After the victory of the anti-three-way siege, The Red Fourth gained a firm foothold in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Region, and in order to defend the fruits of the victory, many young and middle-aged people joined the army one after another, further strengthening the strength of the Red Army. In early July 1933, the Red Fourth Army was formed with the 73rd Division as the backbone, plus independent regiments in Nanjiang, Hongjiang and Guangyuan.
At that time, the Red 31st Army had three divisions under its jurisdiction, namely, the 91st, 92nd, and 93rd Divisions, with Wang Shusheng as the commander, Zhang Guangcai as the political commissar, Huang Chao as the director of the Political Department, and Hong Xuezhi as the director of the Political Department of the 92nd Division. After the establishment of the Red 31st Army, it successively participated in major battles and battles such as the anti-six-way siege and the southward operation, and its performance was outstanding.
After the three main forces of the Red Army met the division, the red fourth main force crossed the Yellow River to fight the Majia Army, and the Red 31st Army remained in Hedong to take charge of the cover task, and soon returned to northern Shaanxi. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Red 31st Army was reorganized into the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army, which was famous under the command of Chen Geng.
In 1955, when the title was awarded, Wang Shusheng, the first commander of the Red 31st Army, became a general. Wang Shusheng, a native of Macheng, Hubei Province, served as the principal of chengmagang primary school and joined the Red Army after the jute uprising. In almost all the important battles and battles of the Red Fourth, Wang Shusheng was present, and by virtue of his military achievements, he was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Fourth Front.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in full swing, Wang Shusheng successively served as deputy commander of the Jinji-Hebei-Yu Military Region, deputy commander of the Taihang Military Region, and commander of the Henan Military Region, making important contributions to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan. During the Liberation War, Wang Shusheng successively served as deputy commander of the Central Plains Military Region and deputy commander of the Hubei Military Region. In 1955, when the title was awarded, Wang Shusheng was awarded the rank of Great General for his outstanding qualifications during the Red Army period and his later military achievements.
The first commander of the Red 31st Army became a general, and Hong Xuezhi, who had served as the director of the political department of the 92nd Division of the army, became a general. Hong Xuezhi, a native of Jinzhai, Anhui Province, joined the revolution at the age of 16 and served as the director of the political office of the 29th Regiment of the Red Tenth Division. After the establishment of the Red 31st Army, he was transferred to the director of the political department of the 92nd Division of the army, followed the unit to participate in the anti-six-way siege operation, and was soon promoted to the director of the political department of the Red Fourth Army.
After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Hong Xuezhi successively served in the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, serving as the chief of staff of the Third Division of the New Fourth Army. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Hong Xuezhi followed the troops into the northeast to fight, and successively participated in the battles of liaoshen, pingjin and crossing the river, and was promoted to deputy commander of the 15th Corps of Siye by virtue of his battle merits.
After the founding of New China, Hong Xuezhi participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, served as the deputy commander of the Volunteer Army, was in charge of logistics work, and made important contributions to crushing the enemy's "strangulation war", and was awarded the rank of general in 1955.
The first military commander became a general, the director of the division's political department was a general, and zhang Guangcai, the military political commissar, was only awarded the rank of major general. Looking at the seniority of the Red Army period alone, Zhang Guangcai successively served as the political commissar of the Red 31st Army, the Red 4th Army, the Red 33rd Army and the 30th Army, which was enough to award the rank of general.
But unfortunately, after the Red First and Fourth Divisions, Zhang Guangcai did not go north but chose to go south, which affected his future development. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Guangcai was first sent to Shanxi as the chief instructor of workers' guerrilla tactics, then served as the chief of the third section of the Hoeing and Rape Department of the Political Department of the Eighth Route Army and the political commissar of the Arsenal, and later entered the Yan'an Military and Political Academy to study, and never led the troops to the front.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Guangcai was sent to the northeast as the commander of the Jibei Military Sub-district, mainly responsible for the work of suppressing bandits, and later served as the deputy chief of staff of the Jilin Military Region. Although the seniority and position of the Red Army were very high, the military merits during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation were not obvious, and the positions were far inferior to those of Wang Shusheng and Hong Xuezhi, so Zhang Guangcai was finally awarded the rank of major general.