Welcome to the History Column No. 2022. In September 1955, our army held a ceremony to confer the rank of general of the whole army. Among the 55 people who were awarded the rank of general, most of them were cadres at the level of the main corps, some of them were at the rank of deputy corps, and only one was at the rank of quasi-corps, and it was unlikely that ordinary military commanders and division commanders would be awarded the rank of general, and even lieutenant generals would be difficult. But one of the 55 admirals (not including those who were added to the ranks) had never commanded a corps-level unit: by 1955, he was no longer in the army. And this person was rated as a founding general, but no one dared to raise objections, why is this?
This man was Admiral Ulanf. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, Ulanfu was the military leader of ethnic minorities in Inner Mongolia, and his contribution was very great. Although nominally in the military has not been high, and even left the military system for a while after the founding of the country, the chairman hand-picked this outstanding ethnic minority cadre before authorizing it, and clearly pointed out that he should be awarded a general rank, and the prime minister had the same opinion. What kind of outstanding contribution did Ulanf make that could be hand-picked by the Chairman?
Let's start with a basic fact. That is, as early as 1947, Inner Mongolia was actually under the control of our party and our army, which was equivalent to the de facto liberated areas: We must know that in April 1947, the national war situation was still favorable to the Kuomintang army, the Nationalist army was carrying out a key offensive, and the two major liberated areas of our army in Shandong and northern Shaanxi were facing serious threats. This is due, first and foremost, to General Ulanf, who was handpicked by the Chairman.
Ulan Fu himself was from an aristocratic family in inner Mongolia's Tumut Banner, and when he was a child, his family conditions were relatively good, he had the opportunity to read, and he also learned the traditional Chinese four books and five classics. But Ulan fu was very assertive from an early age, liked to be exposed to some revolutionary books and ideas, he had participated in anti-Yuan activities, and was very demanding of progress in his early years. In 1923, Ulan Fu met Li Dazhao and joined the Youth League, becoming a young man with revolutionary ideas at an early age. This is not unusual in the Central Plains, but it is very rare in border areas such as Inner Mongolia, and due to his excellent conditions, Ulanf successfully joined the Party after two years of training, and went to the Soviet Union to study and exercise, and did not return to China until 1929.
In the 1930s, when the Japanese army was at the height of its invasion of China, some princes and nobles in Inner Mongolia, in order to engage in so-called "independence," actually did not hesitate to wantonly betray the country and curry favor with the Japanese. In order to curb this momentum and protect his hometown and national unity, Ulanf united many patriotic young people to distribute leaflets for salvation, and brewed and organized the 1936 Lark Temple Riot, which fired the first shot in the true sense of the Inner Mongolia War of Resistance, and even in the interior had a deep impact: ethnic minority youth were so patriotic and promising, and they had a great impact on the Central Plains. Chairman Mao admired Ulanf so much that he personally wrote an article praising the insurrection of Ulanf and others, even though they had not yet met at this time.
Due to the strength of the enemy, Ulanf pulled up more than 1,000 people, which were quickly suppressed, and later only more than 100 guns were left. But Ulanf still encouraged everyone to persist in the revolution, to instill in the insurrectionists the idea of communism, and to build the army of our Party and our army. In order to win over the armed forces in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, the Kuomintang army sent Bai Haifeng to this team and reorganized it into a brigade. Soon after Bai Haifeng became the brigade commander, the "ingredients" of Ulanf, who were jealous within the Kuomintang, asked Bai Haifeng to find an opportunity to kill him, but Bai Haifeng did not move, but told Ulanfu of Shangfeng's intentions, and still maintained cooperation and fighting.
Later, this team actively fought against the Japanese army many times, and was supplemented by the weapons of the Eighth Route Army, and its strength was greatly enhanced, reaching the size of thousands of people, and was expanded into the 3rd Division. Most of the officers and men of the division are Ethnic Mongols, which is a very special branch of the anti-Japanese forces and is very precious. Their nominal division commander was Bai Haifeng, but the real leader was the director of the political department, Ulanf. In other words, this contingent is in fact under the leadership of our Party.
From 1941 to 1945, in response to the work arrangements of the Central Committee, Ulanfu went to the Headquarters in Yan'an to study and work, and his ideological and military level improved rapidly. Although he is not in Inner Mongolia, his influence in the local area is very large, and even the real "Great Khan" in the hearts of Inner Mongolians, in 1945, the local nobles established the so-called "Provisional Government of the Republic", which was actually a traitorous organization. Under such a dire situation, Inner Mongolia could be divided, and Ulan Fu resolutely asked the central authorities for help, hoping to solve the matter, and did not occupy military resources without taking a single soldier or pawn. Ulanf prepared to go to the meeting alone, and the central authorities did not approve of it, but after Ulanf introduced his plan of action to the organization, he finally got the agreement.
After Ulanf arrived in Inner Mongolia, he engaged in a reasoned struggle with the Provisional Government. It is naturally very difficult to persuade these people to change their minds, and Ulanf is politically mature and has his brilliant plan. Due to his great influence on the ground, Ulanf organized a re-election campaign, and finally elected himself as the chairman, successfully squeezing out the reactionaries. After becoming chairman of the Provisional Government, he announced the dissolution of the so-called republic, resolutely supported national reunification, reported the progress of Inner Mongolia's work to Yan'an, and applied to stay in the local organization and coordination to complete the great cause of liberation.
With the unremitting efforts of Ulanf, in April 1947, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Government was established, and when the Liberation War was in full swing, our Party had already controlled a large area of Inner Mongolia and became a powerful rear guarantee. Ulan fu was brave and resourceful, and the role he played was almost decisive. The Prime Minister praised: Comrade Ulanf alone has eliminated a pseudo-republic. Therefore, Ulanf's contribution to national liberation is very large, which is not comparable to that of ordinary military-level cadres. After the liberation of Inner Mongolia, Ulanf actively sent troops to reinforce the Northeast Field Army and supported a large number of logistical materials, accelerating the liberation process of the northeast region adjacent to Inner Mongolia.
Although he did not really command large corps combat, and gradually broke away from the army system after the founding of the country, Ulan Fu was awarded the rank of general in 1955, and none of the other 50 generals raised objections, but sincerely praised his courage and contribution to the country and the nation. Ulanf's status in Inner Mongolia is extremely high, he not only served as the chairman of the autonomous regional government, but also the hero of the Inner Mongolian people, and later even served as vice premier of the State Council, vice president of the state and other vice-state-level leadership positions.
Operated by Chinese writers of modern and contemporary Chinese history, the "History Column" focuses on the study of party history, military history and war history, and restores the whole historical situation for you from a professional perspective and brings wonderful historical details. Welcome to the @Shiyuan History column for more exciting literary and historical content. The author looks forward to your valuable comments and suggestions.