In the autumn of 1955, in recognition of those generals who had made important contributions to the victory of the Chinese revolution and the founding of New China, our army held the first major award in history. Because there are so many people participating in the awarding of the title, and the specific circumstances of each person are different, it is difficult to make everyone satisfied. After the results of the award came out, some generals thought that their rank was low, and they also made some comments about it. For example, Wang Jinshan. But in fact, his rank was not lowered.
During the Red Army period, Wang Jinshan served as a regimental cadre for a long time, and was not promoted to division commander until 1935; Compare with another red four fierce general, Zheng Weishan, who was the political commissar of the Red 27th Division in 1933 and a lieutenant general in 1955. After the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, Wang Jinshan served as the deputy commander of the 772nd Regiment of the 386 brigade of the 129th Division, a position that was normal for 55 years to be awarded lieutenant general. At that time, Zhang Caiqian, commander of the 770th Regiment of the 385th Brigade, Wang Shangrong, commander of the 715th Regiment of the 358th Brigade, Liu Zhuanlian, commander of the 717th Regiment of the 359th Brigade, and Wen Niansheng, commander of the 718th Regiment, were all 55 lieutenant generals.
During the Liberation War, Wang Jinshan served as the commander of the Nakano 6 column for a long time, and only became the deputy commander of the Third Corps at the end of the Liberation War. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he was the acting commander of the Third Corps of the Volunteer Army. Also acting commanders of the Volunteer Army were Zheng Weishan and Tao Yong, both of whom were 55 lieutenant generals. Another point that needs to be noted is that when he was relegated in 1952, Wang Jinshan was a deputy corps level, and it was normal for lieutenant generals at this level to be awarded. In 1955, when the rank was awarded, the deputy corps-level generals Du Yide, Zhang Zhen, Wang Bicheng and Cheng Shicai were all lieutenant generals. You know, Zhang Zhen has served as the chief of staff of Sanye.
Therefore, from a comprehensive point of view, Lieutenant General Wang Jinshan is not low. In addition, many friends think that Xiao Ke's rank is also lowered, if you only look at the seniority, it can indeed be said that during the Red Army, Xiao Ke served as the commander of the Red 6 Army and the deputy commander of the Red Second Front; After the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, he served as the deputy commander of the 120th Division. At the time of the grand title, five of the six commanders and deputy division commanders of the Eighth Route Army became marshals, and only Xiao Ke was a general, so many people thought that his rank was low.
But what you should know is that in addition to seniority and position, there is also a very important criterion when awarding titles, that is, military merit. Naturally, the achievements of the XiaoKe Red Army period cannot be said, but not during the Eighth Route Army period and the Liberation War. After the Red Army was reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, Xiao Ke first served as the deputy commander of the 120th Division, and was soon sent to Jirecha to open up a base area. At that time, Xiao Ke had more than 8,000 people and more than 7,000 guns in his hands, and the main forces were the Deng Hua detachment and the Song Shilun detachment. It should be known that when Nie Rongzhen first opened up the Jin-Cha-Ji anti-Japanese base area, he only had 3,000 people in his hands.
Although the conditions were much better than Nie Rongzhen's, Xiao Ke failed to open up the situation. After he took office, he did not get along well with Deng Hua and Song Shilun, and soon after these two people left one after another, Xiao Ke lost his left arm and right arm. In order to open up the situation, he sent the main force of the 7th Regiment to Pingbei to open up a base area, but was surrounded by the enemy, suffered heavy losses, and was forced to retreat. Later, Shaw ke specifically reviewed this in his memoirs, saying, "This is mainly my rush in my thinking; Tactically, a large number of troops are dispatched at a time; This is a setback in our development and a misstep in our military guidance. ”
Yan'an had high hopes for Xiao Ke, hoping that he could start a new situation in Jirecha or Pingxi. Unexpectedly, Xiao Ke worked in Pingxi for several years, not only failed to open up the situation, but even survival became a problem. In desperation, in 1942, Yan'an revoked the name of the Jirecha Advance Army, and Xiao Ke came to Jinchaji to serve as Nie Rongzhen's deputy. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Xiao Ke ran a school for a long time, and it was not until the end of the Liberation War that he succeeded Liu Yalou as chief of staff of Siye. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, military merit was not obvious, and when he was still in the Maogong Division, he "stood in the wrong line", so when he was awarded the title, Xiao Ke was not low in general.
So when the title is awarded, who are the two people who have been awarded the lower rank? They are Xie Fang and He Jinnian. Although Xie Fang lacked the seniority of the Red Army period, he served as the chief of staff of the Volunteer Army, and the award of major general in 55 years was indeed a bit low. It is said that when General Peng Da learned of this, he once said: Major General Xie Fang, I will support the death of Lieutenant General. He Jinnian was one of the founders of the Red Army in northern Shaanxi, served as deputy commander of the Northeast Military Region, and in 1952 was designated as a deputy corps rank, at least a lieutenant general, but due to the influence of high, he was eventually awarded the rank of major general.