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Editor|Lin painting
"Judging by the Gulf War, electronic warfare is undoubtedly the main direction of future wars ..."
This was the analysis and opinion of General Liu Huaqing at a high-level meeting of the Central Committee after the end of the Gulf War in 1991. At the same time, he also believes that only through change can we win in the new international era.
General Liu Huaqing's remarks won President Jiang Zemin's approval, and he made a decision to carry out the modernization of the whole army.
In fact, after learning about the situation of the Gulf War, Chairman Jiang's first thought was Admiral Liu Huaqing, and he said to the people around him: Call Admiral Liu Huaqing here, there is something important to discuss!
So why did the Gulf War take it so seriously by national leaders? What achievements did Liu Huaqing have that made Chairman Jiang trust him so much?
"Call General Liu Huaqing"
On January 17, 1991, the world-renowned Gulf War officially began, before which Iraq claimed to be the first power in the Middle East and the fourth largest military power in the world.
Under the baptism and tempering of the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, Iraq has 950,000 well-trained and experienced regular troops, 480,000 reserve forces, more than 770 fighters, more than 3,800 artillery pieces, 7,500 armored vehicles and more than 5,600 tanks.
Such equipment made any military power other than the United States at that time not to be underestimated.
On the eve of the outbreak of the war, the Iraqi army has deployed 43 elite divisions in the Kuwaiti theater, and more than 4,000 tanks, more than 2,800 armored vehicles and more than 2,000 artillery pieces have been ready to be launched.
In order to avoid the amphibious landing operation of the US army, the Iraqi army also deployed a deep defense belt consisting of barbed wire, minefields, sand berms, and oil-filled trenches near the coast.
Looking at the strong and well-prepared Iraqi army, the global military powers have said that even if the Iraqi army is not as strong as the United States, it can hold out in Kuwait for more than a year.
The Gulf region is very far from the mainland mainland, and coupled with relevant United Nations meetings, the mainland has broken off contacts with Iran. It stands to reason that this local war has little connection with the mainland, but Admiral Liu Huaqing is silently watching.
At that time, the international situation had ushered in new changes, the Soviet Union had declined, and the United States began to point the finger at China, which was developing rapidly. In 1989, the United States announced five sanctions against China, which ended the Sino-US honeymoon period early.
Out of the dual consideration of national defense strategy and national defense cause, Admiral Liu Huaqing has been silently watching the performance of the United States, only in this way can he know himself and win every battle.
At that time, the mainland army had begun to modernize, but it was still in its infancy, and Liu Huaqing wanted to see how the level of strength of the modernization of the US military was.
In his view, although the US military strength is strong, Iraq is not a vegetarian master, I am afraid that the Gulf War will still be the same as the "Anti-US Aggression and Aid Korea" in the past, and the US military will be pinned down by the Iraqi army and fall into the quagmire of long-term combat.
As soon as the war began, Liu Huaqing immediately asked the Intelligence Department of the General Staff Department and the Department of the Academy of Military Sciences to pay close attention to the changes in the war situation and investigate and study the strategies and tactics of the two armies.
But I didn't expect that the war situation had a one-sided momentum, and with the powerful naval and air strikes of the US military, the Iraqi army's air defense system, command system, communication and liaison system, and logistics system completely collapsed.
However, less than 100 hours after the outbreak of the war, 38 divisions of the Iraqi army had lost their combat effectiveness, 62,000 soldiers were captured, 107 fighters, 2,917 artillery pieces, 1,450 armored vehicles, and 3,847 tanks were destroyed, but the US army lost only 148 people.
Liu Huaqing and the veterans, who followed the war closely, were shocked and shocked like never before, and the Chinese army, which had experienced the Korean War and two victories in border counterattacks, had always been full of confidence.
But in this war, people wonder, if the Iraqi army is replaced by the Chinese army, what will be the end. How should the future battle be fought? Can you win?
Although President Jiang Zemin was busy with official duties and had every opportunity, he was also quietly following the war and was deeply shocked.
Thoughtful, he quickly instructed the secretary: "Call General Liu Huaqing over, I have important matters to discuss with him." ”
Liu Huaqing's work was relatively heavy at that time, but after receiving this order, he rushed to Zhongnanhai to meet Chairman Jiang as soon as possible.
After the meeting, President Jiang arranged for him an important task, that is, to study the "Gulf War" and understand the operational methods and strategic layout of the United Nations Army.
The Gulf War woke up China
There is a saying on the Internet: The Gulf War woke up China and ushered in the transformation of its military modernization. So, how did the United States defeat Iraq in the Gulf War?
On 2 August 1990, Iraq sent 100,000 troops to raid Kuwait, which was no match for Kuwait and was quickly overwhelmed.
Iraq's aggression against Kuwait was also due to the failure of the two countries to cooperate on the oil issue. At that time, Iraq was heavily indebted and wanted to unite with the countries of the Gulf region to reduce oil production and raise its prices, so as to make a lot of money to develop its economy.
However, neighboring countries do not agree, but are afraid of being annexed by Iraq, and have turned to cooperation with Europe and the United States, hoping to restrict Iraq's development.
In this way, the embarrassed Saddam Hussein took Kuwait and captured its capital in just 18 hours, and soon occupied most of Kuwait's territory.
Saddam Hussein arrogantly said that Kuwait is the 19th province of Iraq and will be developed and built in a series of ways.
Although Kuwait is not large, its oil production is abundant, its reserves are as high as 1/5 of the world's, relying on the sale of oil can earn nearly 100 billion US dollars a year, take Kuwait, Iraq's debt crisis can be greatly alleviated.
However, Iraq's aggression has made the countries around the Gulf region tremble, fearing that they will be the next country to be annexed, and they have asked the United States to intervene and complain to the United Nations.
Saddam's barbaric acts violated the interests of the United States in the Middle East, and once it is allowed to continue, the United States' oil control in the Middle East will be completely lost.
In this context, the United States immediately launched the "Desert Shield" military operation, gathered the navy, land and air forces, assembled in the Gulf region, and demanded that Iraq withdraw its troops by January 15, 91, otherwise bear the consequences.
At the same time, the United Nations Security Council also demanded that Iraq withdraw its troops immediately, otherwise it will form a United Nations force and take unconventional actions against Iraq.
However, Saddam Hussein was immersed in a brief victory, believing that the Iraqi army would not lose to the United Nations army, and that the United Nations, because of its military strength, would recognize him as the leader of the Middle East.
But reality always slaps in the face, and on January 17, 1991, the 34-nation coalition led by the United States gathered towards the Gulf region, and the Gulf War officially began.
The US military took the lead in launching a three-dimensional sea, land and air combat method, first bombing Iraq indiscriminately, making the Iraqi army dizzy.
This was followed by electromagnetic warfare, stealth warfare, etc., which soon destroyed Iraq's communications command system.
Iraq without air supremacy, the next is a torture, a large number of shells accurately bombarded Iraq's bridges, roads, airports, weapons depots, oil depots, even the Iraqi army has become a meat target, the whole Iraq into a sea of fire.
However, the United States still did not have a good fight, and began ground troops fighting on the 24th, and only 100 hours later, the Iraqi army's defense system completely collapsed, and it fled Kuwait in a comprehensive way, and the fleeing defeated army was also intercepted and captured by the ground forces.
On February 26, Saddam Hussein surrendered, and two days later, the United Nations forces officially ceased, but Iraq's domestic infrastructure was completely destroyed, and the economic damage exceeded 200 billion US dollars.
The end of this brief war shocked the whole country and shocked the Chinese leadership. No one expected that the US military would have such an easy victory posture. Even more surprising, the Americans lost only 148 killed, most of them by friendly forces.
After the war, the Chinese side held a number of high-level seminars, and President Jiang Zemin ordered the whole army to attach importance to this war, find out the gap with the US military, study as much as possible the direction of future military development, and narrow the gap as soon as possible.
Liu Huaqing also actively fulfilled the task given by President Jiang, and he organized representatives of all parties to hold seminars to brainstorm and analyze the cards of the US military's war.
After discussion, everyone unanimously agreed that the US military can win so easily, or because the US electronic equipment plays an absolute advantage, and with the three-dimensional combat method of sea, land and air, the enemy cannot be parried.
Liu Huaqing believes that electronic information warfare is a short board of our army, and our army is not much stronger than the Iraqi army in the development of electronics. However, the US military used electronic warfare to destroy the Iraqi army's radar and command system at the first time, and then sent the navy, land and air force to strike, thereby minimizing losses.
Liu Huaqing also believes that in addition to developing electronic warfare, it is also necessary to vigorously develop aircraft carriers and their new strategic artillery shells. In the Gulf War, U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups played an important role, turning maritime operations into long-range bombing.
Therefore, Liu Huaqing proposed that under the premise of developing basic electronic equipment, we should further develop new scientific and technological weapons and equipment, focusing on the research and development of aircraft carriers, and then the three armed forces can usher in the transformation of integrated operations.
Of course, General Liu Huaqing also said that even if the US military can take Saddam's army in a short period of time, this victory cannot be replicated in China, after all, the mainland has many troops and has a long depth. Therefore, there is enough time to develop military technology next, and it cannot be rushed.
After hearing this, President Jiang Zemin very much agreed, and decided to launch the modernization construction of the whole army, invest in electronic information infrastructure, and move toward the strategic road of strengthening the army through science and technology.
So, what did General Liu Huaqing's outstanding performance make Chairman Jiang think of him for the first time? This also starts with General Liu's upbringing.
From founding general to "father of the modern navy"
Liu Huaqing, a native of Huang'an County, Hubei Province, was born into a poor family in 1916 and was sent to school by his parents when he was 10 years old.
After the Jute Riot, the spring breeze of the revolution blew to Huang'an County, and many young people embarked on the road of revolution, and the young Liu Huaqing also responded positively, becoming the head of the children's regiment at the age of 11, and officially joined the Red Army four years later and began the journey of Rong Ma's life.
During the Long March, Liu Huaqing's Red 25th Army was surrounded and suppressed by tens of thousands of Kuomintang troops in an attempt to wipe them out. The Red 25th Army immediately launched a breakthrough battle and successfully withdrew in a desperate struggle.
However, Liu Huaqing's left leg was hit by an enemy bullet and it was difficult to walk. At that time, in order to speed up the march, the chief left the wounded soldiers in the homes of his fellow villagers.
Liu Huaqing knew that once he went apart, it might be difficult to find the large army, and he insisted that he leave together. The chief, seeing that he was determined, left him a horse.
A day later, before his body fully recovered, Liu Huaqing rode all the way to catch up and caught up with the army as he wished.
Recalling this incident in his later years, Liu Huaqing was still embarrassed.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Liu Huaqing was assigned to the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army and served as the director of the headquarters secretariat and the chief of the propaganda and education section, and followed Chief Liu Deng for a long time.
At that time, Deng Xiaoping was engaged in local armed forces in the rear and set up guerrilla detachments, and he was very busy. As Chief Deng's assistant, Liu Huaqing took the initiative to share a lot of work, and each task could be completed in time, which was affirmed by Chief Deng.
As the achievements of the Anti-Japanese War continued to expand, Liu Huaqing also longed to go to the front to fight, but Chief Deng said: "You can't leave yet, the organ needs you." ”
In this way, Liu Huaqing continued to stay in the rear, and only later went to study at the party school, and then left Chief Liu Deng's side.
During the Liberation War, Liu Huaqing was mainly responsible for ideological construction, served as the political commissar of the 6th Brigade of the 2nd Column of the Jin-Hebei-Luyu Military Region, and performed well in blocking the Kuomintang 5th Army, and was commended by Chief Liu Deng.
Soon after, in the battle of Yangshanji, Liu Huaqing led his troops to break through the enemy's position and capture Song Ruike, commander of the enemy's 66th Division, and once again won great merit.
In 1955, for his outstanding performance during the revolutionary years, Liu Huaqing was awarded the rank of founding major general. Of course, Liu Huaqing really grew up and went to a leadership position after New China.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was sent to the Dalian Naval School as a deputy political commissar, when the mainland naval construction work was blank, Liu Huaqing in order to be able to learn advanced naval theoretical knowledge, specially went to the Soviet Union for further study, mastered the cutting-edge professional knowledge and technology of the navy.
In 1961, Liu Huaqing was appointed director of the Seventh Research Institute, engaged in research on national defense science and technology, focusing on the development of naval equipment. Despite the difficult conditions at that time, Liu Huaqing overcame difficulties and established 15 research institutes and focused on the development of submarines.
After three years of hard work, the Seventh Academy has successfully developed five types of combat ships.
In view of Liu Huaqing's outstanding performance, he was recommended by Premier Zhou to serve as deputy director of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, responsible for the development of new weapons. Under extremely difficult circumstances, Liu Huaqing quickly facilitated the development of destroyers, frigates, conventionally powered submarines, etc.
Liu Huaqing also participated in scientific research projects such as hydrogen bomb tests, artificial satellites in the sky, and nuclear submarine launches, and personally led the research of surface-to-air missiles, high-speed fighters, anti-tank weapons and other weapons, making great contributions to the mainland's national defense cause.
In August 1982, Liu Huaqing was appointed commander of the Navy, and after taking office, he devoted himself to the research of naval equipment modernization.
But he found that although there were many research institutes within the navy, they could not unite and work separately. Decentralizable institutions also mean that research is inefficient and difficult to produce results.
He originally wanted to unify these research institutes, set up an equipment research institute, and carry out unified operations, but he was resisted by various departments at lower levels.
However, science and technology are changing with each passing day, and if the Navy is not developed to equip modern weapons, the mainland Navy will only lag further behind.
Under his approval and coordination, a new research group was established, and more than 20 weapons and equipment were developed, and in 1985, five achievements of the naval force won the National Science and Technology Progress Award, laying a solid foundation for the modernization of naval equipment in the future.
In order to enhance our military's deterrent power in the South China Sea, Liu Huaqing also decided to establish Xisha Airport in March 1987.
However, soon Liu Huaqing discovered that the supply of fuel in the South China Sea was a problem, and the navy and air force could not play an advantage if they did not solve the fuel problem, and he instructed the research team to speed up the development and manufacturing of aerial tankers, and finally overcome the technical problem.
Throughout his term of office, Liu Huaqing focused on reforming the naval system and equipment management at the grassroots level, which greatly improved the appearance of the navy. He also put forward the strategic principle of "coastal defense" and vigorously developed medium and large ships and nuclear submarines, which greatly improved the naval strength.
It is also Liu Huaqing's unsparing efforts in naval modernization that makes him known as the "father of the modern navy".
Duke Deng entrusted him with important responsibilities three times
In early November 1987, Liu Huaqing, who was 71 years old, was told to go to Comrade Xiaoping's residence for a meeting, thinking that the meeting would arrange for him to take a back seat, and he was already mentally prepared to give way.
However, as soon as the meeting began, Comrade Deng Xiaoping announced that he would be appointed secretary general of the Central Military Commission, which startled Liu and did not expect that he would still be entrusted with a heavy task.
Comrade Xiaoping said in front of everyone: "To transfer him is to grasp modernization and equipment." ”
As Liu Huaqing's old chief, Comrade Xiaoping knew that Liu was a professional modernization talent. At that time, the tide of reform and opening up hit, the international community was complex and changeable, and the mainland army should also join the wave of reform.
As an old comrade, Liu Huaqing is irreplaceable by others in terms of cognition, prestige, and experience.
After Liu Huaqing learned of the trust placed in him by the old chief and the central government, his confidence was lost, and he decided to dedicate himself to contributing to the development of the country and living up to the expectations of the organization.
After taking office, Liu Huaqing first investigated the national defense science and technology equipment, and found that the weapons and equipment of the whole army were relatively backward, and the phenomenon of disrepair was serious, the arms management system was backward, and it was urgent to carry out modernization reform.
But how should we organize and plan the PLA's armament reform? He specially consulted Nie Shuai and Xu Shuai, the two old chiefs, and convened a number of departments to hold seminars, only then realized that the problem of weapons and equipment in disrepair needed to be solved urgently.
He instructed all departments of the whole army to classify weapons and equipment, and according to the situation of weapons, they should be repaired into three situations: compulsory repair, mothballing, and elimination; weapons with priority performance and strong combat effectiveness should be repaired; weapons with relatively large consumables with storage performance that can be regarded as large consumables; and weapons that are relatively backward and have no maintenance value will be eliminated.
After Liu Huaqing's rectification and guidance, the problem of the disrepair of weapons and equipment in the whole army was quickly solved. He also focused on standardizing and institutionalizing the management of cadres, which soon gave the whole army a completely new look.
It was Liu Huaqing's outstanding performance that he was named general in 1988, and in 1990 he was nominated by Comrade Xiaoping and promoted by the Central Committee as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission.
Upon hearing this, Liu Huaqing was flattered, believing that he was junior and that there were many cadres in the party who were more capable than himself, and he was unwilling to take this important position, but he was told that the decision would not change.
At that time, although Liu Huaqing was old, he was still healthy, coupled with his excellent ability, many years of focus on the field of national defense equipment, and rich experience and knowledge, so he was recognized by Comrade Xiaoping.
It is precisely for this reason that after the end of the Gulf War, President Jiang Zemin immediately thought of General Liu Huaqing and asked him to take full charge of the development and construction of the army's modernization.
Liu Huaqing also realized the importance of high-tech weapons to the development of the army, and after that, he went around researching and running to the grassroots level and scientific research.
Before the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing in October 1992, Deng Gong recommended the Central Committee in his personal name, hoping to bring General Liu Huaqing to the top leadership. The central authorities agreed to Duke Deng's proposal to let General Liu Huaqing enter the Politburo.
Duke Deng summoned General Liu again and patiently instructed: "Go all out to assist Comrade Jiang Zemin and readjust the leading bodies of our army in three years." ”
Liu Huaqing was very moved; he did not expect the old leaders to place such importance on him, and after that, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the modernization of the army, organized and formulated a three-year plan for the construction of leading bodies, and gave rewards and punishments to leading cadres on a basis based on evidence, thus greatly improving the political work and efficiency of grassroots cadres on the mainland.
Along with the improvement of the construction of electronic equipment in the mainland army, Liu Huaqing also emphatically pointed out the study of aircraft carriers, and he said to cadres at all levels in a serious manner: "Aircraft carriers are the main embodiment of the country's comprehensive national strength, and they are also the soul and core of the navy. ”
In fact, as early as 1980, when Liu Huaqing visited the United States, he saw the aircraft carrier for the first time. Four years later, he visited the British aircraft carrier "Intrepid", and the other party proudly said: "Without the aircraft carrier, we would not be able to win the Falklands War." ”
Having seen the aircraft carrier twice, Liu Huaqing recognized the great deterrent power of the aircraft carrier and was determined to develop the aircraft carrier strategy, but because the core technology of the aircraft carrier was difficult to break through, the research was stagnant for a while.
Until after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine looked for buyers to sell the "Varyag" aircraft carrier, Liu Huaqing saw the opportunity and sent people to discuss the purchase as soon as possible, which led to the return of the "Varyag" and the improved "Liaoning" aircraft carrier.
At the 15th Party Congress in 1998, Liu Huaqing took the initiative to take a back seat. Over the past few years, under his leadership, the leadership of the People's Liberation Army has been institutionalized, and he can rest assured and leave the cause of national defense to young people.
After retiring, Liu Huaqing completely lived an ordinary life, playing cards and chess with his old friends every day. He also loves to read, especially war history, Chinese and foreign history books, and also dabbles in scientific magazines to understand the latest international military science and technology.
At the celebration of the 60th anniversary of New China, Liu Huaqing, who was 93 years old, climbed the Tiananmen Tower in a wheelchair and watched the modern people's army planned and built by him walk through Tiananmen Square.
On January 14, 2011, Admiral Liu Huaqing completed his legendary life at the age of 95. A year later, the Liaoning held a handover ceremony in the port of Dalian, but it is a pity that General Liu Huaqing was unable to witness this glory.
Generally speaking, the Gulf War was the war with the highest level of technology and the largest number of new weapons after World War II, which laid the direction for military reform in various countries around the world.
Prior to this, the Chinese military had always been dominated by the army, the development of the navy and air force lagged behind, and the combat concept was still based on "winning from the ground".
However, since the Gulf War, our army has been disarmed many times, the army units have been sharpened by a large margin, the proportion of navy, air, and strategic missile forces has increased by a large margin, and joint naval and air operations and coastal defense operations have become the main development direction of the Chinese armed forces.
With the drastic reform of the Chinese armed forces, the army has moved towards the road of integrated and lean development, the navy has developed towards informationization and far-sea, the air force has paid attention to "both attack and defense", and the Second Artillery Corps has attached importance to "both nuclear and conventional equipment and integrated deterrence".
All this is inseparable from the efforts and cultivation of Admiral Liu Huaqing!