#History#Chairman Mao was a universally recognized military strategist, and even his enemies had to admit this fact.
Some people speculate that there must be "superior people" around great people, and there is more than one.
I fully agree with this speculation, the question is: what kind of person qualifies this?
Chairman Mao said: "In ancient times, there was a grandson, and now there is a Guozi," and Chairman Mao had a "high counselor" who could be compared with "grandson."
Founding Lieutenant General Guo Huaruo
Chairman Mao's "high counselor" was not among the ten marshals, nor was he one of the ten generals, he was a founding lieutenant general named Guo Huaruo.
Who is Guo Huaruo? Zhou En: He is not Guo Moruo's brother.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai worked in Chongqing for a long time, and some Kuomintang officers asked him: "Is Guo Hua Ruo the brother of Director Guo (Moruo)?" ”
Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai replied: "Guo Huaruo is Guo Huaruo, Guo Moruo is Guo Moruo, they are not brothers. ”
Vice Chairman Zhou Enlai said proudly: "Guo Huaruo is a great talent of our party, he is Chairman Mao's senior military staff, and his status in military theory circles is equal to that of Mr. Guo Moruo in revolutionary literature." ”
Guo Huaruo, a native of Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, was gifted and diligent since he was a child, but because of his poor family, Guo Huaruo dropped out of high school after finishing high school.
In 1925, Guo Huaruo was admitted to the fourth period of the Whampoa Military Academy and secretly joined the party organization that year.
He participated in the Eastern Crusade and the Northern Expedition, and after graduating from the Whampoa Military Academy, Guo Huaruo served as the acting captain of the second artillery team.
Chiang Kai-shek twice talked to Guo Huaruo, hoping to keep him by his side, but Guo Huaruo was unmoved and refused with the idea that "soldiers should die in battle."
In July 1927, Guo Huaruo's teaching regiment was preparing to participate in the Nanchang Uprising, but the teaching regiment was detained as soon as it arrived in Jiujiang.
Later, Guo managed to escape and caught up with the insurgent forces in late September.
After the defeat of the rebel army to the south, Guo Huaruo was sent by the central government to study at the Moscow Artillery School.
In order to return to China as soon as possible, Guo Huaruo happily squatted in the confinement room for 7 days.
In 1928, Zhu De and Mao Zedong successfully met at Jinggangshan, and the workers' and peasants' revolution was in full swing.
Hearing this news, Guo Huaruo immediately submitted an application for withdrawal to the principal of the artillery school.
The principal of the artillery school asked Guo Huaruo: "Why did you drop out of school halfway?" ”
Guo Huaruo said: "I want to return to China to participate in the revolutionary struggle!" ”
The principal of the artillery school said with great bewilderment: "Your studies have just begun, and I can't approve your withdrawal application. ”
The principal not only did not approve Guo Huaruo's withdrawal from school, but also severely reprimanded Guo Huaruo and put him in a "confinement room."
Even so, Guo Huaruo did not change his mind, and he told the guard to tell the principal: "I must go back to China, unless you keep me in a confinement room." ”
Seeing that Guo Huaruo had made up his mind, the principal of the artillery school could only make concessions, and he wrote on the punishment list: "After a week of confinement, he will be released."
After getting this penalty slip, Guo Huaruo's mood was very happy, and in the confinement room, Guo Huaruo sang loudly for a while, and chatted with the guards with a smile on his face for a while.
Being so happy after being locked up was something the guards had never encountered before, and out of caution, the guards reported to the principal: "There may be something wrong with the spirit of that Chinese cadet." ”
The principal was well aware of this, and he told the guards: "I can guarantee that Guo Huaruo will never have mental problems."
Seven days later, Guo Huaruo came out of the confinement room, and another day later, Guo Huaruo packed his bags and happily embarked on the road back to China.
Chairman Mao in Yan'an
Guo Huaruo "tried the cow knife", and in just 23 days, Guo Huaruo was directly promoted from a small staff officer to a chief of staff.
In the spring of 1929, Guo Huaruo returned to Shanghai as he wished, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent him to the revolutionary base area in western Fujian.
At that time, Chiang Kai-shek mobilized 30,000 horses to besiege Jinggangshan, and in order to preserve the revolutionary flame and break the enemy's "encirclement and suppression", the Zhu Mao Red Army decisively withdrew from Jinggangshan.
In Longyan, Guo Huaruo found the third column of the Red Fourth Army led by Wu Zhonghao, and accompanied by Wu Zhonghao, he went to the former party committee and met Zhu De, commander of the Red Fourth Army.
Knowing that Guo Huaruo was a graduate of the Whampoa Military Academy and had studied in the Soviet Union, Commander Zhu De said very happily:
"You came at the right time, the second column needs a competent staff officer, you go to the second column first."
Guo Huaruo set out overnight and arrived at the second column the next afternoon.
As the saying goes, "staff officers do not carry a chief, and farting does not make a sound", staff officers belong to staff personnel, who have neither decision-making power nor the opportunity to personally go into battle to kill the enemy, and the work is cumbersome and prosaic.
Moreover, the "second column" had several staff officers like him who "did not count."
Just when Guo Huaruo was worried about this, an opportunity to show his talent suddenly came to him.
In late August, the Second Column fought a "nest battle", and in the battle to attack Zhangping, the four detachments of the "Second Column" in charge of the main attack actually ran in the wrong direction, causing all the officers and men to return in vain, and revealing the intention of the battle.
At this time, Liu Angong, chief of staff of the "Second Column", handed over the task of siege to Guo Huaruo, who had just arrived.
Guo Huaruo knew that this was an opportunity for Chief of Staff Liu Angong to show his talents, and it was also an exam for himself.
Guo Huaruo attended the Whampoa Military Academy and studied in the Soviet Union, and Liu Angong wanted to see Guo Huaruo's true ability.
Guo Huaruo didn't think too much, he accepted the task cheerfully, and set off with four detachments of officers and soldiers.
Before leaving, Guo asked Liu Angong for a mortar and two shells.
At dawn on August 31, Guo Huaruo led four officers and men to quietly rush to Heping Town on the outskirts of Zhangping.
While the enemy was not yet aware, Guo Huaruo commanded his troops to take the north gate as a breakthrough and caught the enemy by surprise.
According to Liu Angong, chief of staff, there was only one company of the enemy stationed in Zhangping, however, Guo Huaruo soon discovered that judging by the intensity of the enemy's firepower, the enemy's strength was far more than one company.
As a result, Guo Huaruo immediately interrogated a captured Kuomintang officer, only to learn that the Zhangping defenders actually had a regiment plus a battalion, and a mortar battery.
There is a huge difference in the strength of the enemy and ours, should we advance or withdraw?
At this time, the battle has been going on for a while, the four detachments have become entangled with the enemy, and if the troops are withdrawn at this time, the four detachments will not only fail to complete their tasks, but will also cause greater passivity.
When he was in a dilemma and dilemma, Guo Huaruo made a decisive decision, and he sent people to report the situation to the column while raising the mortar to the commanding height.
Then, Guo Huaruo destroyed the enemy's command post with two shells, killing the enemy regiment commander and other officers on the spot.
As soon as the regiment commander died, the enemy in the city suddenly became a scattered sand.
Guo Huaruo took advantage of the situation to direct his troops into the city, and soon completely annihilated the Kuomintang defenders in the city and captured a large number of weapons and equipment.
After learning the news that Guo Huaruo was not afraid of strong enemies and won a complete victory, Commander Zhu De personally rushed to the "second column" and praised Guo Huaruo without hesitation.
On the evening of the same day, at the suggestion of Commander Zhu De and with the approval of the former committee of the Fourth Red Army, Guo Huaruo, who had been reporting to the "Second Column" for only 23 days, was promoted to chief of staff of the Second Column.
Chairman Mao
Chairman Mao named the staff officers who were coming
In his later years, General Guo Huaruo once said, "When I dropped out of the Soviet Union and returned to China, I came to the Vermilion Red Army."
However, Guo Huaruo only saw Commander Zhu De in the Red Fourth Army, but did not see Mao Zedong, who he had admired for a long time.
In fact, by the time Guo Huaruo came to the Fourth Red Army, Chairman Mao had already lost leadership of the troops.
Guo Huaruo saw that because of Mao Zedong's absence, there were undesirable phenomena such as ideological confusion and inconsistent pace within the Red Fourth Army.
So Guo Huaruo and another comrade wrote a joint letter to Chairman Mao, and at the same time, Zhu De and Chen Yi also wrote a letter to Chairman Mao, and the theme of the two letters was exactly the same: to implore Chairman Mao to come back and preside over the work.
On November 26, 1929, Chairman Mao returned to Tingzhou from Sujiapo, Shanghang, and resumed serving as the former secretary of the Red Fourth Army.
That evening, Chairman Mao asked Zhu De about Guo Huaruo's whereabouts.
Commander Zhu De said: "Guo Huaruo is a very capable young man, and he is now the chief of staff of the 'Second Column'. ”
Two days later, Guo Huaruo met Chairman Mao in Tingzhou.
Chairman Mao held Guo Huaruo's hand and said, "You are the Guo Huaruo who wrote to me?" Your letter is well written, and our Red Fourth Army has another showman. ”
Chairman Mao said humorously: "I know that you are from Fujian, but your insight is not 'floating view' (Fujian), but 'deep insight'."
Chairman Mao went on to say, "The ancients said, 'Xiucai can know the affairs of the world without going out,' and if I want to say, this sentence should be changed to 'Guo Xiucai leads the troops, which can explain the truth clearly and win the war.'" ”
Guo Huaruo said modestly: "Where, where, compared with you and Commander Zhu, my insight is still very shallow and inadequate. ”
Chairman Mao said earnestly: "What I said is the truth, you have just returned from the Soviet Union, but you know the national conditions better than many comrades in China, your mind is very clear-headed, and many of your analyses and judgments are very insightful. ”
This was the first time Chairman Mao and Guo Huaruo met, and since then, Guo Huaruo's life has forged an indissoluble bond with Chairman Mao.
Soon after the Ninth National Congress, at the suggestion of Chairman Mao, Guo Huaruo became chief of staff of the headquarters of the Red Fourth Army, and when the Red Fourth Army was reorganized into the Red First Army Corps, Guo Huaruo served as the chief of staff of the headquarters of the "General Former Committee" of the Red First Army.
Since then, Guo Huaruo has officially followed Chairman Mao and gradually become Chairman Mao's most valued and admired staff talent.
Guo Huaruo created four "firsts" in our army
Guo Huaruo participated in the creation of the first engineering unit of the Red Army.
In September 1930, when the Red Army withdrew from Changsha and passed through Anyuan, many miners enthusiastically signed up to join the Red Army.
Guo found that many of the miners who signed up for the army knew blasting technology, and some of them also knew how to make "earth explosives."
Guo Huaruo immediately reported the situation to Chairman Mao, and Guo Huaruo suggested: "We can gather these comrades together and let them specialize in explosives." ”
Chairman Mao immediately accepted Guo Huaruo's suggestion and assigned Guo Huaruo to be in charge of the matter, and soon after, the first engineering unit of the Red Army was born.
This engineering unit, which was directly commanded by Guo Huaruo, played an important role in the battle against Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, by erecting ladders and blowing up bunkers.
Guo Huaruo was the first principal of the Yan'an Artillery School.
At the Whampoa Military Academy, Guo Huaruo studied "artillery class", and during his study in the Soviet Union, Guo Huaruo still learned "artillery class".
Therefore, when our army established an artillery school in Yan'an, Guo Huaruo was the most suitable candidate for the principal of the whole army.
During his tenure as the first principal of the Yan'an Artillery School, Guo Huaruo wholeheartedly and did his best to cultivate a large number of outstanding artillery cadres for our army.
Guo Huaruo initiated the formation of the first militia force.
In the early stage of the Liberation War, according to the needs of the war, Guo Huaruo seized the time to train the militia and command the militia to carry out combat tasks.
According to the experience of leading the militia work, Guo Huaruo launched a "meritorious campaign" among the militia, which played a very important role in boosting morale, so Chairman Mao called it "an initiative in the people's self-defense war."
Guo Huaruo participated in the creation of the first radio team.
While serving as chief of staff, Guo Huaruo found that the staff office lacked radios, maps and other equipment.
Therefore, Guo Huaruo made a request to the combat troops: All units must properly protect and not damage the enemy's radio stations when they are captured.
After the battle of Longgang, the participating troops sent captured radio stations to the staff office, along with a dozen prisoners.
After interrogation, Guo Huaruo learned that the dozen or so prisoners were all signal soldiers, so Guo Huaruo talked to them one by one, hoping that they would stay and serve the Red Army.
In the end, Wang Yi and 10 other personnel voluntarily joined the Red Army.
Next, Guo Huaruo, with these personnel as the backbone, successfully formed the first radio team of our army.
Since then, Chairman Mao has had "clairvoyance" and "tailwind ears."
Mao Zedong was very satisfied with Guo Huaruo, the "high counselor", and on one occasion, Chairman Mao personally said to Guo Huaruo: "You can completely become a military genius!" ”
Because of his resolute support for Chairman Mao's military line, Guo Huaruo was repeatedly ostracized and attacked, and even expelled from the party.
However, none of this could shake Guo Huaruo's revolutionary will, and Chairman Mao always cared for him.
In a personal letter to Guo Huaruo, Chairman Mao said, "In the future, in the field of military education, I still hope that you will be my adviser."
On July 12, 1938, under Chairman Mao's personal interrogation, Guo Huaruo resumed his party membership, and the historical baggage he had carried for seven years was finally removed.
After that, Chairman Mao appointed Guo Huaruo as the first director of the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission.
The First Bureau of the General Staff, also known as the "Central Military Commission Operations Bureau," consists of four sections: operations, intelligence, secrets, and management, and is the highest military command organization in the whole army.
Chairman Mao entrusted such an important department to Guo Huaruo, which shows the weight of Guo Huaruo in Chairman Mao's mind, and Chairman Mao's importance and trust in Guo Huaruo can be seen.
Guo Huaruo's writings are hard to come by
Guo Huaruo was "the first person in our army to study Mao Zedong's military dialectic."
In the early days of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Kuomintang Army's Second Theater suffered repeated defeats and retreats.
One day, Chairman Mao worriedly said to Guo Huaruo: "You see, the Kuomintang's strategy and tactics are so rigid and rigid, how can it fight a war like this without defeat!" ”
Chairman Mao said: "Comrade Hua Ruo, can you write some articles on the ancient art of war and publicize sports warfare?"
Chairman Mao explained: "For these Kuomintang officers, you cannot talk to them about Marxism-Leninism and materialist dialectics, because they do not want to listen to them and cannot listen to them. ”
After receiving the task, Guo Huaruo successively wrote two important articles: "The Battle of Chibi and Its Enlightenment to the War of National Resistance" and "A Preliminary Study of the Battle of Qi Yan Jimo".
After seeing these two articles, many Kuomintang army generals wrote to the editorial office of the magazine, saying, "Mr. Guo Huaruo's masterpiece is to the point and thought-provoking."
Some Kuomintang officers were so inspired that they became interested in "mobile warfare" and "guerrilla warfare."
Chairman Mao in Yan'an
Chairman Mao also asked Guo Huaruo to "study Sun Tzu's Art of War," and at Chairman Mao's request, Guo Huaruo wrote a preliminary study of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
In this article, Guo Huaruo carefully interpreted the strategic thinking contained in Sun Tzu's Art of War, and systematically and scientifically expounded the laws of war that should be followed in the war against Japan in light of reality.
Guo Huaruo's article was published in the "Eighth Route Army Military and Political Magazine", which once again aroused strong repercussions throughout the army.
The "Military and Political Magazine" was an internal publication of the Eighth Route Army, and it was difficult for the Kuomintang side to obtain this magazine.
Therefore, some Kuomintang generals sent letters one after another, naming and asking for magazines to publish Guo Huaruo's articles, and in order to expand propaganda, the Eighth Route Army also responded to their requests and tried to meet their demands.
Later, some middle- and lower-ranking officers in the Kuomintang army also wrote to ask for this magazine, so that "Luoyang paper is expensive" and it is difficult to find a book.
Chairman Mao happily said to Guo Huaruo: "This is a great thing, whether the article is written well or not, whether the reader likes to read it or not is the standard." ”
In order to let more people understand "Sun Tzu's Art of War", since the mid-forties, Guo Huaruo began to translate "Sun Tzu's Art of War", and he spent nearly 20 years finally translating "Sun Tzu's Art of War" into an easy-to-understand vernacular.
Some people want to say that "Sun Tzu's Art of War" has only 13 articles and more than 6,000 words, can Guo Huaruo take a full 20 years?
In fact, Guo Huaruo did not translate "Sun Tzu's Art of War" as it was, he rearranged 13 of them, combined them with reality, referred to war examples, and added his own views and opinions.
Guo Huaruo has made outstanding achievements in the study of Sun Tzu's Art of War, so he has won universal praise and high praise from academic circles at home and abroad, and Guo Huaruo is unanimously regarded as the most prestigious contemporary expert in the study of Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Guo Huaruo's "Sun Tzu's Art of War: Modern Translation"
Chairman Mao's "senior staff" is not only good at "talking on paper", but also a good hand in leading troops to fight!
On June 6, 1946, after Guo Huaruo's repeated requests, Chairman Mao agreed to his request to "go to the front line to fight."
Chairman Mao said: "Combining theory and practice, if you have such an idea, I must unconditionally support you." ”
Therefore, Guo Huaruo left Yan'an and arrived in the Shandong Liberated Region and served as the deputy commander of the Lunan Military Region.
When greeting Guo Huaruo, Fu Qiutao, political commissar of the Lunan Military Region and famous general of the New Fourth Army, said happily: "During the eight-year War of Resistance, you have always been by Chairman Mao's side to give advice, and now, Chairman Mao has sent you, a high-ranking counselor, to Lunan, which shows his concern for Lunan. ”
In August 1947, Guo Huaruo was transferred to the deputy commander of the 6th Column of the East China Field Army and became a partner with General Wang Bicheng.
Wang Bicheng dared to fight a tough battle and was able to fight a hard battle; in the battle of Shatuji, the "Sixth Column" completely annihilated one division of the enemy and captured the commander of the enemy division alive.
After the battle, the officers and men of the "Sixth Column" were overjoyed, but because the casualties of the troops were too great, Wang Bicheng could not be happy.
At the celebration meeting, Wang Bicheng sincerely said to Guo Huaruo: "Comrade Huaruo, you are the chairman's senior counselor, I believe you stand higher than us and see far, please evaluate this battle." ”
Wang Bicheng particularly emphasized: "You let go and say, talk more about shortcomings, don't talk about advantages, and don't save face for me." ”
As a result, Guo Huaruo unceremoniously pointed out three major problems in the "six verticals":
First, poor communication between the command and the combat units, resulting in delays in orders and operations;
Second, the troops fight their own battles and lack the sense of "coordinated operations";
Third, tactically conformist and unchanged.
Guo Huaruo hit the nail on the head and pointed out, "At this stage of the development of the war, our combat form must keep up with the development of the situation." ”
Guo Huaruo said: "Our current weapons and equipment have been greatly improved, but we still follow the previous way of playing, for example, the fire cover is not in place, the offensive formation is too dense, which increases unnecessary casualties." ”
General Wang Bicheng later said that Guo Huaruo's words sounded a bit harsh, but when you think about it, it makes sense.
General Wang Bicheng said, "We originally held a celebration meeting, but before we knew it, it became a review meeting, and comrades realized the seriousness of the problem and discussed many ways to solve it." ”
Wang Bicheng said happily: "Guo Huaruo can always see places that most comrades can't. ”
In January 1949, the PLA launched a general attack on Du Yuming's clique, and Du Yuming attempted to abscond under guise and became a prisoner of the PLA.
The soldiers escorted Du Yuming to his "junior", Guo Huaruo, a graduate of the fourth phase of Whampoa.
Seeing that Du Yuming was injured in the head, Guo Huaruo asked about his injury with concern, but Du Yuming ignored it and put on an arrogant and unwilling look.
A PLA cadre said loudly: "Don't think you are great, do you know who our chief is?" ”
The PLA cadre said proudly: "Our chief is Chairman Mao's military staff officer!" ”
Guo Huaruo said to Du Yuming: "My name is Guo Huaruo, the fourth phase of Huangpu, counting it, I should call you 'senior'." ”
Hearing the three words "Guo Huaruo", Du Yuming was taken aback, and then said embarrassed: "I have read Mr. Guo's masterpiece, disrespect, disrespect..."
General Guo Huaruo
Chairman Mao said: "Guo Huaruo's level is no less than mine."
In January 1939, the Central Military Commission opened the first staff training course of our army in Yan'an, with more than 130 trainees participating in the training.
"Strategy" was a big course in the training class, and the heads of relevant departments approached Chairman Mao and hoped that Chairman Mao would give this class to everyone.
However, Chairman Mao could not spare time for a while, and Chairman Mao said to the responsible persons of the relevant departments: "I recommend Comrade Guo Huaruo to give this course."
The person in charge of the relevant department said: "It is not easy to explain 'strategy' clearly, and we are worried that Comrade Guo Huaruo will not explain it well." ”
Chairman Mao said with confidence: "Don't worry, Comrade Guo Huaruo's level is no less than mine. ”
General Guo Huaruo
epilogue
In 1955, the Chinese People's Liberation Army began to implement the rank system, so what should Chairman Mao's "high staff" Guo Huaruo be the military rank?
According to Guo Huaruo's various conditions, the relevant departments included his name in the list of "proposed generals".
After learning the news, Guo Huaruo made a special trip to Chairman Mao's office and insisted on removing his name from the list of "proposed admirals."
Guo Huaruo's reasoning was, "I haven't fought a big battle, and I don't have any battle merits, so it's good to give me the rank of 'lieutenant general'." ”
Guo Huaruo was eventually awarded the rank of "Lieutenant General" and received three first-class medals at the same time:
Order of Eighty-One of the First Degree, Medal of Independence and Freedom of the First Degree, Liberation Medal of the First Degree.
In 1988, General Guo Huaruo was awarded another first-class Red Star Medal of Merit.
At 4:14 on November 26, 1995, Guo Huaruo, a generation of red Confucian generals and Mao Zedong's military counselor, completed his glorious journey at the age of 91.