lake, the Song Shilun was also one of the main commanders on the front line in this campaign.
Wang Shangrong of the 715th Regiment is also a famous general in the history of our army. Once called by Mr. He, he is a talent for the overall command of the country's future military and a very strategic general. During his military career, he also experienced the land war, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the War of Liberation. And after winning the victory in the Liberation War, Wang Shangrong also participated in the command of the shelling of Kinmen, border counterinsurgency, and operations into Burma, and was a veritable general who traveled thousands of miles.
The 717th Regiment and the 718th Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 359th Brigade were Liu Zhuanlian respectively, and Wen Niansheng served as the regimental commander. Although these two generals are not considered to be the generals of the hundred battles in the history of our army, they have also made great contributions to the cause of the revolution. Therefore, the two generals, after the founding of the country, were awarded the rank of lieutenant general.
The 769th Regiment and the 770th Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 385th Brigade were headed by Chen Xilian and Zhang Caiqian respectively. These two generals are famous generals in the history of our army. General Chen Xilian, needless to say, I believe everyone understands that he later became one of the main generals of the Second Field Army, and was also the youngest corps commander of the 16 main corps on the liberation battlefield. At the same time, General Chen Xilian, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, was also the first commander of artillery and a professional commander of the Great Military Region (who served for 20 years before and after).
Zhang Caiqian, the commander of the 770th Regiment, was also a general who had experienced hundreds of battles on the battlefield. After the Central Plains Breakthrough Battle during the Liberation War, he led his troops to retreat to northwest Hubei and establish a base area. In 1947, Zhang Caiqian led his troops to sneak into Pinghan Road and cooperate with Liu Deng's army to advance into Dabie Mountain. After that, Zhang Caiqian remained in hubei and devoted himself to the cause of liberation and dealing with the enemy army. Including, after winning the Liberation War, he led his troops to participate in the local banditry work. It can be seen that General Zhang Caiqian is also a general who can stand alone.
The 771st Regiment and the 772nd Regiment under the jurisdiction of the 386th Brigade were Xu Shenji, and Ye Chenghuan served as the regimental commander. During the Red Army period, Xu Shenji was definitely a fierce general of the Red Fourth Front. Otherwise, he would not have become one of the 12 main regimental commanders of the Eighth Route Army. However, during the revolutionary war years, the most important period of the Liberation War, Xu Shenji became too tired to work as a front-line commander and stayed in the rear to recuperate. After his condition improved, Xu Shenji devoted himself to logistics work, including after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he also presided over the logistics of the Air Force. The commander of the 772nd Regiment, Ye Chenghuan, was a capable general of the 386th Brigade Commander Chen Geng, but unfortunately, in the battle to defend the Taihang Mountains in April 1938, he was brave and righteous at the age of 24.