Among the main forces of the National Army's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 74th Army can definitely be said to have made great achievements, unlike the 5th Army, which is also the five main forces, it is spoiled, and the trump card status of the 74th Army is completely earned by itself. Since the Battle of Songhu, the army has always been on the front line of the Anti-Japanese War, and the battles of Wanjialing, Shanggao, and Changsha have repeatedly created great victories.
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he directly defended Nanjing as the Imperial Forest Army, becoming one of the strongest hole cards in Lao Jiang's hand.
As the commander of such a powerful ace army, the commander of the 74th Army is bound to be the most trusted person of Lao Jiang, such as the first army commander Yu Jishi, in addition to being a descendant of the first phase of Huangpu, he is also a relative of Lao Jiang, the second army commander Wang Yaowu is the third phase of Huangpu, and the fourth army commander Zhang Lingfu is the fourth phase of Huangpu.
What is the final outcome?
Lao Jiang and Shi Zhongcheng
An iron-blooded commander from a ragtag background
Shi Zhongcheng was born in Tongcheng, Anhui Province, his father Shi Congli was the second oldest in the family, because of his father's early death, Shi Zhongcheng was raised by the eldest uncle Shi Congbin. Shi Congbin is also a famous tiger general in the Republic of China, after graduating from the Beiyang School, he went to Shandong, and has been serving under Zhang Zongchang, the king of Shandong, and has been serving as the commander of the 2nd Army.
Therefore, since he was a child, Shi Zhongcheng has been following his uncle to train in the army, and with the encouragement of his uncle, he resolutely decided to join the army.
In 1923, at the age of 26, he graduated from the ninth phase of the Baoding Military Academy and joined Shi Congbin as a company commander.
Da Bo Shi from the sea
In 1925, Zhang Zongchang and Sun Chuanfang, the commander of the allied forces of the five provinces in the north, broke out in a firefight, and Shi Congbin, who was the commander of the army at the time, was defeated and captured by Sun Chuanfang.
When his uncle, who was like his biological father, was killed, Shi Zhongcheng suddenly lost his reliance on the road of life.
During this period, although his cousin Shi Jianqiao found him many times to avenge his father (uncle), he knew that he was only a lieutenant and his strength was too weak, and he couldn't get close to Sun Chuanfang at all, let alone take revenge, so he rejected his cousin and turned to work hard.
In the time that followed, Shi Zhongcheng did grow a lot, and successively served as a division, brigade staff officer, and captain of the cadre training team. In particular, Zhang Zongchang was appreciated in formulating battle plans and map operations, and Zhang Baoju became a regiment commander.
Shi Zhongcheng and his wife and cousin Shi Jianqiao (back)
It is said that Zhang Zongchang's troops were bandits, military discipline was sloppy, and the people were struggling to make a living wherever they went, but the troops under Shi Zhongcheng's rule had strict military discipline, and he himself set an example and restrained the troops, which won great praise from the people of Shandong.
After Zhang Zongchang was defeated, Lao Jiang took charge of Shandong, and Shi Zhongcheng's department was incorporated into the 1st Brigade of the Shandong Provincial Garrison of the National Government.
After joining the Central Army in 1934, Shi Zhongcheng and his battalion and regimental officers were transferred to the higher education class of the Central Military Academy (Whampoa Military Academy) in Nanjing, completing the transformation from a miscellaneous army to the Central Army.
After graduation, Shi Zhongcheng's department was reorganized into the 57th Brigade of the 169th Division, and met his nobleman here, the division commander Nguyen Zhaochang.
This Yunnan native, who was born in Beiyang and served as the mayor of Jinan, attaches great importance to Shi Zhongcheng, who is also from a miscellaneous background. After the Japanese army entered North China in 1933, with the support of Commander Shi Zhongcheng, who knew that the anti-Japanese war was imminent, he actively trained and prepared for war, and shined in the 1935 National Army's school parade, and for this reason, the 57th Army became one of the few non-Whampoa students, but one of the 10 adjustment divisions (German mechanics) that obtained the first phase of training.
German Mechanics Tuner
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the 57th Division, as a supplementary force, together with other Central Army, went south to Songhu to fight a decisive battle with the Japanese army.
After the troops arrived at the battlefield, Shi Zhongcheng immediately ordered the commander of the 337th Regiment Yang Zongding to lead his troops to cooperate with the friendly forces against the Japanese army in Pudong and took over the friendly positions.
After the Battle of Songhu, Shi Zhongcheng was promoted to the commander of the 57th Division with his military exploits, and worshiped the rank of major general.
In the 74th Army at the time of the war
In the Battle of Wuhan, the 57th Division performed bravely and heroically.
In June 1938, the 57th Division was transferred to guard the last line of defense in Wuhan - Tianjia Town on the Yangtze River. And handing over this task to the 57th Division, a miscellaneous division, shows the Military Commission's trust in Shi Zhongcheng and his recognition of his ability.
After the start of the battle, the frontal position of the 57th Division was attacked by Japanese naval and air fire, after a burst of artillery fire, the commander of the Japanese 11th Army, sent the Japanese elite Kumamoto 6th Division Imamura Brigade, the same elite to elite, Shi Zhongcheng repeatedly defeated the attack of the Imamura Brigade, of course, his own casualties were also very tragic, after more than ten days of fierce fighting, the 57th Division 2 brigade commanders were all wounded, 4 regiment commanders 1 was martyred, 3 seriously injured.
More than 100 wounded soldiers of the 339th Regiment of the main force resolutely detonated ammunition and died in order to be taken prisoner improperly.
The national army guarding Tianjia Town
After the end of the battle, only nine companies of the 57th Division's more than 10,000 troops remained, and they had no choice but to retreat into Hunan to recuperate. The Imamura Brigade on the opposite side also suffered heavy losses, and more than half of them were also evacuated from the battlefield to adjust.
After the war, Shi Zhongcheng and the 57th Division once again became the focus, and the public and public opinion rushed to report it, calling it the "Anti-Japanese Iron Army".
With this honor, Shi Zhongcheng and the 57th Division were incorporated into the 74th Army, which also performed well in the Battle of Wuhan, and became the "descendant of the lineage". The 74th Army of the "35th Iron Army (51st, 57th and 58th Divisions)" also officially ushered in its last piece of the puzzle.
In the 74th Army, Shi Zhongcheng and the 57th Division made another meritorious service.
Within the national army, miscellaneous and local armies have always been the targets of bullying by the central system, and the 57th Division and Shi Zhongcheng, who had just entered the 74th Army, were also not trusted by friendly forces. Therefore, at the beginning of the period, Shi Zhongcheng behaved cautiously and acted as low-key as possible.
But low-key does not mean mediocre, in the subsequent Nanchang and the first Battle of Changsha, the 57th Division as a member of the 74th Army also performed well, after the loss of Nanchang, the 57th Division took the lead in counterattacking, once attacked under the city of Nanchang, directly disrupted the deployment of the Japanese army. In the Battle of Changsha, the superior 57th Division was in Shangfu Town, cutting off the Japanese 106th Division reinforcing Changsha, thus making Okamura insufficient and having to retreat, turning the tide of the battle.
The first president of Changsha
The series of achievements of the 57th Division allowed them to successfully integrate into the big family of the 74th Army, and Shi Zhongcheng's ability was also highly praised by the two army commanders, Yu Jishi and Wang Yaowu. However, no matter how good the relationship between colleagues is, after all, they are from a miscellaneous army, and in order to completely control the 57th Division, the high-level of the National Army transferred Yu Chengwan of the first phase of Huangpu to the 57th Division as the division commander, and Shi Zhongcheng was transferred to the 100th Army as the commander.
It can be said that this adjustment can only be regarded as an acceptable result for Shi Zhongcheng, who was promoted from division commander to army commander, but left his own starting unit. Shi Zhongcheng, who arrived in the 100th Army, quickly entered the role, and in the Battle of Changde, in the face of the 8,000 remnants of the besieged 57th Division, Shi Zhongcheng, as the teacher, worked very hard and tried to save the remnants of the army.
Although the Battle of Changde ended in tragedy, Shi Zhongcheng was awarded the Order of Baoding of the Fourth Class for his active performance in the battle. But even with the military merits, it still failed to save the 57th Division.
Soon after the battle, Shi Zhongcheng received a piece of news that made him happy:
He was appointed commander of the 74th Army of the National Revolutionary Army.
Shi Zhongcheng, who was promoted to army commander
Ace Commander of the 74th Army
In March 1944, after Wang Yaowu, the commander of the 74th Army, who had participated in the victories of Dewanjialing, Shanggao and Changsha three times, and had outstanding achievements, was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the 24th Group Army, the post of commander of the 74th Army became vacant.
And for this vacated fragrant dumpling, people from all sides have launched a fierce competition.
And who will succeed the commander is also a headache for the top level of the national army, especially many high-achieving students of the Whampoa Department want to take it into their pockets, after all, the 74th Army is the most trusted army of the principal, and being promoted to the commander is the real soaring talent.
Among the main candidates at that time, the main ones were 3 old men of the 74th Army, namely:
Deputy Army Commander Li Tianxia, 57th Division Commander Li Yan, and 58th Division Commander Zhang Lingfu.
The three candidates for the commander of the third man of the 74th Army
But none of these three were the most suitable candidates for the commander.
Let's talk about Li Tianxia who is the most vocal, at that time Li Tianxia was also the deputy commander of the 74th Army, and he and Wang Yaowu, who were born in the third phase of Huangpu, were also classmates, and they knew each other's roots, and Wang Yaowu also wanted him to take the position. Although the 51st Division had great achievements, when Li Tianxia was the deputy deputy commander, he had already left the front-line troops and was mainly responsible for the training and recruitment of recruits in the rear.
Leaving the army is only a factor, and the key is that Li Tianxia likes to engage in small factions, and Wang Yaowu often complained to him about this old classmate when he was a military commander.
Therefore, Wang Yaowu was worried that Li Tianxia would cause controversy after taking over as army commander, which would lead to a long-standing small factional dispute within the 74th Army.
Li Tianxia, who is the loudest
And next is Zhang Lingfu, this gentleman was brought out by Wang Yaowu, as early as when Wang Yaowu was still the commander of the 58th Division, Zhang served as the regiment commander and brigade commander under him. But Zhang is more suited to be a vanguard than a strategist, and his personality may lead to more uncertainty when he hands over the most elite troops.
Yu Chengwan, the former commander of the 57th Division, is the best choice, the old seniority of the first phase of Huangpu, but this gentleman was imprisoned by Lao Jiang because several of his soldiers raised the white flag in the Battle of Changde, it would be good to be able to come out safely, and it was not appropriate to promote him this time, and the successor Li Yan fought fiercely, but his qualifications were too shallow, and he might cause dissatisfaction with the other two divisions.
After thinking about it, Wang Yaowu decided to choose a compromise method:
Not only to appease his other division commanders, but also to go out of his own 74th Army, and he is also fair and strict, and has no factional color.
And Shi Zhongcheng, who just met the conditions, became a suitable candidate to take over as army commander.
In order to appease Li Tianxia, Wang Yaowu also transferred him to the 100th Army as a commander, which happened to be the opposite of Shi Zhongcheng.
Li Tianxia, commander of the 100th Army (reorganized 83rd Division), likes to form gangs
One thing to say, he deserves to be the commander of the 74th Army.
When it was not incorporated into the 74th Army, Shi Zhongcheng was a tiger general, and the battles of Songhu, Wuhan and Changsha have already shown his strong command ability, even after taking over the weak 100th Army, he also forged it into a sharp blade in the 9th theater.
Speaking of character, Shi Zhongcheng is humble and cautious, emphasizing execution in doing things, and he is a staff officer, and he has the strategic and overall planning ability that other division commanders do not have, especially at the node of the counteroffensive in 1944, Wang Yaowu needs a leader with strong comprehensive ability and can unite all divisions, so the commander of the 74th Army must be Shi Zhongcheng.
After taking over as the commander of the 74th Army, Shi Zhongcheng ushered in a test.
In the Battle of Changheng, the 74th Army has always been in the role of assist, and failed to fight the Japanese army as the main force. It was not until the Battle of Xiangxi in 1945 that the 74th Army was able to conduct a frontal decisive battle against Japan.
74th Army during the Battle of Snow Peak Mountain
In the battle of Xuefeng Mountain, Li Yan, who had been following his old subordinates, faced the attack of the 116th Division of the Japanese First Division, calmly responded to the battle, firmly guarded this and the gateway to Xiangxi, and continued to kill and injure the Japanese army with the help of artillery fire and air force. The 51st and 58th Divisions were used to block the Japanese army in the area of the mouth of the river on the central line.
After the war, the 74th Army's "Jiangkou Blockade" was also praised by US liaison officers.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, the 74th Army, dressed in American, entered Nanjing, and Shi Zhongcheng was ordered to concurrently serve as the commander of the capital garrison, so that the 74th Army gained the reputation of "Royal Forest Army". In 1946, Shi Zhongcheng was appointed deputy commander of the 20th Group Army, left the 74th Army, and served in the rear until the defeat of the National Army in the Liberation War, and followed Lao Jiang to Baodao.
After Shi Zhongcheng died in his later years, Lao Jiang still gave him the title
And the reason why Shi Zhongcheng was abandoned by Lao Jiang during the Liberation War, Yutian Jun believes that it is nothing more than this:
Although he was once trusted by Lao Jiang, he was always a miscellaneous general, if he was allowed to serve as a corps commander or division commander, the impact would not be too great, at this time he was already the deputy commander of the group army, and then he was at the level of the commander of the corps, and let a person without a background in Huangpu be the commander, in case he defected to our army.
On the other hand, after the training of the Anti-Japanese War, the Whampoa Department also began to serve as military commanders, and these miscellaneous generals were naturally gradually replaced.