In 1955, our army implemented the rank system, and many generals who made great contributions to the founding of New China were awarded corresponding military ranks. They were collectively known as the founding generals. Throughout their history, without exception, they have experienced the guns and bullets of decades of revolutionary war, and everyone has left an unrepeatable legend.
Among them, the legendary story of 7 pairs of "general brothers" is even more fascinating. They have distinguished themselves in history and have written unforgettable legends.
First, Wang Shusheng and Wang Hongkun, the two brothers carry 14 general stars
For the legendary story of General Wang Shusheng, everyone is more familiar with it. He was a native of Macheng County, and as a primary school principal, he threw himself into the revolution, participated in the creation of the first peasant armed forces in Macheng County, participated in the Macheng Rebellion and the Jute Uprising, and became one of the oldest founders of the Eyu-Anhui Revolutionary Base Area.
He was known for his bravery in battle, and in the fierce revolutionary war, he was tempered into a tiger general who was not afraid of heaven. Although Li Yunlong in the famous TV series "Bright Sword" is a fictional character, he can find many figures of Wang Shusheng in him, which shows his style.
Especially during the period of following Marshal Xu Qianqian, he pulled a small Red Army team into a Red Fourth Front army of 100,000 troops, becoming one of the earliest revolutionary troops of the Red Army. After the founding of New China, he was awarded the rank of Great General with outstanding military merits and excellent qualifications, ranking ninth among the top ten generals.
Pictured| Wang Shusheng and Wang Hongkun
Compared with Wang Shusheng, his younger brother Wang Hongkun is not very famous. He and Wang Shusheng were four years apart, and when he followed Wang Shusheng to participate in the jute uprising and join the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the two of them went south to fight in the north and established meritorious deeds, and they were also tiger generals. The difference is that after the failure of the jute uprising, Wang Shusheng led the fighters up the mountain to fight guerrilla warfare.
However, Wang Hongkun was unfortunately separated from the troops, and invited more than 20 brave members to go south to Wuhan, accidentally hitting and accidentally entering Bai Chongxi's troops. Less than a year later, when the news came that Wang Shusheng and others had erected the Banner of the Red Army at Dabie Mountain, Wang Hongkun could no longer bear it any longer, and twice went to Dabie Mountain in disguise to find his brother Wang Shusheng and wanted to return to the Red Army.
As a result, he was arrested as a secret agent, and later recognized by Wang Shusheng, and the misunderstanding was lifted. Wang Hongkun got his wish and returned to the Red Army. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, he was promoted from platoon commander, company commander, deputy battalion commander to deputy chief of staff of the General Headquarters of the Red Fourth Front.
Because of his excellent ability, he was appointed commander of the 10th Division of the Red Fourth Army at the age of 23, and was promoted to commander the following year. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as the secretary of the Military and Political Committee, deputy commander, commander and other positions, participated in the creation of the Anti-Japanese Base Area in Southern Hebei, the Hundred Regiments War, Shentouling and other battles, and made great contributions to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan.
During the Liberation War, he served as the commander of different military regions, leading large armies to participate in the battles of Dabie Mountain, Huaihai, and Crossing the River, and participating in the liberation of New China. After the founding of New China, he ranked among the founding generals by virtue of his military achievements, and carried 14 general stars with his brother Wang Shusheng.
Brothers on the logistics front of our army: Zhang Lingbin, Zhang Pingkai
Zhang Lingbin is an older brother and a native of Pingjiang, Hunan. When Mao Zedong led the Autumn Harvest Uprising, he was one of them, and after the reorganization of the troops, he served as a squad leader and a platoon leader. During the Jinggangshan period, Mao Zedong personally appointed him as the district captain of the first teaching team of our army.
During the agrarian revolutionary war, he first served as a squad leader, platoon leader and other positions, fought on the front line, and then was appointed as the captain of the health team, the director of the left-behind department, the director of the logistics department, the chief of the management section, the director of the supply department and other positions, contributing to the logistics front. Especially during the arduous Long March, he worked hard as a logistician for the soldiers' supplies.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he also fought on the logistics front and worked hard to solve the material problems of the Eighth Route Army. In the Liberation War, he spent time in the war front and the logistics department, but in the later period, he mainly focused on logistics, after all, he served in the rear for a long time and had rich logistical experience.
After the founding of New China, he was appointed deputy director of the General Logistics Department of the People's Liberation Army and held an important position. Among them, he and Mao Zedong also had a relationship, and both of them showed noble qualities.
Picture | Zhang Lingbin
It was during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression that Zhang Lingbin served as director of the Economic Construction Department of the Logistics Department of the Central Military Commission, obeyed Mao Zedong's orders, advocated self-action in the army, had enough food and clothing, led the army and the people to carry out large-scale production campaigns, and improved the production and living conditions of the military and people in Yan'an. During the Spring Festival of one year, Mao Zedong inspected the Ministry of Economic Construction.
In order to entertain Mao Zedong, Zhang Lingbin personally made a good table, took out two cans of beer, and invited Mao Zedong to taste. According to the living conditions in Yan'an at that time, beer was definitely a rare thing and valuable. But according to the regulations of the military, each person has a certain specification for each meal.
Obviously, this meal has exceeded the prescribed standard. Zhang Lingbin thought of this, and after Mao Zedong left, he asked people to deduct the excess of the meal from his allowance. In the same way, Mao Zedong also expected to overspend, so that people would give Zhang Lingbin part of the overspending from his own allowance or writing fee, and he could not let him pay for it. I have to say that both of them thought of it together.
In 1955, Zhang Lingbin led the design of the clothing awarded the title, and was awarded the founding lieutenant general.
His younger brother, Zhang Pingkai, also joined the Red Army during the Pingjiang Uprising. Compared with his brother Zhang Lingbin, he pays more attention to improving his cultural level. Because he was poor when he was a child, he only attended elementary school for 15 months, which is equivalent to the level of the second grade of primary school, and he did not recognize many words.
After joining the Red Army, he made up his mind to learn cultural knowledge and improve his cultural level. No matter how harsh the environment and how simple the conditions were, he never gave up learning culture, even on the Long March, he insisted on studying every night. By the end of the Long March, his cultural level had greatly improved.
At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was assigned to work behind enemy lines to engage in educational work. Outside of work, he also wrote two press releases, which he submitted to Liberation Daily. After reading it, the director of the Liberation Daily admired the article he wrote and decided to publish it. Mao Zedong, who was active in the newspaper, saw his first press release, praised it, and wrote an editorial affirming Zhang Pingkai's work and articles.
A month later, When Mao Zedong saw the second manuscript, he appreciated it even more and admired it: "The manuscript he wrote was very good, both vivid and principled. When Mao Zedong learned that he had only attended school for 15 months, he was very surprised and appreciated him even more. This is an excellent side of Zhang Pingkai.
Pictured| Zhang Pingkai
Of course, in terms of operational command, Zhang Pingkai's ability is also not bad, and he is a major general. Unfortunately, he was wounded several times in the war, leaving his right arm disabled. He was awarded the rank of Major General in 1955.
Three, two brothers who had been separated for ten years were in the same force
Both Deklin and Dekemin were awarded the rank of major general and were a pair of brother generals. The story of the two is very interesting.
After both brothers joined the revolution, the family was basically killed by the reactionaries. In the fierce fighting, only a few people escaped. His brother Dekelin followed the Red Fourth Army and participated in the Long March. His younger brother, Deke ming, remained in the south and fought guerrilla warfare for three years.
Because they were not in the same unit and were far apart, the two lost contact for several years and did not know each other. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, both entered the New Fourth Army to participate in the battle, but the two did not meet, and because they participated in the revolution, both of them changed their names, so they did not know each other.
In July 1939, Dai Keming attended the First Congress of the New Fourth Army of the Communist Party of China as a delegate. It just so happened that Dai Keming and the chief of reconnaissance of the three detachments of the New Fourth Army, Dai Kelin, were assigned to live in a room, and Dai Keming wondered, how could this chief of staff be only a word away from his own name?
Because they were separated from each other and the time was far apart, they all changed their names, and for a while the two did not perceive each other's identity and did not think much about it. But when the two greet each other face to face, they seem to have a sense of familiarity, so they secretly inquire into each other's identities. After an exchange, I found that they were really brothers, and I couldn't help but hug together and cry with joy.
Pictured| Dykemin and Dykelyn
What is more coincidental is that the names of the original two brothers are also a word difference, after the name is changed, they are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, and the names are also separated by a word difference, which may be the induction of family affection between the two. What is even more surprising is that 25 years later, at the conferment ceremony, the two were also awarded the rank of major general, which is a beautiful thing.
Four, two brothers who once fought in the same unit: Fan Chaoli and Fan Chaofu
Compared with the experience of the two brothers Di Keming and Dai Kelin who have been separated for many years, the experience of the two brothers Fan Chaoli and Fan Chaofu is much luckier.
During the period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the two men fought in the same army for a long time, and during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, they fought together in the same division; during the Liberation War, they were again incorporated into the Second Column of the Field Army, with the older brother being the deputy commander and the younger brother the political commissar. However, the two experiences are also slightly different.
His older brother Fan Chaoli joined the Red Army in 1930 and joined the Communist Party of China at the age of 16. During the period of the agrarian revolution, he showed excellent ability, all the way from squad leader to regimental political commissar and other positions, participated in the creation of the Eyu-Anhui revolutionary base area, the anti-encirclement and suppression battle, and the struggle for the Sichuan-Shaanxi revolutionary base area.
During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as chief of staff, commander and other positions many times, contributing to the victory of the War of Resistance. In particular, the famous night raid on Yangmingbao, he served as chief of staff, and together with the commander of the regiment, participated in the formulation of the battle plan and personally commanded the battle. This battle was the first major victory won by the division after the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which greatly boosted the morale of our army and dealt a blow to the arrogance of the Japanese army.
During the Liberation War, he led a large army from Huaihai to march all the way to the southwest, Chengdu and other places, liberating most of China. In the early days of the founding of New China, he was appointed as a military commander, participated in the suppression of bandits, and achieved brilliant results. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, and the following year he was transferred to the deputy commander of the Jinan Military Region, where he worked for 26 years.
Picture | Fan Chaoli and Fan Chaofu
His younger brother, Fan Chaofu, joined the Red Army a year before Fan Chaoli, when he was only 14 years old. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, he fought bloody battles on the front line battlefield and established outstanding military achievements. Until the Long March of the Red Army, he gradually left the battlefield, mainly engaged in the work of the democracy movement, long away from the leadership position, and operated alone.
He always adhered to the mass line, constantly expanded the armed forces, and accomplished his tasks well. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he participated in battles such as Yetou and Xiangtangpu, and in the later period, he mainly engaged in the struggle behind enemy lines and strengthened the armed forces. In the War of Liberation, he became a sharp blade, fighting on the front line battlefield and making outstanding achievements. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of major general.
Fifth, the two brothers of cultural people: Xie Liang, Xie Youfa
His older brother, Xie Liang, was a native of Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province, and joined the Red Army in 1930. Since joining the Red Army, he has followed the troops to the south and the north, fighting bravely. He died nine times in a tense military war, and cultivated a strong and indomitable soul. He also has a consistent hobby – writing.
In his decades of revolutionary career, he has never stopped writing, and has published 7 novels and memoirs, including "Female Prisoners in Border Cities - Stories of Struggle in The Female Prison of Dihua in Xinjiang During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression", "Iron Stream Defender", and "Five Red Stars". These are all stories about the war, leaving a lot of memories for future generations.
He also translated a Russian monograph to break the fallacy of foreign journalists that "China's veteran generals are all big and rude, and they do not understand literature and art." Among them, the book "Iron Stream Defender", which had been distributed in hundreds of thousands of copies, was once translated into Russian and Korean, which caused great repercussions in the army.
Also on the front line, he was a battle-hardened soldier who made outstanding contributions to the victory of the revolution. He was awarded the rank of Major General in 1955. As we all know, there are 13 one-armed, one-legged, and one-legged generals on the mainland, and Xie Liang is one of them. He was a one-legged general who was admirable.
In 1980, Xie Liang became a member of the Chinese Writers Association, becoming a general writer and the first general writer in the writers association. It can be seen that he is excellent in both the field of literature and the military field.
Figure | Xie Liang and Xie Youfa
Compared with the military career of his elder brother Xie Liang, his younger brother Xie Youfa's combat experience is much richer. During the agrarian revolutionary war, he participated in successive anti-encirclement and suppression struggles and the Long March. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively served as section chief of the Political Department and director of the Organization Department. During the Liberation War, he participated in the Jiaodong Defense War, the Huaihai, the Crossing River and the Shanghai Campaign.
In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he participated in the second and fifth battles of Korea and served as the director of the political department of the famous Ninth Corps. When he was awarded the rank of lieutenant general, he was the youngest lieutenant general at the time. Similarly, his literary attainments are not low, and he is known as a military talent, and he is the author of the book "Fighting in the First Column of Yimeng".
But it is clear that his literary attainments are not as good as those of his brother. As for the military field, he is a little better than his brother, and he can only say that each has its own advantages.
Sixth, the younger brother's name is greater than the older brother
Speaking of Ding Sheng, everyone is not unfamiliar. In the long-term revolutionary war, he left many legendary stories, experienced countless battles, made outstanding achievements, and was a famous brave general, a warrior general, a tough general, and a breakthrough general in the history of our army. Because he dared to intersperse the style behind the enemy in battle, he was called Ding Bold by Lin Biao.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he made an important contribution to the annihilation of the Japanese army's famous general Flower Troops. During the Hundred Regiments War, he was regarded by the Japanese as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh, calling him a road-keeping nail. In the Battle of Hengbao during the Liberation War, he had no intention of going deep behind the enemy alone, and he attacked four divisions of the enemy army in a hurry and wisdom, defeating the enemy army, which was praised endlessly.
His art of combat, famous throughout the army, is praised. In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he led the 54th Army into Korea, participated in more than two hundred battles, and played the military prestige of the volunteer army. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of major general. And his battle story is far from over.
In the war against India, he personally led the 54th Army to participate in the battle, commanded and defeated the main force of the Indian army, the 4th Army, and gave India, the so-called most elite army, a annihilating blow, and also let this honorary unit be overwhelmed. This battle was the most crucial and final battle of the Sino-Indian war. After our army won the victory, it was called the Great Victory of Wa Nong, and Ding Sheng could be said to be even more popular.
Pictured| Ding Rongchang and Ding Sheng
Compared with Ding Sheng's name, his brother Ding Rongchang is not very famous. A native of Yudu, Jiangxi, he joined the Red Army at the age of 19. During the revolutionary war, he fought bravely, was not afraid of sacrifice, and rose step by step. His most famous experience was praised by Zhou Enlai after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
In 1955, shortly after he was awarded the rank of major general, he was assigned by Zhou Enlai to participate in the demarcation of the border between China and Burma as China's chief adviser. With his hard work, the task was successfully completed, and China and Myanmar signed an agreement on the border issue between the two countries. Zhou Enlai highly praised his efforts and achievements. He was then sent to the Chinese Embassy in Laos as Consul General and continued to contribute to the diplomatic cause of New China.
Seventh, the only brother of a pair of milk compatriots: He Jinnian, He Jixiang
Compared with the six pairs of brothers above, in fact, most of them are cousins, but they are also of the same origin. Unlike them, He Jinnian and He Jixiang were the only true brothers, who were comrades-in-arms and superiors in the trenches for a period of time, and the two brothers went into battle together to kill the enemy and establish meritorious deeds, which was a beautiful talk.
His elder brother He Jinnian was born in 1910 and was influenced by Xie Zichang to join the revolution. Xie Zichang was a communist who once punished local tycoons and inferior gentry as the regimental commander, and was called Xie Qingtian by the masses. He admired Xie Zichang, and as soon as he heard that he was a member of the Communist Party, he joined the party organization.
In 1932, he followed Xie Zichang to participate in the Jingyuan Uprising and established the Shaanxi-Gansu Red Army guerrilla group. After the guerrillas were defeated, he was sent to the Lanzhou Police Station to do counter-insurgency work. He successfully plotted against more than 20 policemen, pulled them into the anti-Japanese volunteer army, and expanded the anti-Japanese ranks. This incident alarmed Chiang Kai-shek and ordered the gathering of heavy troops to suppress the volunteer army.
Under siege, He Jinnian had to lead the volunteer army to break through, encountering ma jiajun on the way and unfortunately being captured. Fortunately, Ma Mu heard that they were going to kill people, and thought that it was unlucky to let He Jinnian die at the hands of the Ma family, so she ordered him to be released. He Jinnian thus escaped the disaster.
In the Battle of Laoshan, the Red Army troops fought very hard, and seven or eight battalion commanders and company commanders suffered casualties. He Jinnian was in a hurry, took off his clothes, and rushed to the front line position bare-chested to direct the battle, blocking the enemy's reinforcements. In the Battle of Yulin Bridge, in order to pull out the enemy's nails, He Jinnian climbed to the top of the mountain with the machine gunner, grabbed the machine gun, let the warrior pull his legs, and turned backwards to strafe the enemy and complete the task.
Once he returned to Yan'an to report on his work, and when it rained heavily, the guards asked his fellow villagers to vacate the house for He Jinnian to live in. The fellow was reluctant and scolded, which made He Jinnian a little unhappy. When he arrived in Yan'an, he reported the incident to Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong laughed loudly: "Commander He, it is a good thing to be scolded by the common people, which shows that he regards you as his own team." Do the officials of the Kuomintang dare to scold casually? ”
This sentence pointed out the relationship between the army and the people, which benefited He Jinnian a lot. Over the years, in accordance with Mao Zedong's instructions, he maintained close ties with the masses, fought in the front line, and made many achievements in battle. In 1955, he was awarded the rank of major general.
Picture | He Jinnian and He Jixiang
The younger brother, He Jixiang, is 5 years younger than his older brother. At the age of 8, he entered elementary school, but was expelled from school for participating in the school tide and returned home to work as a farmer. Soon after his brother joined the Red Army, he clamored to follow his brother to join the Red Army. The relationship between the two brothers is very good, and He Jinnian understands his thoughts and lets him participate in the mutual rescue meeting and go through the experience first.
After joining the Communist Party, he followed his brother's example and infiltrated the militia to engage in military movements and develop armed forces. After the success of the mutiny, according to the decision of his superiors, He Jinnian served as the deputy leader of the detachment and became one of the main founders of the 8th detachment of the Red Army guerrilla in northern Shaanxi.
In the same year, the party organization reorganized the two detachments of the red army guerrillas in northern Shaanxi into the first regiment, with He Jinnian as the regimental commander and He Jixiang as the secretary of the party branch and platoon leader, and the two brothers fought in the same unit. He Jinnian was very appreciative of his younger brother He Jixiang's achievements in the military movement, and asked him to make good use of his relations to continue to expand his achievements and strengthen the strength of the Red Army.
Sure enough, He Jixiang lived up to expectations and successively instigated nearly 60 regimental uprisings to join the ranks of the Red Army. When attacking Mujiayuan, he led the death squad and after more than two hours of fighting, he broke through the gate of the village. When attacking Yanchang County, he led the death squad to conquer the city gate in one fell swoop.
After the battle, his regiment was awarded the honorary title of Young Hero Red Regiment. In the long years of revolutionary war, the brothers also had the experience of killing the enemy side by side. During that encounter, He Jinnian was unfortunately wounded in the abdomen, and He Jixiang and his comrades risked their lives to save him and send him to a cave to recuperate.
He Jixiang stayed by his brother's side day and night, cleaned his brother's wounds with cold boiling water, and then applied pumpkin dumplings to the wounds, day and night. Under his meticulous care, He Jinnian retrieved a life, and the two returned to the army together and threw themselves into battle. In their revolutionary careers for many years, the two fought side by side in the same unit, and it was not until the all-out war of resistance that they separated and continued to fight in their respective posts.
Many people will think that they are brothers, and brothers can inevitably be taken care of. In fact, many times, even in order to avoid suspicion, the younger brother cannot even get the same treatment.
In 1955, a year destined to be unusual, both brothers were awarded the rank of major general. It is reasonable to say that He Jinnian was one of the founders of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, and people with similar seniority to his position were awarded the rank of general or lieutenant general, while he was only awarded the title of major general. He was the only major general of the rank of deputy corps in the first ranks, but he was calm and calm. On August 1, 1988, they were also awarded the Red Star Medal of Honor and Merit of the First Class by the Central Military Commission. In 2003, He Jinnian died, and four years later, He Jixiang died.
After years of gunfire and bullets, they have lived to be more than 90 years old, and they are rare representatives of longevity. Perhaps this is related to He Jinnian's attitude of not admiring fame and fortune and treating the world indifferently. They are brothers, but also comrades in arms who have been together for life.