In November 1948, the 43rd Army, which was reorganized from the Sixth Column of the Northeast Field Army, was one of the number one main forces of the Four Field Armies on the battlefield of liberation, and made great achievements in accelerating the liberation of the Northeast region.
In the strategic pursuit stage, the 43rd Army and its brother troops fought southward together, participated in the Battle of Hengbao, and jointly inflicted heavy losses on Bai Chongxi's military group with brother troops. This move played a key role in speeding up the liberation of the two lakes region. Continuing to pursue southward, the 43rd Army entered the territory of Guangdong and continued to fight to eliminate the remnants of the Chiang clique entrenched in South China.
When the Liberation War was coming to an end, the 43rd Army and the 40th Army, a brother unit, jointly engaged in the Battle of Hainan Island. Due to the limited conditions at that time, in the operation to liberate Hainan Island, the 43rd Army and the 40th Army participating in the battle carried forward the spirit of not being afraid of hardship and tiredness, drove a wooden sail across the Qiongzhou Strait, and successfully landed on Hainan Island under the response of the Qiongya Column. And the 43rd Army, which performed very well in this battle, was praised as a tiger turning into a dragon.
The 43rd Army, which had made great achievements, also played the reputation of the Iron Army and the Tiger Army on the battlefield of liberation. You must know that an army has two loud nicknames at the same time, which is very rare in the history of our army's war.
The main reason why the 43rd Army can have two loud nicknames at the same time is that the two main ace divisions under the jurisdiction of the army have different combat styles.
The 127th Division under the jurisdiction of the 43rd Army is a trump card main division with a strong fighting style, and in the northeast battlefield during the liberation period, it set a record of destroying the enemy second, thus winning the reputation of the iron division.
In fact, the history of the 127th Division can be traced back to the Ye Ting Independent Regiment. As everyone knows, the regiment was subordinate to the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army in the Northern Expedition, and this unit made great achievements in the operation to eliminate the old warlord forces, thus winning the title of the Iron Army.
The 128th Division under the jurisdiction of the 43rd Army was the most glorious division of the Fourth Field Army, and was monotonously fought by General Lin, the commander of the Field Army, three times. This is unique in the history of the war in Siye, and it also shows that the combat capability of the 128th Division has been recognized and trusted by the commander of the field army, Mr. Lin.
The 128th Division is good at attacking fortified positions, so it has made great achievements in the Siping Campaign, the Jinzhou Campaign, Tianjin and other battles. In this way, the 128th Division has also become a well-known Tiger Division in the people's army.
In addition to the two ace divisions of the 43rd Army of the Iron Army, the six army commanders from the army are all leaders in the army.
You must know that the six consecutive commanders of the 43rd Army of the Iron Army are all famous generals in the history of our army's war.
The first army commander, Hong Xuezhi, was known as an all-round general, and he was also the only founding general in the whole army who enjoyed the reputation of a six-star general.
Li Zuopeng, the second commander of the army, was a fierce general with rich experience in actual combat, and it was he who led the 43rd Army to liberate Hainan Island and win the first sea-crossing operation in the history of our army's war.
The third army commander, Long Shujin, was originally the commander of the 128th Division of the Tigers, and had rich experience in attacking tough battles. Under his leadership, the 128th Division gradually grew into a tiger division that was good at fighting tough battles on the northeast battlefield.
The fourth commander, Wu Kehua, was not only the fourth commander of the 43rd Army, but also the first commander of the 41st Army. You must know that the 41st Army is also an ace force that can fight well, and it was once known as the five main forces of the four fields together with the 43rd Army. It is enough to see that the tiger general Wu Kehua is also a good leader of troops.
The fifth army commander Liang Xingchu, I believe everyone is familiar with this fierce general! He was the first commander of the ace 47th Army, the second commander of the 38th Army of the Banzai Army, and the fifth commander of the 43rd Army of the Iron Army. General Liang Xingchu was able to serve as the commander of the ace army many times, which can also show that his military ability is relatively strong.
The sixth army commander, Wu Ruilin, is also a fierce general in the history of our army's war, and the second commander of the ace 42nd Army. You must know that the 42nd Army can become the number one force of our army, and Wu Ruilin, as the second commander, played a key role in this.
After the end of the Liberation War, the 42nd Army was supposed to be transferred to the local government and join the construction army of the motherland. Just when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, the 42nd Army entered the DPRK under the leadership of the army commander Wu Ruilin to participate in the war, and the 42nd Army showed great courage in the foreign battlefield.
It seems that the six commanders of the 43rd Army of the Iron Army are all from the Fourth Field Army during the Liberation War.