Chairman Mao conferred the rank of Ten Marshals
On January 23, 1955, the Central Military Commission issued the Instruction on the Evaluation of Military Ranks and the Instruction on the Work of Awarding Medals and Medals. On February 8, the Sixth Session of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress adopted the Regulations on the Service of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
According to the regulations, our army will adopt the world-wide military rank awarding system. Among all the generals who needed to be awarded titles, many were veteran comrades who were very senior during the Red Army period, and many joined during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and even many Kuomintang uprising generals.
In short, giving titles to these distinguished generals is a new, systematic task, and it is indeed not an easy task. At that time, China adopted a "one-sided" policy, and the award of titles naturally learned from the Soviet Union. The work of awarding titles began as early as 1952, and at the beginning of the following year, under the leadership of the Central Military Commission, the "Military Rank Implementation Committee" was established, with Nie Rongzhen as the director and Huang Kecheng and Xiao Hua as the deputy directors.
Initially, the proposed ranks were 6 grades and 20 grades, namely: Marshal 3, Grand Marshal, Marshal of the State and Marshal of the Ranks; General 4, General, Brigadier General, Lieutenant General and Major General; Colonel 3, Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel and Major; Lieutenant Officer 4, Captain, Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant; Sergeant 4, Warrant, Sergeant, Sergeant and Corporal; And Soldier 2, First Class and Private.
For the first time in New China, the title was awarded
However, this title program was opposed by Soviet advisers on the grounds that there were no ranks of brigadier general and warrant officer in the Soviet army. Soviet officials also opposed this setup, coupled with disagreement with China's rank of brigadier general, and eventually we compromised. After more than three years of refinement, Chairman Mao signed the regulations on conferring titles.
In the end, the ranks of our country were set at 4 grades and 14 grades, namely: Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China and Marshal of the People's Republic of China; major general, admiral, lieutenant general and major general; colonel, colonel, lieutenant colonel and major colonel; lieutenant, captain, lieutenant and lieutenant.
In January 1955, the Central Military Commission held successive meetings to study the specific candidates for marshals, generals and admirals. The meeting was presided over by Peng Dehuai, with He Long, Luo Ronghuan, Nie Rongzhen, and Xu Xiangqian attending the meeting, Chen Yi and Ye Jianying unable to attend due to illness, and Deng Xiaoping not being present due to temporary matters.
After full discussion and unanimous agreement, it was decided to award Chairman Mao the rank of Grand Marshal. However, Chairman Mao immediately disagreed when he learned of this, waving his hand and saying, "I am not the Grand Marshal!" Chairman Mao's refusal to become a grand marshal caused strong repercussions in all walks of life. Many people at the top insisted on conferring the rank of Grand Marshal on Chairman Mao, to which Chairman Mao said:
"It's a big job for you to evaluate military ranks, and it's also a very difficult job. I don't want this Grand Marshal, how uncomfortable it is for me to put on the uniform of the Grand Marshal, and how inconvenient it is to go to the masses to speak and move! ”
Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou
With Chairman Mao's lead and example, many people have followed suit. For example, Luo Ronghuan wrote in a letter to Chairman Mao: "I have participated in the revolution for a relatively short time, and my contribution to the revolution is very small, and it is a shame to give me the rank of marshal, and I implore you not to give me the rank of marshal..."
Some generals believe that the ranks they have rated themselves in the organization are low, and there are cases of complaining, and even they cannot raise their dissatisfaction with the leaders of the Central Military Commission. When Chairman Mao heard this, he was a little angry, and he said: "The boy has tears and does not flick, only because he has not yet arrived at the time of the title." Some people in our army don't even want their lives when they are fighting, but now they have a star on their shoulders, and they insist on fighting and making trouble. ”
Mr. Zhu also smiled and said, "One less bean on my shoulder, no light on my face!" At the same time as a soldier, no one fought less, and when he returned home, his wife also had to say miles! ”
On the afternoon of September 27, 1955, the first conferment ceremony of New China was solemnly held in the State Council Auditorium west of the Ziguang Pavilion in Zhongnanhai. At this ceremony, which is destined to go down in the history of the republic, 10 people have the rank of marshal, 10 people have the rank of general, 55 people have the rank of general, 175 people have the rank of lieutenant general and more than 800 people have been awarded the rank of major general.
For a long time, whenever people saw the list of 10 marshals, they would always feel sorry for General Su Yu. There are various theories in the folk, saying that Su Yu was initially awarded the rank of marshal, but after learning of this, he privately resigned to Chairman Mao, and made three humble concessions, and finally was awarded the rank of great general, ranking first in the rank of general, known as "uncrowned marshal".
General Su Yu
Those who hold this view also mention the precedent that Su Yu himself has always been humble in character, and that he resigned as commander of the East China Field Army that year, and Chairman Mao agreed. Therefore, Chairman Mao said with emotion: "It is rare to have Su Yu!" Magnificent Su Yu! He resigned three times. Su Yu did resign as commander of the East China Field Army, and in early May 1948, the Party Central Committee agreed to Su Yu's suggestion and would no longer divide the troops and go south.
In view of Su Yu's outstanding achievements, Chairman Mao and the Central Military Commission decided to transfer Chen Yi to work in the Central Plains Bureau, with Su Yulai serving as commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army. Chairman Mao specifically talked to Su Yu on this basis and informed the Central Military Commission of its decision: "Comrade Su Yu, Comrade Chen Yi will not go back to Huaye, and you will handle Huaye from now on." ”
Su Yu was very surprised by the Central Military Commission's decision, and immediately expressed to Chairman Mao repeatedly that he hoped that Chen Yi would stay in the East China Field Army. Chairman Mao agreed to Su Yu's request, and Chen Yi was appointed as the first deputy commander of the Central Plains Military Region and the Central Plains Field Army, and still concurrently served as the commander and political commissar of the East China Field Army, while Su Yu was appointed acting commander and acting political commissar of Huaye, and the command of the campaign was taken care of by Su Yu.
Su Yu was wounded 6 times in his lifetime, he died nine times, and shrapnel was found in his skull after his body was cremated. Su Yu's battle achievements are obvious to all, especially in the Liberation War, which is amazing, and in the Huaihai Campaign, he won more with less, and Chairman Mao directly said: "In the Huaihai Campaign, Su Yu made the first contribution" and "A pot of raw rice was eaten by you bite by bite." Su Yu is the great chef and gourmand of the Battle of Huaihai. ”
Su Yu and Chen Yi
According to statistics, in the past four years of the Liberation War, the PLA annihilated more than 38 times in the 134 battles of the 134 battles, of which Su Yu commanded 12 times; more than 50,000 enemies were annihilated 23 times, of which Su Yu commanded 8 times. Such a battle achievement is also rare in the modern history of the whole world.
In 1961, when The British Marshal Montgomery visited China, Chairman Mao said to him: "Among my comrades-in-arms, there is a person who can lead the troops to fight the most, and this person is named Su Yu. In just a few words, we can see Su Yu's position in Chairman Mao's mind. Regarding Su Yu's three requests to resign as a marshal, Li Yinqiao, the head of the guard who has followed Chairman Mao for many years, mentioned it many times in his memoirs, and many people also used this as evidence.
There is another thing that can also reflect Su Yu's position in Chairman Mao's heart. On April 25, 1948, Chairman Mao held a meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee in Chengnanzhuang, Fuping County, Hebei Province, and "the question of the action of Chen Su's corps" was one of the topics. On April 29, Chen Yi and Su Yu arrived at Nanzhuang, The county seat of Fuping County.
Su Yu came to Chairman Mao's residence to report that Chairman Mao had changed his habit of meeting with comrades in the party and never going out to greet him, and he strode out of the door to shake hands with Su Yu for a long time. Chairman Mao shouted, "Our hero is back!" Welcome, Comrade Su Yu! He also said, "Seventeen years, haven't you seen each other for seventeen years?" ”
Su Yu and Chen Yi after the Battle of Menglianggu
Su Yu replied excitedly, "Yeah, I haven't seen you in seventeen years, Chairman." At the meeting, Su Yu focused on the plan of the three columns of the East China Field Army not to cross the river for the time being and concentrate their forces to fight a great annihilation war in the Central Plains. It is difficult to know that the things decided by Chairman Mao are difficult to change, but after listening to Su Yu's opinion, he finally adopted his suggestion and agreed to suspend the crossing of the river to the south.
Su Yu's secretary Ju Kai mentioned a memoir of Li Yinqiao in his book "In the Days of Following Su Yu", in which Li Yinqiao said:
The Central Committee discussed the issue of the senior general leadership title of the People's Liberation Army at the Zhongnanhai Yinian Hall, and Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and others attended the meeting. When discussing the issue of Su Yu's military rank, Mao Zedong not only gave Su Yu the rank of marshal, but also gave Su Yu a very high evaluation in a comparative manner. Mao Zedong said: "On merit, history, talent, and morality, Su Yu can take the rank of marshal." In the War of Liberation, who didn't know about Su Yu in East China? ’”
In November 2002, Ju Kai accompanied Shi Zhengxian, chief editor and director of the "Great General of the Republic Su Yu" documentary TV series, to visit Li Yinqiao, and he introduced some stories of Marshal Su Yuqian to Ju Kai and others. However, Su Yu's statement of "Marshal Three Lets" lacks the support of his own memoirs, and the "Two Commanders" are clearly recorded in his memoirs. Based on this, let's look at a photo.
List of Marshals and Admirals (Draft)
The photo above is the result of the aforementioned January 1955 meeting of the Central Military Commission chaired by Peng Dehuai. On January 16 of that year, Peng Dehuai and Luo Ronghuan jointly reported to Chairman Mao the list and opinions on the nominations and opinions of the ranks of marshal, general, and general. It can be clearly seen in the report that the then chairman of the Central Military Commission and the members of the Central Military Commission should all be awarded the rank of marshal; the number of generals proposed two plans: 15 and 22 people.
In addition to 15 people who were later awarded the title of general, Su Yu, Xu Haidong, Huang Kecheng, Chen Geng, Tan Zheng, Xiao Jinguang, Zhang Yunyi, Luo Ruiqing, Wang Shusheng, and Xu Guangda, there were also 5 people named Zhang Zongxun, Song Renqian, Xiao Ke, Wang Zhen, and Zhou Chunquan.
In addition to the 15 people in the first plan, 7 people were added, including Xu Shiyou, Liu Yalou, Deng Hua, Chen Zaidao, Yang Dezhi, Peng Shaohui, and Wang Hongkun.
There are several details in this photo, the black "X" is Chairman Mao's instructions, and the red "O" is Liu Shaoqi's instructions. The red characters are Ye Jianying's self-opinion: "I sincerely request, I am at most on the rank of general." This is the verdict of history. ”
In addition to the above details, we have noticed that Su Yu's name ranks first among the generals, and it is clearly stated that the qualification of marshal must be a member of the Central Military Commission. Therefore, it can be concluded that at the beginning of the evaluation of military ranks, Su Yu was a general. Once the Central Committee has decided on the selection of marshals and generals, it is either wanted to be allowed or allowed to be dropped.
Ye Jianying's request to be conferred the rank of general was directly rejected; when Xu Guangda, commander of the armored corps, learned that he was about to be awarded the rank of general, he immediately compared himself with the relevant comrades and proposed to the central authorities, "I have been awarded the rank of great general, and I hope to be demoted to general..."; Xu Haidong was basically recuperating from illness during the Liberation War, and also proposed to demote his rank, and Premier Zhou directly said: "Considering the major contributions you have made to the revolution, the rank of great general is not high nor low, and it is just right." ”
There are many founding generals like the ones who proposed demotion above, and none of the requests for demotion were accepted. So, why did Su Yu not be awarded the title of Marshal? To answer this question, it is necessary to return to the criteria for awarding the title of marshal. According to Article 9 of Chapter II of the Regulations on the Service of Officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army:
The Supreme Commander of the People's Republic of China who created the National People's Armed Forces and led the People's Armed Forces of the Whole Country in carrying out revolutionary wars was awarded the rank of Grand Marshal of the People's Republic of China.
Senior generals who have created and led the People's Armed Forces or led the campaign corps to fight and have made outstanding meritorious achievements shall be awarded the rank of Marshal of the People's Republic of China.
According to the standards of the Grand Marshal, only Chairman Mao could qualify, but he refused. According to the standards of the marshal, after detailed analysis, in addition to the battle achievements, the following conditions need to be met:
First, the revolutionary base areas participated in the founding of the revolutionary base areas; second, during the Period of the Red Army, they held leading posts at the regimental (or army) level; third, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they held leading posts at the division level of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and the first-level military districts of the base areas of a considerable scale; fourth, during the Liberation War, they held leading posts in the field army front; and fifth, before the appointment of the title, he served at least the post of vice chairman of the National Defense Commission.
Ten Marshals
Compared with the above 5 standards, let's compare them one by one to see if Su Yu is enough for this standard. During the Period of the Red Army, Su Yu did not become the founder of the revolutionary base areas, and the main personnel who met this criterion and lived to the rank were as follows:
Premier Zhou, Zhu De, Chen Yi, He Long, Peng Dehuai, Deng Xiaoping, Xu Xiangqian, Xu Haidong, Guo Shushen, Wang Shoudao, Deng Zihui, Zhang Aiping, Xiao Ke, Wang Zhen, Chen Changhao, etc.
Here are the main examples of people who are more familiar to everyone. Note that meeting the first criterion does not mean that a marshal can be conferred, but also that during the Red Army period he held a leading position at the regimental (or corps) level (including a general equivalent to this rank), and the main personnel who met this criterion and lived to be awarded the title were as follows:
Premier Zhou, Zhu De, Wang Jiaxiang, Liu Bocheng, Ye Jianying, Li Fuchun, Yang Shangkun, Zhang Yunyi, Deng Xiaoping, Luo Ronghuan, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen, Xu Xiangqian, Liu Shaoqi, Xiao Jinguang, Xu Haidong, Li Xiannian, Chen Changhao, etc.
Judging from these two hard standards alone, Su Yu is not satisfied, and the importance of these two standards is self-evident. During the Red Army period, Su Yu's highest level was the chief of staff of the regiment; during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Su Yu served as the commander of the First Division of the New Fourth Army, and did not become a military rank and an Eighth Route Army division.
Su Yu during the Battle of Huaihai
Su Yu really shined in the battlefield of the Liberation War, and his battle achievements were not inferior to anyone. But Su Yu was very humble, and he asked for a deputy position for a long time. If we analyze it further, we find that to be able to participate in the evaluation of marshals must meet at least three or more criteria, and this list is as follows:
Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, Ye Jianying.
Chairman Mao proposed: "In my opinion, comrades who are now working in the localities do not evaluate the rank of the army!" Under this criterion, Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou and Deng Xiaoping were excluded. Some people have questioned why Chen Yi, like Deng Xiaoping, was given the rank of marshal in the name of a member of the Central Military Commission and was already fully professional.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen Yi served as the commander of the East China Military Region and the mayor of Shanghai. In September 1954, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China was re-established with the personnel chairman Mao, Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Deng Xiaoping, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen and Ye Jianying. Chairman Mao served as chairman, and Peng Dehuai presided over the daily work of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and did not establish the post of vice chairman.
According to the principles determined at the Central Military Commission forum, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Su Yu are not members of the Central Military Commission, so they are not among the candidates for marshals. Chen Yi then had a new post, vice premier of the State Council. On September 9 and 11, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting to discuss the rank of marshal.
Premier Zhou and Chen Yi
Premier Zhou was in Beidaihe at the time and did not attend both meetings. On September 11, Premier Zhou put forward his own opinion, proposing to award Chen Yi the rank of Marshal. In order to express it accurately, here is an excerpt from Premier Zhou's original words:
"The awarding of military ranks has no inconvenience to Comrade Chen Yi's current and future work, and he can not wear a military uniform (if necessary) in peacetime. Comrade Bulganin of the Soviet Union also had the rank of field marshal, but now he does not often use the title of marshal when he is chairman of the Council of Ministers. It can be said to be an example. ”
Chen Yi is also a representative figure of the three years of guerrilla warfare in the south, and it should be known that Xiang Ying, Ye Ting, and Luo Binghui are long gone, while Liu Shaoqi has long left the military circles, and Zhang Yunyi has not held a full post.
At this point, the list of 10 marshals confirmed that Su Yu was not included. On September 23, 1955, the 22nd session of the Standing Committee of the First National People's Congress adopted the list of 10 marshals. Chairman Mao formally issued the order: "On October 1, 1955, the military rank system was implemented, and Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Chen Yi, Luo Ronghuan, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Ye Jianying were awarded the ranks of Marshals. ”
Su Yu and Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou
Finally, in the author's mind, Su Yu is the "uncrowned marshal", he himself does not have much interest in politics, is a real professional soldier, he was born for war. In a word, "Su Yu only competes for work and does not fight for his position; he only fights for heavy burdens and does not fight for honor." He possessed the qualities of the most outstanding military general! ”
Su Yu's superb military command ability has long been known to the world, and a series of classic battles he commanded have long been like thunder, and the Cheqiao Victory, the Seven Battles and Seven Victories of the Soviet Union, the Battle of Menglianggu, the Battle of Eastern Henan, and the Battle of Huaihai are all classics in the world's military history.
Finally, in a detailed story, Su Rongsheng, the son of Su Yu, once mentioned that Su Yu's favorite four items: guns, maps, compasses, and telescopes. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the most common item in Su Yu's bedroom was a map, and a map of Taiwan hung behind the door. At that time, as long as there was a war in the world, Su Yu stared at the map there.
In addition, Su Yu often stared at the map of Taiwan in his later years. Su Rongsheng also said: "In My father's bedroom, there was always a map of Taiwan Province until his death. Su Yu told his children many times that when the whole country was liberated, he would take everyone back to his hometown in Huitong County, Hunan To see. However, after liberation, Su Yu did not return to his hometown once, because Taiwan was not liberated.
In his later years, Su Yu
On February 5, 1984, Su Yu, the first general of Rong Ma's life, died at the age of 74. Today's peace is not easy to come by, and I would like to pay tribute to General Su Yu with this article!