Welcome to ShiYuan History Column No. 2852. In the hearts of many history lovers, one of the ten marshals of the Republic has a special status and has been particularly respected in recent years, and this person is Xu Shuai. Among the 10 marshals, Xu Shuai only ranked 8th, and it seems that the ranking is not very much forward. Moreover, as far as the achievements of the entire military career are concerned, there is a somewhat high-open-low trend, so why is his evaluation getting higher and higher? Many people have evaluated him as one of the "gods of war" of our army, and his ability is no less than that of General Peng, Lin Shuai, and Commander Su.
The first reason is that Xu Shuai's military command art is impeccable, and it can be called the level of the pinnacle. During the Red Army period, he was the commander-in-chief of the Four Fronts. When mentioning the Red Fourth Front, the first impression often given is Xu Shuai, and then other generals. Although compared with the Central Red Army, the Fourth Front Army was only a "partial division" at first, but under the leadership of Xu Shuai, it became stronger and stronger, expanding to a force of more than 80,000 people. At the beginning of the Long March of the Central Red Army, the strength of the four fronts was already on par with theirs, and the level of equipment and supplies was even better.
Xu Shuai was not a general from the "Wild Road", he graduated from the first phase of Huangpu, and his education and military level were relatively high. As early as November 1929, Xu Shuai put forward his famous "Seven Guerrilla Principles" at the Party Congress in the Eyu-Anhui base area. Like many famous early generals of our Party, Xu Shuai was very good at fighting guerrilla warfare and theorized this tactic. It was under his correct military guidance that the Red Fourth Front developed rapidly to a scale of more than 40,000 people (during the Eyu-Anhui period). What is even more valuable is that Xu Shuai has also combined it well with the practice of war and constantly created new tactical theories suitable for the Red Army: such as encircling points to provide assistance, tightening positions, and floating tactics are all tactics that Xu Shuai has developed and perfected in actual combat, leading the officers and men of the four fronts to achieve a large number of results in annihilating the enemy. It is no exaggeration to say that Xu Shuai was the best military theorist in the early days of our army. At this level, only Liu Shuai, who studied in the Soviet Union, could match the whole army.
In 1933, when Xu Shuai commanded the "anti-six-way siege" in the Sichuan-Shaanxi Su District and defeated the 200,000 Sichuan army with 80,000 people, many of the later famous generals of our army did not have real experience in commanding major battles. In November 1933, Liu Xiang, the most powerful warlord in Sichuan, commanded 110 regiments and more than 200,000 troops with the support of Lao Jiang to attack the Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet region, and the situation of our army was very critical. However, Xu Shuai was calm and self-assured, patiently maneuvered with the enemy with the method of playing with the tightening of the position, resisted the enemy's tired fight step by step, and finally won a great victory in annihilating more than 80,000 enemy troops. Among them, nearly 20,000 Sichuan troops were replenished into the Red Fourth Front. Xu Shuai proposed a policy of capturing and replenishing the Red Army in order to rapidly expand the strength of the Red Army. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, this policy was repeatedly popularized and adopted by the troops of our army.
The anti-six-way siege was victorious, and the Red Army captured more than 100 enemy artillery pieces, which greatly enhanced its firepower, and the four fronts truly became the main front army with strong troops. Xu Shuai's status in the Red Army was thus unprecedentedly improved, and even those who had not seen Xu Shuai at that time (including cadres of the Central Soviet Region) admired his command ability and impressive achievements. During the Red Army period, Xu Shuai's superb military level was the first to be verified, and he can be called the originator of the command of large-scale corps operations among the generals of our army.
Mr. Peng, the second among the ten marshals, was also known for his ability to fight in battles, but during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he particularly admired Xu Shuai and asked Xu Shuai to go to Shandong to command the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army and the Shandong Column. In fact, there are many details in this matter, not as simple as it seems: the 115th Division is a unit that has been continued by the Zhumao Red Army, and the orthodox bloodline of the Central Red Army has continued, and Xu Shuai has less contact with it, but General Peng still recommends Xu Shuai to Shandong to preside over the overall situation. Although Xu Shuai later returned to Yan'an for some reason, it can also be seen that the top brass of our army recognized his strength and did not take into account his origin in the four fronts. Only when the ability of the general has reached the level of the peak can people ignore some other limiting factors, which is especially evident in Xu Shuai. Both the chairman and General Manager Peng greatly appreciated Xu Shuai's military talent.
The second reason is that most of the history lovers have a "difficult to reconcile" complex. No matter which field is more, as long as it is a talent with particularly outstanding talents, because the subjective and objective factors have not been fully exerted and exerted, it will often make people feel regretful. The more such a person is, the easier it is to be remembered and admired later. Because of his poor physical condition, Xu Shuai did not hold a high front-line leadership and command position for a long time from the middle of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
During the Liberation War, Xu Shuai served as the deputy commander of the North China Military Region, but only Nie Shuai's deputy post, and Nie Shuai's early qualifications and status were actually inferior to Xu Shuai's. Nie Shuai presided over the creation of the famous Jin-Cha-Ji base area, which made our army's mass base and military strength base in North China very strong, and it was a great contribution. At this time, Xu Shuai played Nie Shuai's deputy in Jinchaji, which was actually reasonable. After all, the level of a temporary position cannot run through the entire military and political career, and although Xu Shuai's resume in the Red Army is strong, it does not mean that his position will always be higher than Nie Shuai. Of course, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the status of the two was reversed, and Nie Shuai once made Xu Shuai deputy chief of the general staff.
Since Nie Shuai's core ability was to manage the government and expand the number of troops, and his military command was inferior to Xu Shuai's, during the several years of negotiations with the Suiyuan warlord Fu Zuoyi, our army was generally at the bottom and lost many battles. Therefore, many history enthusiasts pointed out: If Xu Shuai was in charge of the overall command of our army in North China, the situation of the Liberation War might be much more active, and it was not necessary to wait for the Northeast Field Army to enter the customs in 1948 before launching the Pingjin Campaign. The idea that the superior base forces in North China are likely to open up the situation under the command of Xu Shuai may not be unreasonable, but it can only be a hypothesis.
Of course, Xu Shuai also fought many beautiful battles during this period, such as the liberation of most of Shanxi, including the Battle of Yuncheng, the Battle of Jinzhong, the Battle of Linfen, etc., which can be called the classic battles in the Liberation War. But overall, at this time, Xu Shuai was not a top commander at the theater level who commanded one side, and his experience in the Red Army was not very matched, and his ability was not fully demonstrated. Netizens talked about some of the major battles that Xu Shuai was absent during the Liberation War, and often felt that it was difficult to be at peace, which was also a common sentiment of people.
The third reason is that Xu Shuai often convinces people with virtue when he encounters things, so that more posterity respects them. Among the generals of our army, Xu Shuai is a well-known commander who takes care of the overall situation and has a gentle temper. During the Red Fourth Front, a high-ranking cadre was instructed by a leader surnamed Zhang to "overthrow" Xu Shuai. While Xu Shuai was leading troops, he secretly arrested and killed Xu Shuai's wife, Cheng Xunxuan. Later, the Red Fourth Front and the Red Army met, and Xu Shuai had the opportunity to appeal to the central government and seek justice for his deceased wife, but he finally chose to be patient. This person made a profound apology to Xu Shuai and became one of the founding generals in 1955.
There are many more examples of Xu Shuai showing his moral character and taking care of the overall situation in his military and political career. For example, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was the first chief of the general staff of the whole army hand-picked by the chairman, but because of long-term injuries, he could not arrive at the post for a long time. In 1951, Xu Shuai's condition improved, and he could actually take up his post, but Nie Shuai was acting as the chief minister at this time. Tun Hou's Xu Shuai chose the beauty of adulthood, never arrived at the post, and actively engaged in other "unsightly" work, such as communicating for the volunteer army and introducing Soviet weapons and equipment. The volunteer soldiers' ability to use advanced Soviet-style infantry weapons, and even the Katyusha rocket artillery that exerted their divine power in the later period, all depended on Xu Shuai's careful and responsible work and the timely introduction of equipment with excellent performance, thus changing to a large extent the passive situation in which our army's firepower was at a significant disadvantage on the Korean battlefield.
Xu Shuai always showed a very high posture, no matter the good times and adversities, always obeyed the decisions of the central authorities, and humbled his comrades-in-arms not to argue or grab. It is precisely because of this virtue that he has won praise within the party and the army. Today's history buffs generally respect Xu Shuai and regard him as a double model of high military standards and heavy character. Before the whole army was awarded the rank in 1955, Xu Shuai even proposed to the central government many times that he should resign his rank as marshal. With the prominent position of Xu Shuai's representative of the Red Fourth Front, it is imperative to obtain the rank of marshal. Naturally, the chairman would not agree to Xu Shuai's request. But from this point, it can also be seen that Xu Shuai's noble character does not care about fame and fortune at all. The marshals who had proposed Jean Xian like him in those years were luo shuai and Ye Shuai.
Looking at xu Shuai's photos during the war years, it is difficult to see him showing a heartfelt smile. In fact, during the Red Army period, Xu Shuai was very easy-going and very smiling. But after 1936, he often had a dignified face and rarely smiled. Xu Shuai recalled in his later years: Thinking of the comrades who died in the Western Route Army, it is difficult to laugh again. This sentence is heartbreaking, but it also makes people admire the character of the old marshal, he has never forgotten the comrades who have passed away, and he has carried too much heaviness in his heart. Xu Shuai, who was originally introverted, was even more taciturn after the Western Expedition.
The Western Expedition had great problems in strategy and tactics, and even if Xu Shuai was not in charge of military command, it was likely to suffer a major defeat. The central authorities have long been conclusive about this, Xu Shuai is not mainly responsible for the losses of the Western Route Army, but Xu Shuai has always been grumpy. Obviously, what he really cared about was not the outcome of a battle, nor his personal reputation, but the more than 10,000 comrades who had sacrificed that year, which was a knot that Xu Shuai could not let go of for decades. One of Xu Shuai's last wishes was to scatter the ashes to The Dabie Mountains, Daba Mountains, the Hexi Corridor and the Taihang Mountains. These are the places where he has fought for many years, especially the allegorical meaning of the Hexi Corridor in it, which is very emotional.
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