In the early stages of the Eighth Route Army, although there were only three divisions in the initial period, it established a strong anti-Japanese base behind enemy lines, and the strength of each division quickly swelled to more than 100,000 people.
Of the three divisions, the 115th Division is divided into the 344th Brigade, the 115th Division Headquarters and the 343rd Brigade, which are directly under the division. Among them, Chen Guang was appointed as the brigade commander of the 343 brigade.
The 343rd Brigade of the Eighth Route Army, which was adapted from the elite unit of the Red First Army, became the undisputed elite main force of the Eighth Route Army.
is also the commander of the 343 Brigade, some people say that Yang Yong and Chen Guang are a few steps apart? Is Chen Guang a good leader?
343 Brigade, iron-blooded elite
In September 1937, when the autumn wind swept through the streets of Beiping and Tianjin, it left behind the haze of Japanese occupation, which had just fallen under Japanese fire.
It was at such a historical node that the fire of a war was quietly ignited in the direction of Taiyuan.
The Japanese soldiers divided into two routes, intending to take the key point of Taiyuan.
In the face of this shock wave, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army was ordered to advance to the northeast of Jin, they were the backbone of this war, shouldering the heavy responsibility of guarding the defense line of the Inner Great Wall, and swearing to block the pace of the Japanese army's invasion of Pingxingguan.
This time to meet the enemy, the Eighth Route Army faced the elite of the Japanese army, the Fifth Division.
With its indestructible combat effectiveness, this team enjoyed the reputation of the "Steel Army" in the Japanese army, and wanted to break through the defense line of the Eighth Route Army in one fell swoop.
On September 25, 1937, in the early morning, the clear sky of Pingxingguan as usual was quickly covered by the flames of war.
The Japanese army carried a huge convoy of more than 100 vehicles and more than 200 mules and horses, and drove into the ambush circle carefully arranged by the Eighth Route Army.
Suddenly thunder rumbled in the sky, artillery rained, and the Japanese convoy was blown up in all directions, with nowhere to hide.
Faced with a sudden blow, the Japanese began a frantic counterattack, trying to tear open this ambush circle with their flesh and blood.
The ensuing battle was extremely brutal, and the two armies engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the highway, staging scenes of life-and-death struggle on the heights of Lao Ye Temple.
The brutality of the battle can be seen from the sacrifice of the fighters - when the platoon commander falls, the squad leader immediately refills it, and when the squad leader dies, the soldiers follow.
In the end, on the front line of Qiaogou, the Eighth Route Army annihilated more than 1,000 Japanese soldiers with incredible courage and determination, burned more than 100 cars and more than 200 carriages, and captured a large number of military supplies.
This battle, later generations called it the great victory of Pingxingguan.
At that time, Yang Yong, who participated in this battle, was the deputy commander of the 686th Regiment of the 343rd Brigade, while Chen Guang held the responsibility of the commander of the 343rd Brigade.
Although Yang Yong later served as the commander of the 343 Brigade, his aura seems to be slightly dim compared to the first brigade commander, Chen Guang.
Be bold and careful, and fly to win Luding
Chen Guang is not only old and high-level, but also extremely talented in military command.
The 115th Division is a legendary division in the Eighth Route Army, which began with the Red First Army in Jinggangshan. As the strongest division in the Eighth Route Army, the 115th Division fought bloodily for eight years, participated in more than 260 battles, and annihilated 510,000 enemies.
During the Liberation War, 270,000 elite soldiers of the 115th Division went to the northeast and became the backbone of the Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army.
Chen Guang not only acted as the commander of the Red First Army, but also served as the acting commander of the 115th Division, making great contributions to the development and growth of the 115th Division.
On the night of October 14, 1934, Chen Guang led the Second Red Division to cross the Duhe River and start the Long March.
After the historic decision of the Zunyi Conference, the Red Second Division led by Chen Guang embarked on the difficult journey of crossing the Chishui River four times, and finally marched to the hinterland of western Sichuan.
Their march led them to the Anshunchang Ferry on the banks of the Dadu River, where the scene was extremely dangerous.
Faced with the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops, the Central Red Army was in an extremely difficult situation, and it seemed that every step was going to a dead end. It was the rainy season in May, and the water in Anshun Field was turbulent and the riverbed was wide.
Despite the best efforts of the engineering department, under such natural conditions, it was impossible to erect a pontoon bridge, and the only four small boats in their hands seemed to be a drop in the ocean for the whole army.
At this life-and-death moment, the only hope is pinned on the Luding Bridge, which must be seized. The importance of the Luding Bridge is self-evident, and it is the key to ensuring that the Red Army can successfully cross the Dadu River.
The burden of history once again fell on Chen Guang's shoulders.
He led the 4th Regiment of the 2nd Red Division to march 120 kilometers in one day at an incredible speed, showing the ultimate military discipline and spirit, and finally succeeded in flying over the Luding Bridge.
This courageous action not only created a miracle in the history of our army's war, but also opened the door for the Red Army to march northward and avoided the repetition of Shi Dakai's tragic history.
As the 2nd Red Division bravely walked out of the meadow, they became the first Red Army unit to enter the territory of Gannan.
However, their path was once again blocked by a famous natural hazard - Lazikou.
Lazikou, a natural military barrier, it is located between the mountains and mountains, the narrow mouth seems to be deliberately designed by nature, on both sides are steep cliffs, the bottom is the rushing river, only a crumbling wooden bridge connects the two banks, is the only passage in and out of Lazikou.
Faced with such terrain, it was finally decided that Chen Guang and Yang Chengwu, the political commissar of the Fourth Regiment, would jointly command this crucial battle.
After a night of fierce fighting, the Red Army showed extraordinary courage and wisdom and successfully conquered Lazikou, opening the way for the Red Army's Long March again.
In March 1938, Lin Biao was seriously injured, the 115th Division faced a leadership vacancy, and at the same time, the division headquarters experienced a separation, Nie Rongzhen established the Jinchaji Base Area, Xu Haidong's 344th Brigade was transferred to the headquarters, and Luo Ronghuan and Chen Guang were selected as the acting division commanders.
Under the emergency military situation, in the future, when they had time to negotiate with the central authorities, Zhu De and Peng Dehuai directly appointed Chen Guang as the acting division commander.
After that, Luo Ronghuan and Chen Guang commanded the 115th Division, which won three consecutive battles and three victories, killing and wounding more than 1,200 Japanese soldiers and breaking the enemy's river defense plan.
At the end of 1938, in accordance with the instructions of the Central Committee, they led the division headquarters and the 686th Regiment to advance into Shandong.
When the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army penetrated deep into the Taixi area, they were like a sharp knife deep into the heart of the Japanese army, posing an unprecedented threat to the enemy forces in Tai'an, Jinan and the middle section of the Jinpu Railway.
In May 1940, in the face of the challenge of the Japanese army's control of this strategic location, the supreme commander of the Japanese army in Shandong, Otaka Kamezo, personally took command and led more than 5,000 Japanese puppet troops, intending to have a decisive contest with the 115th Division in this strategic place.
At this critical juncture, the 115th Division and its direct subordinate troops, the 686th Regiment and the Jinpu Detachment, totaling more than 3,000 people, suddenly found themselves surrounded by enemy troops.
In the face of this situation, Chen Guang showed extraordinary calmness and determination.
Chen Guang not only commanded properly, but also skillfully used the terrain and the allocation of troops, so that the various units could break through the encirclement by separate routes and successfully carry out a safe transfer.
In this battle of Lufang, the Eighth Route Army killed and wounded more than 1,200 Japanese soldiers, including the enemy wing captain Ueda Daisa.
Although our side also paid 360 casualties, the fact that we were able to achieve such results under such disadvantaged conditions is enough to prove Chen Guang's outstanding command ability.
Brave and strategic, Lu Liang Sanjie
Although there is a certain gap between Yang Yong and Chen Guang, this does not mean that Yang Yong lacks the talent of military command.
On the contrary, Yang Yong's conducting talent was fully demonstrated in the "Three Victories of Luliang", a series of victories comparable to the legendary story of the ancient Song Jiang Sanda Zhujiazhuang.
In September 1938, in the face of a large-scale attack by the Japanese army, Major General Yamaguchi, the commander of the 108th Brigade, led his troops to Lishi in the Luliang area, and at the same time accumulated a large amount of ammunition and grain in Fenyang City, ready to attack at any time.
When the news reached Yang Yong's ears, he decided to adopt ambush tactics and take the first step to set up the battlefield on the Fenli Highway.
He personally led the battalions to survey the terrain and carefully selected the best position to block the attack, but found that there were enemy pillboxes in the area.
Yang Yong faced a dilemma: if he did it early, he might alarm the enemy, and once the battle began, it would be too costly to uproot the bunkers.
At this critical moment, Yang Yong decided to attack the bunker and block the battle at the same time.
A few days later, according to intelligence, he learned that the Japanese convoy was about to depart, so he arranged an ambush in advance.
Sure enough, 20 cars loaded with Japanese troops and military supplies drove into the ambush circle.
With Yang Yong's order, three shells accurately hit the target, and the pillbox was destroyed instantly; with the sound of explosions, Yang Yong led his soldiers to charge bravely, and more than 200 Japanese soldiers were annihilated except for three who surrendered.
The next day, when a large number of Japanese troops arrived, the scene was so tragic that only 5 carts of corpses could be taken away.
In the heat of battle, the Japanese front-line troops were in an extreme situation, and as the supply lines of ammunition and supplies were cut off, they were forced to take extreme measures - killing horses to feed themselves on hunger, in order to maintain basic survival.
A few days later, the Japanese army, desperate, decided to take the risk of restarting the transportation of supplies in an attempt to break the supply impasse.
More than 100 Japanese soldiers were divided into several vehicles and cautiously transported only one cart of grain to the front in an attempt to detect the movements of our troops.
Yang Yong, with his keen insight, quickly recognized this strategy of the Japanese army, easily intercepted the cart of grain, and regarded it as a "favor" sent.
With the "success" of the first attempt, the morale of the Japanese army swelled falsely.
The next day, they were even more bold to dispatch more than 200 soldiers, escorting 18 truckloads of important supplies to try to break through again, only to fall into Yang Yong's carefully arranged ambush circle again, this time, they did not have any survivors, and all the supplies fell into our hands.
The failure of the Japanese army's two consecutive ambushes made them frightened, completely lost the courage to attack, and began to plan a retreat.
Yang Yong seized this opportunity and showed his military wisdom and courage, "not into the tiger's den, but not into the tiger's den" - he decided to adopt a more daring tactic.
On the expected retreat route of the Japanese army, especially the strategic point of Wangjiachi, they quietly lurked, ready to give the enemy the final blow.
Just when the Japanese army's baggage team, artillery carriage and infantry team were raising their vigilance in the dangerous area, thinking that it was safe to pass, they did not expect that Wangjiachi, which was under their noses, encountered a fierce ambush by our army - "like a divine soldier descending from heaven", and more than 300 Japanese soldiers instantly became ghosts under the gun.
In these three ambush battles, the troops under the command of Yang Yong annihilated more than 1,000 enemies, and even important figures including the commander of the Japanese army, Major General Yamaguchi.
After this series of defeats, the Japanese troops in Fenyang had to close the city gates, and for several days in a row they could only burn the bodies of their own compatriots to cover up the shame of defeat.
It is easy to fold if it is too rigid, and it is both rigid and soft
When evaluating Chen Guang as Yang Yong's superior leader, we found that Chen Guang did perform well in military leadership, with the ability to coordinate the overall situation and a high level of military literacy.
As a military leader, his commanding skills and strategic vision have undoubtedly earned him respect and recognition.
However, leadership considerations are not limited to military talent, and a well-rounded leader should have a balanced personality trait and multifaceted abilities.
Chen Guang has a strong personality, a character trait that can be his strength in some cases, such as his ability to make decisions and take action.
But when it comes to the more delicate and patient management of interpersonal relationships, this trait can be a disadvantage.
Chen Guang's personality tendencies may make him encounter challenges in his interactions with colleagues and subordinates, and he will not be accepted by everyone.
In January 1950, Chen Guang was transferred to Guangzhou, facing a completely new working environment and responsibilities. Under Ye Jianying's leadership, he was responsible for key tasks such as the suppression of bandits, the maintenance of social order, and the stability of market prices.
As an important outpost of southern China, Guangzhou has a special status in line with international standards, and the challenges and tasks it faces are arduous and complex.
For a soldier like Chen Guang, who has come from the rain of bullets and is accustomed to the simple and crude logic of the battlefield, urban management and construction is undoubtedly a brand-new challenge, which is not only a military issue, but also involves a wide range of social management and people's livelihood issues.
Chen Guang showed a certain degree of inadequacy in this process. In handling intelligence work in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, his subjective simplicity and lack of prudence led to mistakes in the implementation of policies.
In addition, in his pursuit of partial interests, Chen Guang violated the central government's cadre policies and regulations and tried to recruit the children of martyrs and intellectuals to Guangzhou and set up training classes for them.
Although this move is well-intentioned, it shows the limitations of policy understanding and application in the implementation process.
When the organization noticed these problems, Ye Jianying personally intervened with a high sense of responsibility, hoping that through face-to-face communication, Chen Guang could be prompted to deeply reflect and correct his mistakes.
In this conversation, Ye Shuai's starting point is undoubtedly to help Chen Guang recognize the problem and find the right path to solve the problem through communication.
At first, the two met with respect and friendliness, as if everything could be resolved through a frank conversation.
However, as the discussion of the mistakes deepened, some of the accusations that may have been exaggerated or false touched Chen Guang's sensitive nerves.
His emotions then became agitated, from the initial calm and harmony to the gradual heating up, which eventually led to a fierce quarrel, and even slapping the table under the impetus of emotion, and the scene got out of control for a while.
This conversation, which was supposed to seek a solution to the problem, ended in discord on both sides because of misunderstandings and mood swings.
When comparing the leadership styles of Yang Yong and Chen Guang, Yang Yong is more comfortable in interpersonal communication and team management.
Different from Chen Guang's sometimes fierce personality, Yang Yong can always find an appropriate balance between fortitude and softness in his daily interactions, whether facing his superiors or subordinates, showing his kind side.
Resources:
"Tiger General" Yang Yong_ Zhao Lei
Edited by Chen Mingyang. Events of the year[M]. 2005