In the list of the top ten marshals awarded in 1955, not everyone was good at military command, such as Nie Shuai, Luo Shuai, and Ye Shuai, whose strengths were not in the military aspect. As for who was the first marshal of our army to have large-scale corps combat experience, Xu Shuai should not give in, compared with Lin Zong, Liu Shuai, and Commander Su, Xu Shuai had much more experience in large-scale operations during the Red Army period.
Xu Shuai during the Red Army?
During the period of the Red Army, our army was in a difficult situation, lagging behind the enemy in all aspects in terms of weapons and equipment and the number of soldiers, and its survival situation was difficult. In the face of the enemy's many "encirclement and suppression", Xu Shuai was always able to stand up and use his superb military command ability to crush the enemy again and again, and repeatedly turn the Red Army around the danger.
Compared with the deeds of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the deeds of the Red Army period are not well known. The peak of Xu Shuai's military career should have been during the Red Army. As a student of the first term of Huangpu, Xu Xiangqian was the first person to become the military commander of the Front, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front.
The first time the Red Army destroyed a whole division of the Kuomintang was the Battle of Shuangqiao Town commanded by Xu Shuai, in which although he was the chief of staff, the commander was Kuang Jixun. The entire battle was commanded according to Xu Shuai's train of thought, and Kuang Jixun played a role far less in it than Xu Shuai.
In the anti-six-way siege war, Xu Shuai calmly commanded, engaged more than 200,000 Sichuan troops with 80,000 people, and the final result was to eliminate 100,000 enemies, creating a battle in the history of the Red Army that annihilated the most enemies. In the entire history of the Red Army, the Red Fourth Front army commanded by Xu Shuai had the largest number of people, a total of 80,000 people, compared with Lin Zong, Peng Laozong and others in the same period, the men and horses commanded by them were a corps, and the number of people was about one to twenty thousand, far less than Xu Shuai.
In general, Xu Shuai during the Red Army period was one of the best commanders of our army (perhaps not one), he annihilated the most enemies and led the most troops. Xu Shiyou, Chen Zaidao, Chen Xilian, Wang Jinshan, and other fierce generals had previously served in the Red Fourth Front Army commanded by Xu Shuai, and had trained many talents for our party and our army.
The chairman appointed Xu Shuai as the chief of the general staff?
In the whole army, the post of Chief of the General Staff is very important, and the incumbent must have a strong military level, otherwise he will not be able to perform it. After the founding of New China, the chairman of the post of chief of the general staff first considered Xu Shuai, because among the many high-ranking generals, xu Shuai was a very suitable candidate for those who had high prestige, strong military level and ability, and could convince everyone.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, although Xu Shuai also wanted to contribute to the country, his body did not allow it, and Xu Shuai, who had been ill for many years, did not have the energy to take office after being appointed by the chairman. Since the late stage of the Liberation War, Xu Shuai's physical condition has become more and more serious, and Xu Shuai, who was originally responsible for commanding the liberation of Taiyuan, because of his physical discomfort, handed over the command to General Manager Peng in the middle of the road and went to the rear to recuperate.
In October 1949, the chairman appointed Xu Shuai to the post of chief of the general staff, which showed that in the chairman's mind, Xu Shuai was the most suitable candidate for the position. After Xu Shuai learned of his appointment, he was very worried, because of his own health, he could not go to the post, for this reason, he politely refused the appointment of the chairman, explaining that his physical condition could not come to office, and asked the central government to send him to take charge of this important post.
Generally speaking, since someone has resigned, it is not good for the superior to force it. However, the chairman was very optimistic about Xu Shuai, and after learning that he could not take up his post due to illness, he not only did not revoke his appointment as chief of the general staff, but also wrote a letter to comfort Xu Shuai, let him rest assured of his illness, and it was not too late to go to the post after his health improved, and the work of the General Staff Headquarters was temporarily taken care of by Nie Shuai, the first deputy chief of general staff.
Since the chairman attaches so much importance to himself, Xu Shuai can no longer forcibly resign, after all, there are people who act on his behalf during his illness, and he will not agree to the chairman's arrangement because he has delayed his work, and thank the Central Military Commission for his trust in him. Originally, Xu Shuai thought that his physical recovery time did not need so long, and he would soon be able to work, but he did not expect that there were great problems with his physical health, and he had accumulated many chronic diseases in the long-term war, and he could not recover quickly for a while.
A year has passed, Xu Shuai's physical condition is not good, he is still unable to take up the post of chief of the general staff, and the long-term vacancy of this important post is not good, so the Central Military Commission has a voice of selecting someone else to replace Xu Shuai, and the most vocal number is Nie Shuai, who has presided over the work of the General Staff Department for one year in the position of first deputy chief of general staff.
Although there were quite a few people who supported Nie Shuai, and he himself did not make any mistakes in his work, the chairman still decided: Nie Shuai would serve as the acting chief of the general staff, and the word "dai" said that it had not yet been corrected, and the post of chief of the general staff was still reserved for Xu Shuai. It is worth mentioning that Nie Shuai has been the acting chief of the general staff for four years, and Xu Shuai has not been able to take office due to illness.
On October 31, 1954, with the consent of the chairman, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China notified Su Yu to assume the post of chief of the general staff. The Chairman took this decision for several reasons. First of all, the position of Chief of the General Staff is very important and cannot be left empty all the time. Secondly, Xu Shuai was still in poor health and could not hold the position. In the end, Commander Su was more suitable for this post than Nie Shuai, and after Nie Shuai stepped down as acting chief of the general staff, he was reappointed as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
From October 1949 to October 1954, the post of Chief of the General Staff, chairman of which was retained for Five Years, was reserved for Xu Shuai. Because Xu Shuai was not in good health and could not take up his post, in order not to delay his work, the chairman was reappointed as Commander Su, who also had outstanding military ability, which was also a very good choice.
epilogue
Xu Shuai's command of combat is very artistic, with a strong sense of appreciation, to discuss the victory of less, the weak to win the strong, Xu Shuai is a typical example of the ten marshals. Leaving aside the Red Army period, Xu Shuai used more than 60,000 weak brigades composed of some local troops during the Liberation War to eliminate more than 100,000 elites of the Nationalist army in just one month, which is not something that ordinary people can do.
Xu Shuai is not only outstanding in military ability, but also very political foresight, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, many old marshals have been hit to varying degrees at different times, Xu Shuai is relatively safe, but also can hold relatively important positions in the army, among the ten marshals, this aspect may only be comparable to Nie Shuai and Ye Shuai.