Do you know that in the War of Liberation, our PLA troops had four major field armies, and how many of them were corpsed? There are 13 in total, that is, there are 13 corps commanders, and which of them is the youngest?
He is our protagonist today, he has a very loud nickname, that is, "small steel cannon", after the establishment of the four major field armies in 1949, he was only 34 years old, and the largest corps commander was already 46 years old, such as General Chen Geng, and he was the founding general Chen Xilian.
I believe that many people are still incomparably familiar with General Chen Xilian, in my Platon Army unit, Chen Xilian is definitely a well-known existence, although he is young, but he is incomparably brave in fighting.
As early as the age of 13, Chen Xilian began to participate in the revolution, and there were some small episodes here, because Chen Xilian was too young at that time, so General Zhan Caifang did not intend to accept him, which could make Chen Xilian die in a hurry, he began to reason in every way, and finally General Zhan Caifang reluctantly agreed to let him join the army, but what he did not expect was that he brought to our army a general who would later be famous and shocked the battlefield.
In the subsequent land war, Chen Xilian's performance on the battlefield can indeed be said to be very good, absolutely General Zhan Caifang was shocked, I did not expect that the young Chen Xilian actually dared to fight and dare to rush, especially in the Battle of Shuangqiao Town, Chen Xilian actually captured the enemy's division commander Qiu Weijun alive, and the subsequent Chen Xilian was naturally greatly praised.
In the War of Resistance Against Japan, chen Xilian, a "small steel cannon," also made many meritorious achievements, especially when he was the commander of the 769th Regiment of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, when he personally led his troops to sneak attack the Japanese Yangmingbao airfield, with the result that more than 100 Japanese defenders were eliminated, and what was even more shocking was that he also successfully destroyed 24 Japanese aircraft, but the Japanese army was furious.
In addition, Chen Xilian also made good achievements in the Baijin Railway Operation and the Hundred Regiments War.
After the end of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chen Xilian successively served as the commander of the 3rd Column of the Central Plains Field Army and the commander of the 3rd Corps of the Second Field Army, during which he participated in many famous battles, such as the battles of Shangdang, Handan, and Southwest Lu, the Battle of Northern Henan, and the Battle of Huaihai.
Among them, when participating in the battle of Dabie Mountain, Chen Xilian's headquarters was mighty and majestic, liberating 9 counties and large areas in wanxi in half a month, thus completely opening up a new situation in wanxi.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Xilian successively served as commander of the artillery of the People's Liberation Army, president of the Artillery Academy, commander of the Shenyang Military Region, secretary of the Secretariat of the Northeast Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, commander of the Beijing Military Region, and in 1975 he also served as vice premier of the State Council.
Among the ranks awarded to the army in 1955, Chen Xilian was awarded the rank of general, the Order of August 1, First Class, the Order of Independence and Freedom, First Class, and the Liberation Medal first class.
In 1980, Chen Xilian was dismissed from his posts as a member of the Politburo, vice premier of the State Council, and commander of the Beijing Military Region, and although he later retired to the second line, he was still elected as a standing member of the Central Advisory Committee.
So how did Chen Xilian's 4 children live later?
Among them, the eldest son, Chen Zaiqiang, is a colonel in the People's Liberation Army; and the third son, Chen Zaifang, should be the most outstanding, having served as deputy director of the Science and Technology Commission of the General Armament Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the rank of lieutenant general of the People's Liberation Army.
The second son was more unfortunate, in 1982, he was killed on a mission at the age of 32.