When it comes to the Battle of Huaihai, many people will think of the earth-shattering battle of ghosts and gods, in which our army fought against 800,000 national troops with 600,000 troops and finally won the victory. But is there any internal reason for this victory, besides the heroic fighting of our army? Liu Zhi, the head of the 800,000 National Army at that time, what kind of person was he?
Liu Zhi's name may not be as loud as some generals with great achievements in the long river of history, but in the Huaihai Campaign, he undoubtedly played an extremely key role. What role did Liu Zhi, a unique "lucky general", play in his military career? How did he get to the key position of the Huaihai Campaign step by step in his military career?
Liu Zhi's military career can be said to be full of twists and turns and controversies. Born in the Whampoa Military Academy, he initially showed good military talent in the Northern Expedition. At that time, he must be the first in every battle, leading the troops to go deep into the front line of Jiangxi and performing well. However, history soon entered a more complicated period, and the civil war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party made Liu Zhi's military career begin to take a turn.
The turning point was the Zhongshan ship incident, in which Liu Zhi showed another side of him - absolute loyalty. During that turbulent period, Liu Zhi, loyal to Chiang Kai-shek, carried out many draconian orders, including internal purges. Although this behavior made his status in Chiang Kai-shek's heart rise sharply, it also laid the groundwork for various controversies later.
In the 30s, although Liu Zhi's performance in the Central Plains War and the conflict with the Red Army was mediocre and even made mistakes, his loyalty and execution made him one of the "Five Tiger Generals" of the National Army in 1935. Behind this title, there is more helplessness and bitterness. Liu Zhi's military prowess was often questioned, but his position was always secure, which was not unrelated to his loyalty and political affiliation.
Until the Battle of Huaihai, Liu Zhi's name as a "lucky general" seemed to have become a kind of irony. During the campaign, Liu Zhi's command was considered a typical "paper battle". He insisted on acting according to Chiang Kai-shek's instructions, but the result was that the elite units of the Nationalist army were gradually wiped out by our army. At the critical moment, Liu Zhi's decision-making appeared hesitant and lacked due decisiveness and flexibility, which directly affected the direction of the campaign.
From the Northern Expedition to Huaihai, Liu Zhi's journey was undoubtedly full of controversy and challenges. His military career has been a rollercoaster ride, with peaks and valleys. Although he performed well in some battles, he surprised in the decisive Battle of Huaihai. In addition to the mistakes at the strategic and tactical level, Liu Zhi's personal ability and decision-making also became the focus of criticism from the outside world.
Liu Zhi's fate is closely related to his character and philosophy of life. His philosophy of life can be summed up in terms of "reciprocal obedience" and "absolute loyalty". In his opinion, loyalty to his superiors, especially to Chiang Kai-shek, was the most important principle of his career. Although this loyalty has allowed him to succeed repeatedly in political struggles, he has been inadequately in actual military command.
In the Huaihai Campaign, Liu Zhi's command not only lacked creativity and foresight, but also appeared too mechanical in execution and lacked the ability to be flexible and adaptable. The execution of this kind of machinery often becomes a fatal weakness in the face of a complex and changeable battlefield environment. It was this rigid execution that made him unable to effectively respond to the strategic adjustment of our army during the campaign, resulting in the national army being strategically passive.
Liu Zhi's military thinking also failed to keep pace with the times. In his view, war is still a contest of scale and quantity, ignoring the importance of tactics and information. In the Huaihai Campaign, this kind of thinking led to a misjudgment of the battlefield situation, coupled with its neglect of tactical flexibility, which caused the Nationalist army to suffer repeated setbacks at the tactical level.
Liu Zhi's military career reflects the changes of an era and the ups and downs of personal destiny. From an expected Whampoa officer to a criticized commander of the Huaihai Campaign, Liu Zhi's life was complex and contradictory. In the context of the warlords of the Republic of China and the fierce political struggle, his career also reflected the various problems within the national army in that era - the contradiction between loyalty and ability, as well as the choice and sacrifice in the face of major rights and wrongs.
Studying Liu Zhi's life, it is not difficult for us to find that a person's fate is closely related to his personality, choices, and even the background of the times. In that era of change, Liu Zhi may be just a microcosm of many military figures. Whether praised or criticized, his story profoundly reflects the military and political complexities of the era.