If we ask about the Chinese of the people's liberation army, most of us will blurt out: sea, land, and air, and few people know that among the military branches of the mainland, there was once a special branch of the army--- railway soldiers.
However, today, the railway soldiers have disappeared in the mainland, so when it comes to this class, many people are not familiar with it.
At that time, the task of the railway soldiers was not to fight the enemy on the battlefield, but to build and maintain the country's railway trunk line and ensure the smooth logistics and transportation of the front-line troops.
However, this special branch of the army was dismissed by Order Deng Gong in 1982, when the commander of the Railway Corps, Chen Zaidao, expressed resolute opposition.
Deng Gong only replied with 12 words, and Commander Chen Zaidao's heart suddenly calmed down and expressed support for Deng Gong's decision.
The birth and contribution of the Railroad Soldier
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the troops of our army in the Liberated Areas advanced to the northeast in accordance with the instructions of the Party Central Committee, and after being integrated with the anti-Japanese coalition forces in the northeast, they formed a new contingent -- the Northeast Democratic United Army, which took over the Japanese and pseudo-railway management organs and established armed road guards to protect the safety of railway transportation.
However, at that time, the guard troops on each railway line were fighting separately and did not form a system.
In May 1946, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army established the Railway Command, and at the end of the same year, the Railway Command was renamed the Escort Road Army Command.
After that, the road guard unit was continuously reorganized, and finally reached unified management.
It undertook the task of protecting the railway in the northeast region.
In 1947, many of the main railway lines had been controlled by the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army, but some newly acquired bridge lines along the railway were damaged, creating obstacles to the transportation of the front-line railway.
Subsequently, according to the instructions of Chairman Mao of the Party Central Committee, the escort army was organized to begin an intense rush repair of the railway.
At this point, in addition to the road protection operation, the escort road army began to change in the direction of railway technology.
In July 1948, the northeast troops of our army changed from strategic defense to strategic counter-offensive, in order to ensure the supply of military supplies for the front-line anti-war units of our army, the Party Central Committee formed the Northeast People's Liberation Army Railway Column on the basis of the Escort Road Army, also known as the Railway Column of the Fourth Field Army.
After the railway column was established on the northeast battlefield, it threw itself into the railway repair work in the northeast and north China without stopping, and made no small contribution to the Liaoshen Campaign and the Pingjin Campaign.
In May 1949, according to the orders of the Central Military Commission, the Railway Column of the Fourth Field Army was expanded into the Railway Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, under the direct leadership of the Railway Department of the Central Military Commission.
Not long after the founding of New China, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, and the railway corps troops also entered the Korean battlefield to participate in the war, this special unit was not fighting on the front line, but was mainly responsible for train transportation, line repair, station scheduling, and other work.
In the early days of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the situation of the railway troops was very bad, because our army did not have aviation units to participate in the war, so the US military had absolute air superiority, so it often bombed Korea.
After the volunteer army entered the Korean war, in order to cut off the grain and grass supply of the volunteer front-line troops, the US military regarded the destruction of the volunteer army's railway supply line as an important task.
However, with a brave and tenacious spirit and not being afraid of sacrifice, our railway soldiers built one steel transport line after another on the Korean battlefield that the enemy could not destroy, effectively guaranteed the logistical supply of the volunteer army, and made great contributions to the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
In the War of Aid to Vietnam and the War against the United States, the Railway Corps of the People's Liberation Army once again began to clash with the US Army, and on the Vietnamese battlefield, the Railway Soldiers were not afraid of the bombing of the US Army, risked their lives to repair, build, railways, and roads, and made outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese people's war of liberation.
When the mainland entered a period of peaceful development, the railway soldiers began to build railways throughout the country for the construction of the motherland.
Like the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Xinjiang Southern Xinjiang Railway, the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, the Guikun Railway, and the first subway line on the mainland, the Beijing Subway, are all built by our railway troops, and more than one-third of the mainland railways are built by the railway troops.
The abolition of classes begins and ends
It was such a steel force that had made outstanding contributions to the party and the country, and in 1982, Deng Xiaoping suddenly proposed to abolish this branch of the army.
In fact, the question of the whereabouts of railroad soldiers was discussed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1975, the Central Military Commission initially planned to retain only 140,000 people in the railway force, and others to be transferred to the Ministry of Railways, but this decision was opposed by the vast majority of people, so it was not implemented.
In 1980, when the army was downsizing and reorganizing, the number of railway troops was reduced by 170,000, and the various levels of organs were also reduced accordingly.
Later, Deng Xiaoping issued instructions to continue to reduce the number of troop personnel in large quantities, and everyone felt that the reform of the troops was imperative, so during the discussion, they said that as long as they did not take off their uniforms, did not abolish the railway troops, and agreed to merge.
But in the end, this force did not escape the fate of being dismantled.
The commander of the railway corps at the time was the founding general Chen Zaidao, who had devoted all his energies to the construction of the national railway since taking office in September 1977, and he traveled all year round.
When the Southern Xinjiang Railway and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were being built, Chen Zaidao went to the construction site to inspect the work, and he saw the commanders and fighters working in the ice and snow, unable to even eat hot food, coupled with altitude sickness, chest tightness and vomiting, and hair leaving the lives of the soldiers very difficult.
But they never complained and continued to work.
Chen Zaidao looked at the thick calloused and sunken hands of these cadres and soldiers, and his heart was very uncomfortable, and he asked, "Do you have any requirements?" ”
The warriors replied with a big smile, "It would be nice if I could take a hot shower after work." ”
After Chen listened again, tears instantly blurred his eyes.
General Chen Zaidao's feelings for this unit were too deep, so it was really difficult for him to accept the dismantling of the Railway Army.
So he and Lu Zhengcao, the two political commissars of the railway troops, and Kuang Fuzhao came to Zhang Zhen, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, and asked eagerly: "Comrade Xiaoping's decision to lay off the railway troops, can we discuss it again?" The comrades of the army did not understand this decision. ”
Then he added: "The troops can support themselves and do not occupy military expenses, just in the hope that this branch of the army can be retained." In addition, the railway soldiers can guarantee the national infrastructure, and if a war is fought, the role is very large. ”
In the face of the opposition of Chen Zaidao and others, Deng Xiaoping did not explain too much, and he only replied with one sentence: "If you really want to fight, the Ministry of Railways is all railway soldiers." ”
Just these twelve words made The hearts of Commander Chen Zaidao and the other two political commissars completely relax.
After Chen Zaidao returned to the unit and conveyed Deng Gong's twelve words to all the officers and men of the railway unit, a big stone in everyone's heart finally fell to the ground, and they waited with excitement for the organizational arrangements and were ready to continue to contribute their own strength to the construction and development of the country.
After Deng Gong's instructions were formally issued, the work of incorporation was immediately carried out in an intense manner, and first the party committees and organs of the railway corps were merged with the party committees and organs of the Ministry of Railways.
In January 1984, all the work of transferring the railway troops to the Ministry of Railways was successfully completed, and the headquarters of the railway troops and the divisions of the railway troops were renamed as the engineering headquarters of the Ministry of Railways and the engineering bureaus of the Ministry of Railways.
Since then, the railway soldiers have completely disappeared from the PLA branches.
However, the great achievements of the railway soldiers will not disappear with them, but will forever be recorded in the annals of the History of the People's Liberation Army.
Rationale for the dismantling of the Railroad Army
At that time, the mainland was in a critical period of vigorous construction and development, and the development of all walks of life was inseparable from the economic support of the state, and the mainland at this time was in urgent need of large sums of funds for development.
At that time, the strength of the railway troops had reached more than 430,000 people, and the state needed to spend millions of dollars on military expenses every year, and this huge expenditure made China, which was not rich, somewhat unable to support it.
In addition, from the perspective of the international situation, the people of the world advocate peace and reject war, wars in various parts of the world have ended, and peace and development have become a major trend in the world.
The purpose of the formation of the railway troops is to protect and guarantee the logistical supply of combat troops, and judging from the current situation, the railway troops have obviously completed their mission.
If there is a real war in the future, it will not be based on the number of troops as a necessary condition for victory, but will decide who wins and who loses by the level of science and technology.
Therefore, it is the most important thing to build our army into a modern army as soon as possible, but this will be backed by huge funds.
Deng Xiaoping made a major decision to abolish this branch of the army after careful consideration, but the removal of the railway troops did not mean that they would disappear forever, and this is the meaning of Deng Gong's twelve words.
Most of the officers and men of the railway force were transferred to the Ministry of Railways, or contributing to China's railway industry, so this unit has not changed except for the name change, and when the country needs them, they are still the iron army with iron will.
Epilogue:
Deng Gong was indeed far-sighted, and when he made the decision to lay off the railway soldiers at that time, many people could not accept or understand.
However, many years later, he proved how wise his decision was, and through Deng Gong's iron-fisted disarmament, he realized the lean army and simplified administration of the mainland, reduced the economic burden of the country, and effectively avoided some waste of resources.
Although the railway soldiers have become history because of their abolition, the spirit of the railway soldiers and the great contributions made to this country will never be forgotten and erased.
Making sacrifices for the country and the people is a supremely glorious thing, and this is our Chinese soldiers, so they have always been called the most lovely people by the people.
It is precisely because of this group of the loveliest people that our country has become invincible, and because China has a great leader like Deng Gong, our country can become more and more prosperous and strong.