01. Hundred Generals
During the Liberation War, the First Field Army had ten main divisions, namely the 1st Division of the 1st Army, the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, the 4th Division of the 2nd Army, the 5th Division of the 2nd Army, the 7th Division of the 3rd Army, the 9th Division of the 3rd Army, the 11th Division of the 4th Army, the 16th Division of the 6th Army, the 17th Division of the 6th Army, and the 19th Division of the 7th Army.
Among the ten main divisions of Ichino, the 1st Division of the 1st Army, the 2nd Division of the 1st Army, the 4th Division of the 2nd Army, the 7th Division of the 3rd Army, and the 17th Division of the 6th Army are the five first-class ace main divisions.
Among the five first-class ace main divisions, the 2nd Division of the 1st Army was the leading division, and the 17th Division of the 6th Army was one of the most legendary main divisions.
During the Yan'an Defense War, Peng Dehuai mobilized troops
The 17th Division of the 6th Army and its predecessor units produced a total of 1 marshal, 1 general, 12 generals, 21 lieutenant generals, and 89 major generals, and was known as the Hundred Generals Division.
The 17th Division of the 6th Army was first formed during the War of Resistance.
In 1943, during the stalemate phase of the All-Out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang diehards set off a third anti-communist upsurge in an attempt to plan a lightning attack on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
After the central authorities learned the news, they did not dare to be careless, and urgently dispatched some troops from the anti-Japanese front of the major military regions to defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and formed the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jinsui Joint Defense Army.
Soon, the headquarters of the Eighth Route Army decided to transfer the 358th Brigade of the 120th Division and the Independent First Brigade to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
In the spring of 1944, the Eighth Route Army transferred three more troops from North China to guard the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
The westward detachment of the Jiluyu Military Region led by Yang Dezhi (a total of 6 regiments) was reorganized into the 1st Brigade of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jinsui Joint Defense Army;
The Mobile Brigade of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region led by Huang Yongsheng and Deng Hua, the 2nd Brigade of the Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army (a total of 6 regiments);
The 3 regiments of the 129th Division (771 Regiment, 16 Regiment, and 25 Regiment) led by Wang Jinshan and Xu Liqing formed the newly organized 4th Brigade of the Jinsui Joint Defense Army.
The newly organized 4th Brigade consisted of Wang Jinshan (Founding Lieutenant General) as brigade commander, Xu Liqing (Founding Lieutenant General) as political commissar, Zhang Xianyue (Founding Lieutenant General) as deputy brigade commander, and Huang Zhentang (Founding Major General) as director of the Political Department.
Founding Lieutenant General Wang Jinshan
Soon, Zhang Xianyou took over as brigade commander, huang Zhentang took over as the brigade political commissar, and abolished the 25th Regiment and was incorporated into the 771st Regiment and the 16th Regiment.
On February 10, 1947, in order to meet Chiang Kai-shek's key offensive against the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, the Central Military Commission decided to organize the newly organized 4th Brigade into the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Field Army Group Army (Zhang Zongxun, commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Field Army, Xi Zhongxun, political commissar, Wang Shitai, deputy commander, Liao Hansheng, deputy political commissar, Yan Yan, chief of staff, and Xu Liqing, director of the Political Department, and jointly administered the newly organized 4th Brigade, the 1st Brigade and the 3rd Brigade, the 1st And 3rd Brigade of the Guards, and the 1st Column of the Jinsui Military Region).
On March 16, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Field Army was renamed the Northwest Field Corps (Commander and Political Commissar Peng Dehuai, Deputy Commander Zhang Zongxun, Deputy Political Commissar Xi Zhongxun, Chief of Staff Zhang Wenzhou, Political Department Director Xu Liqing, under the jurisdiction of the newly organized 4th Brigade, the 1st Column and 2nd Column of the Jinsui Military Region, the Teaching Brigade).
On July 31, 1947, the Northwest Field Corps was renamed the Northwest Field Army (Commander and Political Commissar Peng Dehuai, Deputy Commander Zhang Zongxun, Deputy Political Commissar Xi Zhongxun, Chief of Staff Zhang Wenzhou, Political Department Director Xu Liqingren, and Deputy Chief of Staff Wang Zhengzhu).
In October of the same year, the newly organized 4th Brigade and the Instruction Brigade were incorporated into the 6th Column of the Northwest Field Army (Commander Luo Yuanfa, Political Commissar Xu Liqing, Deputy Commander Zhang Xianyue, Chief of Staff Tang Ziqi, and Director of the Political Department Rao Zhengxi).
The newly formed 4th Brigade was commanded by Cheng Yuechang (Founding Major General) and Huang Zhentang as political commissar (February 1948, the newly organized 4th Brigade was added to the 3rd Regiment).
On November 1, 1948, the Northwest Field Army was renamed the First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with Commander and Political Commissar Peng Dehuai, Deputy Commanders Zhang Zongxun and Zhao Shoushan, Chief of Staff Yan Yuyao (Deputy Chiefs of Staff Wang Zhengzhu and Li Fuke, Political Department Director Gan Siqi (Deputy Director of the Political Department Zhang Desheng).
In January 1949, the 6th Column was renamed the 6th Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, with commander Luo Yuanfa, political commissar Xu Liqing, deputy commander Zhang Xianyue, chief of staff Tang Ziqi, director of the political department Rao Zhengxi, deputy chief of staff Chen Haihan, and deputy director of the political department Huang Zhentang.
Cheng Yuechang, the first division commander of the 17th Division of the 6th Army
The newly organized 4th Brigade was renamed the 17th Division (the Teaching Brigade was renamed the 16th Division), and the commander of the 17th Division, Cheng Yuechang, the political commissar Huang Zhentang (concurrently), the deputy division commander Yuan Xuekai (founding major general), and the deputy political commissar Zhao Guangyuan (founding colonel).
The 771st Regiment, 16th Regiment and 3rd Regiment under its former jurisdiction were renamed the 49th Regiment, the 50th Regiment and the 51st Regiment in turn.
02. The Old Red Army
The 49th Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army can be traced back to the Peasant Self-Defense Army during the Jute Uprising in November 1927.
Later, this rebel force was renamed the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army's Edong Army.
Unfortunately, soon after, the Kuomintang 12th Army raided the county town of Huang'an, and due to the enemy's outnumbered and our strength disparity, the Eastern Hubei Army suffered heavy casualties, and the commander-in-chief Pan Zhongru and many other senior cadres were killed.
In order to preserve its living forces, the Eastern Hubei Army decided to stay in the county seat to continue fighting, and the rest retreated to Mulan Mountain to carry out guerrilla warfare.
In the end, after counting, a total of 72 warriors went up Mulan Mountain, most of which died, and finally 5 warriors became founding generals.
They were The founding general Wang Shusheng, the founding general Chen Zaidao, the founding lieutenant general Zhan Caifang, and the founding major generals Xiao Yongzheng and Wu Shi'an.
Founding General Wang Shusheng
This group of warriors persisted in the revolution, spread the seeds of fire, and eventually formed the 7th Army of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army (Commander Wu Guanghao, Party Representative Dai Kemin, Chief of Staff Wang Dianchuan).
In July 1928, the 7th Army was renamed the 31st Division of the Red 11th Army, with commander and division commander Wu Guanghao (in 1929, Xu Xiangqian took over as division commander after Wu Guanghao's death), division party representative Dai Kemin, chief of staff Cao Xuekai, and director of the Political Department Chen Dinghou.
The Red 31st Division was the smallest division in the history of the Red Army, with an initial total strength of only 120 men, under the jurisdiction of the 91st, 92nd, 93rd, and 94th regiments, with an average number of only 30 people in each regiment.
Later, it grew to more than 300 people, so the Red 11th Army only had jurisdiction over the 31st Division (later under the jurisdiction of the Red 32nd Division and the Red 33rd Division).
In addition to the above-mentioned founding generals, there were also founding generals such as Xu Shiyou (then the squad leader of the Red 31st Division) and Wang Hongkun (then a soldier of the 91st Regiment of the Red 31st Division).
In April 1930, the Red 11th Army was reorganized into the Red 1st Army, with commander Xu Jishen, political commissar Cao Dajun, deputy commander and commander of the 1st Division Xu Xiangqian, and political department director Xiong Shouhuo, under the jurisdiction of the 1st Division, the 2nd Division, the 3rd Division, the Independent Brigade, and the General Reserve (commanding Wang Shusheng).
The former 31st Division of the Red 11th Army was renamed the 3rd Division of the Red 1st Army (Division Commander Zhou Weijiong and Political Commissar Jiang Jingtang).
Xu Xiangqian during the Red Army period
In the winter of 1930, the Red 1st Army and the Red 15th Army were merged into the Red 4th Army in the Eyu-Anhui Base Area, with commander Kuang Jixun, political commissar Yu Dushan, chief of staff Xu Xiangqian, and political department director Cao Dajun.
The former 3rd Division of the Red 1st Army was successively renamed the Independent Regiment of the Red 4th Army, the 2nd Division of the Red 4th Army, and the 12th Division of the Red 4th Army (Division Commander Cai Shenxi, Political Commissar Chen Qi, and Deputy Division Commander Liu Ying).
In early November 1931, the Red 4th Army and the Red 25th Army jointly formed the Red Fourth Front, and the 12th Division of the Red 4th Army was renamed the 73rd Division of the 25th Army of the Red Fourth Front (Division Commander Liu Ying, Political Commissar Wu Huanxian).
In July 1933, the 73rd Division of the Red 25th Army and the independent regiments of Nanjiang, Hongjiang, Guangyuan and other counties in Sichuan were expanded into the Red 31st Army, with the commander Wang Shusheng (the founding general Xiao Ke after the Red Army meeting the division took over as the commander), the political commissar Zhang Guangcai (the founding major general), and the director of the political department Huang Chao.
The 73rd Division of the Red 25th Army was renamed the 91st Division of the Red 31st Army, with division commander Xu Shenji (founding lieutenant general) and political commissar Huang Zhentang.
Founding Lieutenant General Xu Shenji
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 91st Division of the Red 31st Army was reorganized into the 771st Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, with regimental commander Xu Shenji, deputy regimental commander Han Dongshan (founding major general), chief of staff Huang Xinyou (founding major general), and director of the Political Training Office Wu Fushan (founding lieutenant general).
The 771st Regiment was not only the main regiment of the 386th Brigade, but also one of the first 13 main regiments established in the early days of the Eighth Route Army, with strict discipline and strong combat effectiveness.
In 1944, the 771st Regiment of the 386th Brigade was renamed the 771st Regiment of the 4th Brigade, which was finally reorganized into the 49th Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army.
The 49th Regiment has a long history, one of the sources of the Red Fourth Front, has profound qualifications, has many old Red Army, excellent work style, and strong combat strength, and is not only the main force regiment of the 17th Division, but also the main force regiment of the 6th Army and the main force of Ichino.
03. Hero Regiment
The 50th Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army was formerly the 1st Regiment of the 386th Brigade formed in August 1938 by the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the 1st and 3rd Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Columns of the 129th Division, with Cheng Qiguang as the regimental commander (Later Ding Silin took over as the regimental commander) and Xia Zusheng as the political commissar.
Although the new 1st Regiment was a new regiment formed by local troops, and its fighters were mainly young soldiers in southern Hebei, and it was one of the main regiments with the lowest average age in the Eighth Route Army, but its style was tough, its will was tenacious, and its combat effectiveness was quite good.
In February 1939, during the spring anti-sweeping operation in the southern Part of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Geng, commander of the 386th Brigade, and Xu Shiyou, deputy brigade commander, personally commanded the newly formed New 1st Regiment to carry out a famous Battle of Xiangchenggu.
In this battle, the officers and men of the New 1st Regiment fought a bloody battle, killing more than 200 Japanese troops, capturing 8 people, surrendering 4 guns and dozens of long and short guns, effectively breaking the large-scale "sweeping" of the Anti-Japanese base area in southern Hebei by the Invading Japanese Army and creating a model classic example of ambush warfare in the plains.
The 386th Brigade Commander founding general Chen Geng
After reading the war report, Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army, praised the New 1st Regiment as a "Model Youth Regiment", and later the Eighth Route Army Forward Headquarters officially awarded the honorary title of "Zhu De Model Youth Regiment", and the regimental commander Ding Silin was praised as the leader of the Youth Model Regiment (unfortunately, on July 8, 1939, Ding Silin's Yun Nationality Town died heroically in a fierce battle with the Japanese Kou, at the age of 26).
In June 1940, the new 1st Regiment was reorganized into the 16th Regiment of the 386th Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, opening up the Taihang and Taiyue anti-Japanese base areas and participating in the Hundred Regiments War.
Subsequently, the 16th Regiment took part in the Battle of Guanjia'an, personally commanded by Peng Dehuai, deputy commander-in-chief of the Eighth Route Army.
During the battle, Xie Jiaqing, the commander of the 16th Regiment, was martyred.
During the War of Resistance, the 16th Regiment sacrificed two regimental commanders!
In October 1943, Wang Jinshan, commander of the 386th Brigade and commander of the Second Sub-district of the Taiyue Military Region, led the 16th Regiment to Yan'an to defend the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.
On October 22, Wang Jinshan led 16 regiments to break through the siege and fight an ambush battle in Hongdong County, which is famous in China and abroad.
In this battle, the 16th Regiment annihilated a detachment of the Japanese army and a total of 240 people in the "Japanese Field Observation Regiment", including 1 japanese major general brigade commander, 6 captains of the Daisaku Wing, and 120 officers above the rank of second lieutenant.
This is one of the historical prototypes of Li Yunlong, the leader of the independent regiment, the protagonist of the famous bridge section of "Bright Sword", who destroyed the Japanese army's battlefield observation group.
Wang Jinshan is famous all over the world.
Shortly after Wang Jinshan and his 16th regiment arrived in Yan'an, Mao Zedong personally received Wang Jinshan and enthusiastically praised the ambush at Han Luo Village.
After the 16th Regiment was incorporated into the newly formed 4th Brigade, it quickly became one of the main regiments, and the last 16th Regiment was reorganized into the 50th Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army, which remained one of the main regiments of the 6th Army.
Compared with the 49th Regiment and the 50th Regiment, there is a considerable gap in the combat effectiveness of the 51st Regiment.
In October 1947, more than 2,000 new soldiers who joined the army in Quwo, Shanxi Formed the Jinsui Military Region Supplementary Training Regiment (Regiment Leader Wang Xinyu)
In February 1948, the newly formed 4th Brigade transferred cadres to receive the supplementary training regiment and reorganized it into the 3rd Regiment.
In May 1948, in the Battle of Longdong, the 3rd Regiment suffered heavy losses, and later went to the Hejin area of Jinnan to rest and replenish, and was eventually reorganized into the 51st Regiment of the 17th Division of the 6th Army, with Hu Yunlong (founding colonel) as the regimental commander.
04, a thousand hammers and hammers
The 17th Division of the 6th Army is an old unit with the foundation of the Red Army; it has experienced the agrarian revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation; its fighting style is tough, its combat experience is rich, its combat discipline is strict, it is resolute in carrying out orders, it is brave and good at fighting, it is both offensive and defensive, it is not afraid of sacrifice, it dares to shoulder heavy burdens, and it is known for daring to fight hard and vicious battles, and is deeply liked by the Central Military Commission and the superiors of various departments.
When Mao Zedong was transferred to northern Shaanxi in 1947, he said to Wang Jinshan, Xu Liqing, and other leaders of the New 4th Brigade:
"The New 4th Brigade has followed me in Yan'an for many years and won many victorious battles, but you have defended Yan'an and defended the Party Central Committee."
During the Battle of Longdong, Peng Dehuai praised the new 4th Brigade for fighting bloody battles and persisting in the final breakthrough as a "heroic unit that cannot be overwhelmed and cannot be defeated."
With its heroic and tenacious performance on the battlefield, the 17th Division of the 6th Army was ranked among the five main divisions of Ichino, which was well deserved.
Founding Marshal Xu Xiangqian
In the years of war and bloody battles, the heroic unit of the 17th Division and its predecessor units have emerged one after another, and they have walked out of 1 founding marshal (Xu Xiangqian); one founding general (Wang Shusheng); 12 founding generals (Xiao Ke, Xu Shiyou, Chen Zaidao, Wang Hongkun, etc.); 21 founding lieutenant generals (Wang Jinshan, Xu Liqing, Ni Zhiliang, Zhan Caifang, Xu Shenji, Wu Fushan, etc.); 89 founding major generals (Cheng Yuechang, Huang Zhentang, Yuan Xuekai, Xiao Yongzheng, Wu Shi'an, Zhang Guangcai, etc.), a total of 124 founding generals , is a veritable master of the Hundred Generals.
(Note: The 124 founding generals in this article do not include direct superiors who commanded the 17th Division and its predecessor units, but only those who served in the 17th Division and its predecessor units, and only a partial list of generals is listed in a limited space).