The War of Liberation was called the darkness before dawn, and when the battle first began, the Kuomintang soldiers were strong and strong, and our army once fell into an extremely dangerous situation. In the confrontation with the enemy, the PLA lost four generals who had come all the way from the era of the Red Army and the Eighth Route Army.
[People's Liberation Army during the Liberation War]
These people had made great contributions to the revolution, but unfortunately fell on the eve of the founding of New China, which makes people feel extremely sad.
The crisis in the early days of the War of Liberation
After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in 1945, the Chinese people looked forward to the fact that after the war, the country would finally get an opportunity to develop the economy and people's livelihood and improve the living standards of the people.
However, Chiang Kai-shek did not care about the will of the people, and he persistently launched a counter-revolutionary civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and directly aimed his guns at the Chinese compatriots.
【Chiang Kai-shek】
At that time, the Kuomintang was strong and strong, and in the later stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it received strong military assistance from the Central Powers, and the size and combat effectiveness of the troops were greatly improved.
The year 1946 was the most critical year for our army, and although we had a certain amount of psychological preparation, our army still did not expect that Lao Chiang would dare to defy the world's condemnation and openly detonate a civil war, so the troops in the liberated areas could only rush to the battle.
[A corner of the Liberation War]
In the battle, our army unfortunately lost four famous generals, all four of whom were supposed to appear at the 1955 award ceremony, but fell on the eve of the victory of the revolution.
The name of the first unfortunate general who died is familiar to the country, this is General Ye Ting, Ye Ting is one of the early senior generals of our army, his qualifications and revolutionary contributions are extraordinary in our army, if he did not die in 1946, he will inevitably become a member of the founding marshal.
Ye Ting already had the name of a famous general as early as the Northern Expedition, and his Ye Ting Independent Regiment was famous at that time, and even 101 and Xu Xiangqian were both from Ye Ting's Independent Regiment, and Ye Ting was their old commander.
【General Ye Ting】
During the Nanchang Uprising, Ye Ting was also in charge of the main military command and was one of the founders of our army, and later Ye Ting also led the Guangzhou Uprising and formed the New Fourth Army during the Anti-Japanese War.
It is no exaggeration to say that there are very few people in the people's army who have a higher status than Ye Ting, and after the founding of New China, he will inevitably become one of the main leaders of the army.
Ye Ting's sacrifice was a conspiracy, he did not die on the battlefield, but unfortunately suffered a plane crash after participating in the Chongqing peace talks.
According to the information declassified after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the plane was normal during the flight from Chongqing to Yan'an, but before reaching the airport, it got lost and hit a mountain.
You must know that the pilot of the plane at that time was a veteran of the Flying Tigers with more than 3,000 hours of flight time, and he was extremely skilled.
A general who died in battle
In addition to Ye Ting, Luo Binghui also died in 1946, Luo Binghui's revolutionary qualifications are also very old, he joined the revolution at the age of 15, and he was a senior general during the Red Army.
【Luo Binghui】
By the time of the Red Army's fifth anti-encirclement and suppression, Luo Binghui was already the commander of the Red Army, and there was no problem in awarding the rank of general after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Luo Binghui's sacrifice is both admirable and regrettable.
During the Battle of Zaozhuang in 1946, Luo Binghui did not close his eyes for many days, insisted on organizing troops to fight on the front line, and the high-intensity battle finally broke Luo Binghui's body, and he died of a sudden illness due to excessive fatigue.
Luo Binghui's military attainments are very high, he is one of the 36 military strategists in New China, and his sacrifice is a heavy loss to the country and the army.
【Luo Binghui】
Guan Xiangying's experience is similar to Luo Binghui, Guan Xiangying is also a veteran general of our army, he served as the political commissar of the Red Third Army and the deputy political commissar of the Red Second Front Army during the Red Army, his status in the army is quite high, and his work ability is very strong, and the central government trusts him very much.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Guan Xiangying served as the political commissar of the 120th Division, which was one of the three main divisions of the Eighth Route Army, and his status was extraordinary.
You must know that those who can be division-level leaders in the main division of the Eighth Route Army are at least the rank of generals, and Guan Xiang should have made great contributions to the seniority, maybe the marshals can fight.
Guan Xiangying's death and Luo Binghui were only a month apart, and the reason was due to excessive fatigue.
【Guan Xiangying】
In the early days of the War of Liberation, our army was under great military pressure, and these leaders did not dare to close their eyes at all, and basically devoted their minds to operational command.
It can only be said that God failed to favor these bright stars.
The last unfortunate general to die was Xie Xiangjun, Xie Xiangjun also joined the Red Army at the age of 16, was born as a red ghost, during the Red Army, Xie Xiangjun fought bravely and was wounded many times.
Xie Xiangjun was Luo Binghui's subordinate, he was injured once and needed to have his leg amputated, but thanks to Luo Binghui's order, one leg was saved.
【Xie Xiangjun】
During the Anti-Japanese War, Xie Xiangjun also fought bloody battles, was promoted to the commander of the military division and other positions, began to take on the leadership of the troops, and performed well on the battlefield.
In 1946, the famous Lianshui Defense Battle began, and the enemy Xie Xiangjun faced was the ace unit of the National Army, Zhang Lingfu's integrated 74th Division, which was the main division with the strongest combat effectiveness and the best equipment in the entire National Army at that time, which could be called the ceiling of the National Army's combat power.
Xie Xiangjun attached great importance to this battle, and did not hesitate to go to the front line to command the operation, but it was also this decision that made Xie Xiangjun an excellent target for snipers in the national army, once when he was on the front line to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, Xie Xiangjun was discovered by snipers, and unfortunately was shot and died, only 32 years old.
[One of the few photos of Xie Xiangjun]
The sacrifice of such a young general, who is in the prime of his life and has outstanding merits, is a huge loss that is difficult for our army to make up.
In 1946, because of the sacrifice of these four generals of the People's Liberation Army, it became the darkest year in the entire Liberation War, but fortunately, our army still withstood the pressure, gradually grasped the initiative on the battlefield, and finally defeated the decadent and reactionary Chiang Kai-shek government and established New China.
Sources:
[1] Ye Ting: Eternal Life in Fire and Blood.Communist Party of China News [Citation date:2019-12-21]
[2] Huizhou commemorates the birthday of General Ye Ting, Qiuchang Middle School is renamed Ye Ting Middle School.sina.com [Citation date:2017-04-8]