<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > Centennial General 29: Wang Bicheng</h1>
Author: Forget about the jianghu
On December 8, 1978, Political Commissar Deng held a meeting in Beijing, and one of the topics was to study the issue of "changing the coach".
As for the candidates for the commander-in-chief of the Vietnamese self-defense counterattack, General Xu Shiyou of the Guangzhou Military Region was commanded in the direction of Guangxi on the eastern front, and in the direction of Yunnan on the western front, general Yang Dezhi of the Wuhan Military Region and Lieutenant General Wang Bicheng of the Kunming Military Region were exchanged, and Ye Shuai and Xu Shuai had no objections.
Changing the commander in the front has been a taboo for soldiers since ancient times, so why replace Wang Bicheng, who has been carefully prepared for two months of combat?
Lieutenant General Wang Bicheng
Is it that Wang Bicheng's battle achievements are not enough? Of course not.
Wang Bicheng, born in 1912 in Macheng, Hubei Province, was an old revolutionary: he joined the Red Guards at the age of 16, the Red Army at the age of 17, and the organization at the age of 18. During the red army period, he was a fierce general of the Red Fourth Front, and Eyu and Anhui opposed "encirclement and suppression" sichuan and Shaanxi against "siege", climbing snowy mountains twice and crossing meadows three times.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Wang Bicheng led 1 detachment and 2 regiments of the New Fourth Army to attack stations, fight The Japanese army, pull up strongholds, and fight planes in the Maoshan base area, known as "Wang Tiger", and the 2nd Regiment became the "Tiger Regiment". In the later period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the 2nd Regiment was organized into the 6th Division and the 16th Brigade, and later the 6th Column of the Central China Field Army.
Wang Bicheng participated in five battles and annihilated more than 16,000 enemy troops.
In the two battles of Lianshui, Wang Bicheng hardened the reorganized 74th Division, one of the five main forces of Chiang Kai-shek's army, and annihilated more than 7,000 enemy troops in the first battle, allowing Zhang Lingfu to return home. In the second battle, Zhang Lingfu secretly attacked and lost more than 5,000 people, and Wang Bicheng was carried by guards to retreat.
In February 1947, the Battle of Laiwu annihilated 56,000 enemy troops and 24,000 enemy in six columns. In the Battle of Menglianggu in May, five columns surrounded and annihilated the reorganized 74th Division, and the six columns of Wang Bicheng and Pi Dingjun attacked the headquarters of the 74th Division and obtained the first rank of Zhang Lingfu.
Wang Bicheng was one of the three musketeers under the "God of War" Su Yu, "Ye Wangtao"; after the founding of New China, he participated in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, served as the deputy commander of the 9th Corps of the Volunteer Army, and participated in the Jincheng Counterattack. It can be said that he has experienced hundreds of battles and has never fought a "slippery head battle".
Could it be that Wang Bicheng was in poor health? Of course not.
In 1979, there were only a few founding generals who were "still able to eat or not", except for Wang Bicheng, 67, Xu Shiyou of the Guangzhou Military Region, 74 years old, Yang Dezhi of the Wuhan Military Region 68 years old, Han Xianchu of the Lanzhou Military Region 66 years old, Li Desheng of the Shenyang Military Region 63 years old, and Chen Xilian of the Beijing Military Region aged 64.
Wang Bicheng was transferred from Fuzheng, deputy commander of the Kunming Military Region, in 1971, and qin Jiwei, his predecessor, to the Beijing Military Region in 1975. Wang Bicheng's health did not have any problems, because he presided over the preparations for the two months before the war.
Xu Shiyou (left), commander-in-chief of the Eastern Front, and Yang Dezhi, commander-in-chief of the Western Front, held hands
Could it be that Wang Bicheng was not as familiar with the situation of the Vietnamese army as Yang Dezhi? The reasons are far-fetched.
On February 17, 1979, Japan's Kyodo News Agency published a report that attracted the world's attention.
The report said: General Yang Dezhi, who was still in the Wuhan Military Region a few years ago, has taken up the post of commander of the Kunming Military Region and has entered a state of combat on the Yunnan front. General Yang Dezhi is very senior, participating in the Autumn Harvest Uprising in 1927 (which should be the Shonan Uprising of 1928), participating in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea in 1951, and visiting North Vietnam in 1967.
The article concluded that Yang Dezhi's transfer to the commander of the Kunming Military Region was very appropriate.
Before returning fire on Vietnam, Yang Dezhi (second from right), commander-in-chief of the Western Front, surveyed the border
In fact, It was more than 10 years ago that General Yang Dezhi went to Northern Vietnam as a military adviser, and the army has changed a lot with the passage of time. Wang Bicheng has been in the Kunming Military Region for more than 8 years and knows the border and troops of Yunnan very well.
There is also a possibility that due to the complicated relationship, Wang Bicheng has lost control.
Some friends may say that the PLA has always been under command in all its actions, and the chief represents the authority of the organization.
This is true, of course, but the problem is that in the special era, the military is not a vacuum, and it has undergone some major changes. In particular, on December 18, 1970, the second year after Wang Bicheng took office, Lieutenant General Tan Furen, political commissar of the Kunming Military Region, was shot and killed by Wang Zizheng, a cadre of the Military Region's Security Department who "stood on the sidelines." A stone stirred up a thousand waves, Qin Jiwei was sent to the farm, Wang Bicheng presided over the work, and six months later officially took over as the commander of the Kunming Military Region.
When Commissar Deng made a decision to fight back in self-defense, the whole army was relatively stable, but some contradictions in the Kunming Military Region had not been completely eliminated, and some division commanders threatened: If Wang Bicheng takes command, Lao Tzu will not listen! Under such circumstances, Deng Gong consulted the opinion of his old subordinate Qin Jiwei, and Qin Jiwei made it clear that he could not pick up this "hot potato", and in such a context, the change of coach became inevitable!
Lieutenant General Qin Jiwei
Wang Bicheng and Qin Jiwei can't press the front, so who is the best candidate in the direction of Yunnan?
Changing commanders on the front line is a big taboo for soldiers, but everything is not set in stone. For example, in the early days of the Liberation War, the North China Military Region was repeatedly defeated, And General Manager Zhu made a bold move, and Jian Ba Yang Dezhi replaced Nie Rongzhen in command of the North China troops, which soon opened up the situation. For another example, in the early stage of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Northeast Border Defense Army was formed, and Lin Zong suggested that Deng Hua and Huang Junchang be exchanged, which proved afterwards that Lin Zong's vision was really poisonous.
Wang Bicheng "can't stop the scene", Qin Jiwei can't eat the grass, and Commissar Deng's choice is actually not much.
Our army has not been at war for 16 years since 1962 (the scale of the conflict between Zhenbao Island and Tirekti is very small), so the main commander must first be able to hold it down. Xu Shiyou sat in Guangxi on the eastern front, and because of the threat from the north, han Xianchu of the Lanzhou Military Region, Li Desheng of the Shenyang Military Region, and Chen Xilian of the Beijing Military Region were not suitable to leave. Yang Yong was the deputy commander at the time, so Yang Dezhi of the Wuhan Military Region became the first choice.
Yang Dezhi
As the head of the "Three Yangs", Yang Dezhi has no dispute about his military achievements or qualifications.
Yang Dezhi was 68 years older than Wang Bicheng, and 6 years younger than Xu Shiyou on the Eastern Front. At present, the two commanders are all rare people, but from the perspective of Political Commissar Deng, the commanders are mainly pressing the front, just like Liu Bocheng and Chen Yi in the Huaihai Campaign, who really want to fight, and have a deputy. Xu Shiyou's deputy, Liu Changyi, is 65 years old, and Yang Dezhi's deputy is also Wang Bicheng's deputy, Zhang Zhenxiu, 64 years old.
On January 1, 1979, Wang Bicheng, commander of the Kunming Military Region, and Yang Dezhi, commander of the Wuhan Military Region, were officially exchanged.
This was an extremely important military personnel incident since the commanders of the Eight Military Regions were transferred in December 1973, and it occurred at a time when The swords of China and Vietnam were raging, which naturally attracted attention at home and abroad.
On January 7, Yang Dezhi flew to Kunming to make a deal with Wang Bi, and Yang Dezhi did not bring any huge team, one of which was Liang Guanglie, deputy director of the Operations Department of the Wuhan Military Region. Deputy Director He Zhengwen introduced Yang Dezhi at the cadre meeting, and specially emphasized that Commander Yang had visited North Vietnam and served as a coach and teacher of the Vietnamese army. On January 12, Wang Bicheng left Kunming for the Wuhan Military Region.
Wang Bicheng is willing to make wedding dresses for others, and Zhang Haoxiu is the real hero behind the scenes.
In 1978, Zhang Haoxiu and Wang Bicheng
Many military fans relished the fact that Yang Dezhi suffered fewer casualties on the western front of the counterattack against Vietnam and fought better than Xu Shiyou on the eastern front.
In fact, this is a misunderstanding: because Yang Dezhi fought for a month in the counterattack war, he left due to illness for a week, and for more than 20 days remaining, the direction of Yunnan was commanded by deputy commander Zhang Haoxiu. In the early morning of February 17, 1979, under the command of Yang Dezhi, the attack in the direction of Yunnan was progressing smoothly. However, at the critical moment, Yang Dezhi's heart failure worsened, and he had to leave the front line to go to the rear for treatment and recuperation.
Deputy Commander Zhang Haoxiu, acting commander, and political commissar Liu Zhijian commanded the direction of Yunnan, broke into a depth of 40 kilometers from the 23rd, severely damaged the 316A Division of the Vietnamese Army, and retreated after repeated clearances. At 18:00 on March 13, all the troops participating in the battle on the Western Front withdrew to China.
In almost every period of our army's history, heroic generals have appeared.
In September 1984, Zhang Zhenxiu, commander of the Kunming Military Region, gave the combat hero An Zhongwen a military merit badge
However, there were very few generals who participated in the Red Army and the Long March, in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and in the War of Self-Defense and Counterattack against Vietnam.
Especially before the war, as the commander of the Kunming Military Region, he spent more than two months preparing for more than two months, but at the last moment he pressed the whistle and left, and it would not be good to rest on anyone's body. However, Wang Bicheng was Wang Bicheng after all, and this "Wang Tiger" during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression did not complain and complained, and still paid close attention to the battlefield situation in the Wuhan Military Region, and 50,000 officers and men of the Wuhan Military Region also went to the borders of Yunnan and Guangxi to participate in the war.
Wang Bicheng was transferred away from the battlefield, but one of his sons, pregnant daughter-in-law and a daughter went to the battlefield for him, a family of three and a half people went to the front, and the children were both honored and made meritorious achievements, which also left a good story in the history of our army, and General Wang Bicheng can have no regrets.
【Deeply cultivate the history of war, carry forward positive energy, welcome to submit, private messages will be restored】