Pictured| Liu Zhen
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="2" > preface</h1>
In November 1950, Liu Zhen, commander of the Air Force of the Central and Southern Military Region, was transferred to the Northeast Military Region Air Force Commander and The Commander of the Volunteer Air Force.
After the volunteers entered the DPRK and participated in the war, they were always threatened by the US air superiority forces, and the CPC Central Committee decided to form the air force of the Chinese Volunteer Army and participate in the operation in the DPRK.
At that time, the Chinese Air Force was still in a poor situation, even with the help of the Soviets, it was almost impossible to establish a strong air force in a short period of time, after all, aircraft could assist, but the training of pilots needed a short time.
Liu Zhen commanded the newborn Volunteer Air Force, and the two wars achieved brilliant results, and Mao Zedong twice called to praise. Vandenberg, then chief of staff of the U.S. Air Force, exclaimed:
"Almost overnight, the Chinese Communist Party became one of the world's leading air powerhouses."
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="90" > the deputy squad leader dared to argue with the commander: I think you are not playing well</h1>
In September 1955, at the age of 40, Liu Zhen was awarded the rank of general.
In terms of age, Liu Zhen was second only to Xiao Hua among the founding generals, and when Xiao Hua awarded the rank of general, he was only 39 years old, one year younger than Liu Zhen.
Although Liu Zhen is not very old, he has made a lot of military achievements, which has a lot to do with his boldness.
Born in 1915 in Xiaowu Township, Xiaogan Xiaochang County, Hubei Province, Liu Zhen was born into an ordinary peasant family, and as a child of an ordinary peasant family, Liu Zhen had herded cattle for landlords since childhood and worked as a hired worker.
However, Liu Zhen did not allow his fate to be shackled in this way, so he joined the Red Guards and participated in the revolution, gradually realizing that the Red Army led by the Communist Party of China was a team that truly fought for the poor.
Picture | Liu Zhen (second from left) with Zhu De, Peng Dehuai and others
In 1931, Liu Zhen joined the Red Army, was assigned to the Red Army guerrilla brigade in Pixiao County as a soldier, and in June 1933 was incorporated into the Red 25th Army Pistol Regiment together with the 4th Special Agent Brigade of the Northeast Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China.
When he was in the Red 25th Army, Liu Zhen was best known for being a deputy squad leader, and when he was a deputy squad leader, he criticized xu Haidong, the deputy commander of the army.
In May 1934, the Red 25th Army won the Battle of Luotian, and Xu Haidong, who was then deputy commander of the army, held a meeting to discuss whether the Battle of Luotian was fought well or not.
"Today, we only talk about whether it is right or wrong, no matter how big or small, anyone can talk about it."
It is said that Luo Tian's Red 25Th Army fought quite well, and Xu Haidong was in a very good mood, except for Liu Zhen, who wanted to touch this "moldy head".
"I don't think we're doing a good job in this battle."
Liu Zhen, who was still just a deputy squad leader, immediately stood up and criticized:
"First, when attacking the enemy's hill, the firepower was not well organized, causing heavy casualties on our side; second, when the orders were not unified and the formation was chaotic, resulting in the loss of some troops; the timing of carrying legal tender in the three warehouses was slightly late, such as half an hour earlier, the effect was better."
Liu Zhen's speech caused an uproar, and everyone talked about it, and the people around him even pulled him to persuade him: "What nonsense, the deputy commander is also something you can criticize at will." ”
"What are you afraid of?" Liu Zhen pulled up his sleeve: "Vice Commander Xu has said that the speaker is not guilty, why can't I say?" ”
Pictured| Xu Haidong
Xu Haidong has a bold personality and is an eclectic person in himself, and he is very appreciative of Liu Zhen's actions, and it did not take long to promote Liu Zhen to the 224 regiment, 1 battalion, 1 company, and served as an instructor. It should be known that Liu Zhen was not even a squad leader before, and there were many people in the army who opposed it, Xu Haidong waved a big hand:
"How is it inappropriate? Just by virtue of Liu Zhen's not only the truth, he is suitable! You see, in the future this boy will definitely be able to mix up the appearance! ”
Later, Han Xianchu, who was also a general, also ridiculed Liu Zhen: "It doesn't matter if you say those three sentences, not only have you been promoted two and a half levels in a row as a company instructor, but you don't know how many people have been jealous!" ”
The Red 25th Army encountered the main force of the Kuomintang army in Shouguang County, Henan Province, and suffered heavy casualties in a melee, Liu Zhen commanded the battle as a company instructor, and at the moment of fierce fighting, Liu Zhen stood on a high place and shouted:
"This battle cannot be won, we must all see yama!" I was the first to rush up, to die I was the first to die! Afraid of death roll aside, not afraid of death follow me! ”
As soon as the words fell, Liu Zhen rushed up single-handedly, and the soldiers behind him also followed up, and many people had palpitations afterwards, and everyone felt that the instructor was too bold and poked a hole in the sky.
Xu Haidong did not think so, but instead praised Liu Zhen: "Our army's weapons are not as good as the enemy's, we must rely on will and boldness to win, Liu Zhen is a good example!" ”
Not only was he promoted out of line, Xu Haidong's appreciation of Liu Zhen spared no effort, and after only half a year, in view of liu Zhen's excellent command of the battle, Liu Zhen was promoted from company instructor to political commissar of the 1st battalion of the 225 regiment, and in November 1935, the Red 15th Army and the Shaanxi-Gansu detachment of the Red Army were merged into the Red Army, and Liu Zhen was promoted to the political commissar of the 223rd regiment.
In April 1936, the 223rd Regiment was expanded into the 73rd Division, and Liu Zhen served as the political commissar of the division.
Picture | Group photo of party, government and military cadres in the Huaihai Naval District in 1944 (Liu Zhen in the back row, second from right)
Liu Zhen's prestige in the army was completely played out, according to Wang Shouju, a subordinate of General Liu Zhen, frankly said:
Once, during a battle in northern Jiangsu, Liu Zhen stood tall on the position, and a platoon of stubborn enemies stubbornly held the bunker to fight, and suddenly a grenade exploded in front of the position, the soil was splashed everywhere, and the people around him dodged one after another, only Liu Zhen alone did not dodge or dodge, pointing to the person who still had the grenade in front of him and shouting: "I am Liu Zhen, do you want to live, if I go up, I will kill you all." ”
The enemy was terrified and could only surrender immediately.
A more funny thing is that the Northeast Field Army waved its division south, and the road was crowded with prisoners of the Kuomintang army, affecting the speed of the march, Liu Zhen was impatient, and immediately passed on the order "Commander Liu is coming."
Who knew that after passing the order, both sides of the road immediately gave way to the main road, and Liu Zhen rode his horse and galloped past. The moment is no different.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="91" > Liu Zhen criticized Zhong Wei for either handing over the booty or removing him from office on the spot</h1>
In September 1945, Huang Kecheng led 32,000 men of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army to the northeast. By the following year, the headquarters of the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army ordered that the 8th Brigade, 10th Brigade and Independent Brigade, which originally belonged to the 3rd Division, establish the West Manchuria Column, which was renamed the 2nd Column in August 1946.
Liu Zhen, former deputy commander of the 3rd Division of the New Fourth Army, served as the commander of the column, and Wu Faxian, director of the Political Department, served as the political commissar.
Liu Zhen and Wu Faxian have worked together for a long time, as early as when they were in the Jiluyu detachment, and they are old comrades-in-arms, and they are very familiar with each other.
In the early days of the establishment of the 2nd Column, the Eastern General Assembly and the Western Manchuria Military Region originally wanted Liu Zhen to concurrently serve as the secretary of the party committee, but Liu Zhen took the initiative to resign and proposed that Wu Faxian be appointed secretary of the party committee, first, according to the tradition of our army, the political commissar should also be the secretary of the party committee, and second, considering unity, Liu Zhen was born in Eyuwan, and Wu Faxian came from the Central Soviet Region, Liu Zhen believes: "This is conducive to uniting cadres from all walks of life." ”
Liu Zhen had great respect for Wu Faxian, and when the column held a meeting of cadres, Liu Zhen always had to solicit the opinions of the political commissar and also vigorously supported the work of the political commissar in charge.
But even so, between Liu Zhen and Wu Faxian, there is no friction.
Pictured| Zhong Wei
The origin of the matter was in Zhong Wei, commander of the 5th Division of the 2nd Column.
Zhong Wei was a founding general with great personality, unruly and courageous, and was revered as China's "General Patton". More crucially, Zhong Wei's combat ability is very good.
In March 1947, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army three times to jiangnan operations, PaoshanTun I Battle, Zhong Wei led the 2nd Column 5th Division, fought a big victory, in order to achieve brilliant results, Zhong Wei ignored the orders of General Dong, and also sent a telegram to Lin Biao, asking to mobilize other troops to cooperate with him in the battle.
Zhong Wei led a division to fight, but Lin Biao was asked to transfer 2 columns to cooperate, and Zhong Wei also became famous for this battle, and was promoted to commander of the 12 columns.
However, It is true that Zhong Wei is good at fighting, and it is also true that he is untamed.
On January 2, 1948, in the Battle of Gongzhutun, Dongye completely annihilated the New Fifth Army of the Kuomintang Army, and the 3rd Column and 7th Division took the lead, broke through the enemy headquarters, and captured the enemy lieutenant general Chen Linda.
The 5th Division of the 2nd Column also arrived at this time, and when they heard that the friendly forces had broken through the enemy headquarters, they were very dissatisfied; the commanders and fighters of the 5th Division had long been accustomed to Zhong Wei's style, and they were all untamed, and when they heard that the 3rd Column and 7th Division had captured Chen Linda, they immediately rushed up and snatched the prisoners.
The 3rd Column 7th Division was very angry, and the division commander Deng Yue was also a violent temper, and after hearing about this incident, he immediately had to go back and snatch the prisoners back, but fortunately, under the strict orders of Han Xianchu, the matter was put to rest. Later, during the meeting, Zhong Wei also apologized to Deng Yue specifically for this matter.
Picture | Liu Zhen inspected the kindergarten of the Air Force Academy in 1960
After Zhong Wei apologized, this matter was even in the past.
However, Zhong Wei's troops like to grab the spoils of war is also an indisputable fact, as early as the previous battle, Zhong Wei liked to paste seals and loot the spoils of war, Dong Zong had received many complaints before, but no one took it seriously.
At the beginning of 1948, the 2nd Column fought many victorious battles, and Zhong Wei's troops also made many achievements, but under this negligence, the discipline was somewhat lax.
Once the column demanded that the captured spoils be handed over, especially the most important weapons and equipment, but Zhong Wei insisted on not handing them over, saying that he would keep them for his own use. After the report, Wu Faxian, the political commissar of the column, expressed tolerance for Zhong Wei's behavior, but Liu Zhen was very unhappy, believing that this behavior violated principles.
Liu Zhen was very tolerant of Zhong Wei in the matter of fighting the war, but he never compromised on the issue of principle.
Liu Zhen specially sent his staff officer Zhu Hong to Zhong Wei's division headquarters and told him:
"You go and convey the opinion of the military party committee: either hand over the booty or remove you from office on the spot!"
When Zhong Wei heard this, he had no choice but to obediently hand over the spoils of war.
During the new-style army reorganization movement, Liu Zhen once again talked about this matter at the column party committee, first Liu Zhen made some self-criticism, and then frankly pointed out the problem of Wu Faxian's poor principle:
"With regard to the mistakes of cadres, the political commissar does not help politically, but tolerates and accommodates them and adopts the practice of pleasing others."
After Wu Faxian made a review at the party committee, he also made self-criticism at the enlarged meeting of the party committee, and at the same time criticized Zhong Wei, who resisted handing over the seized items.
Picture | 1979, Liu Zhen (from right) and Tan Zheng, Yang Dezhi and others
However, in 1981, Liu Zhen went to Tanggangzi in Anshan and met his old subordinate Wang Zuobang to recuperate there.
One evening, when the two were walking together, Wang Zuobang mentioned one thing:
"Old chief, 30 years ago, Tao Zhu, secretary of the South China Branch Bureau and director of the Political Department of the Central and Southern Military Region, had an evaluation of the 39th Army.
"I don't know." Liu Zhen was stunned for a moment.
"In the winter of 1951, Tao Zhu went to eastern Guangdong to inspect, and my entourage also went. During the journey, Tao Zhu said: On the merits of the battle, the number of 39 troops is large, but its reputation is not as high as that of another unit. What is the reason? The main reason is that the discipline of the troops is not good. ”
Hearing his old subordinates talk about this matter, Liu Zhen had some feelings in his heart.
Comrade Tao Zhu's criticism is very pertinent and still has practical significance today. Why is discipline bad? Mainly because of the pride of the troops, and on this issue, I, the commander, did not take the lead. ”
To Wang Zuobang's surprise, Liu Zhen did not mention the incident in 1948.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="92" > "Foreign Commander" Liu Zhen</h1>
As a member of the founding generals, Liu Zhen naturally also has some personality. Later, he was given the nickname "Foreign Commander".
How did this title come about?
Although Liu Zhen was born in an ordinary peasant family, he paid great attention to appearance, and unlike most generals who dressed sloppily, Liu Zhen dressed meticulously, and never wore torn clothes, even if there were holes, Liu Zhen would also use patches to make up for the square.
In 1932, when Liu Zhen was a soldier in the 1st Squad of the 1st Detachment of the 4th Special Agent Brigade of the Northeast Hubei Provincial Committee, he paid less attention to discipline and was in charge of "catching cases" and exchanging finances, although most of the captured finances were sent to the logistics department of the troops, but the general later confessed that when he was in the special service brigade, he had worn a French Paris top hat, worn rubber shoes in Washington, D.C., and smoked British "red snow" brand cigarettes.
To this end, Liu Zhen also has a word:
"'Foreign for Chinese use', the Tradition of the Red Army also."
Pictured| Liu Zhen playing basketball with the fighters
One day in 1937, Liu Zhen, political commissar of the 688th Regiment of the 344th Brigade of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, took a special leave of absence to taiyuan to buy a watch, a pen, and a Japanese camera. When the brigade commander Xu Haidong heard about it, he was very angry and criticized Liu Zhen for spending money indiscriminately.
Although the conditions during the war years were more difficult, Liu Zhen was very concerned about his appearance and appearance, and he wore neat clothes from beginning to end, he wore suits, jackets, and homemade suspender pants.
Later, after leading his troops to the northeast, Liu Zhen had a full interest in the foreign east and west of Harbin, according to Liu Weidong, the son of General Liu Zhen:
"In Harbin in the northeast, my father was extremely spirited, wore a watch, wore a suit, lived in a White Russian Western-style building, and ate Soviet Western food. Fighting the war on the front line command, usually return to Harbin for a meeting. During breaks, dancing, hunting, taking pictures, everything. ”
It is said that once, the guards were also invited to eat a Western meal, the guards felt that this was not good, or Liu Zhen himself explained, this is all out of his own pocket, not the public, the guards went with them.
Speaking of which, Liu Zhen bought a lot of these things, but they all spent their own money, Xu Haidong heard that Liu Zhen bought a "camera", very angry, immediately went to the army to check the account, and later found that it was Liu Zhen's own pocket, and did not say much, but fortunately there is such a camera, took a lot of photos of the revolutionary war years.
Liu Zhen likes to ponder some fresh things, as early as the Red Army period, the troops often captured part of the enemy's artillery, because they would not use it, they could only throw it on the side, but Liu Zhen liked to study these things, so he randomly tinkered with it, and sure enough, he was able to fire an explosion, and Xu Haidong immediately rewarded Liu Zhen with a towel. Liu Zhen later became a general from a non-science class, but was extremely good at using artillery; during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Liu Zhen used captured mortars and converted them into curved-firing flat-firing dual-purpose guns to conquer more than 140 strongholds of the Japanese puppet army.
In the Battle of Zhangwu, Liu Zhen and the 7 columns cooperated to attack the city, which was also the first time that our army attacked with large-caliber artillery on the northeast battlefield, and captured Zhangwu in only 5 hours.
Pictured| Air Force Chief Liu Yalou, Liu Zhen (front row, first from right) and so on
But even so, with the gradual growth of the later, Liu Zhen still can't change his previous habits.
After arriving in the northeast battlefield, our army captured many enemy jeeps and motorcycles, and Liu Zhen actually learned to drive motorcycles and jeeps through research, and later even the driver was kicked away by him, driving these vehicles alone.
You must know that in that era, the road conditions were not as good as today, driving vehicles would encounter various dangerous situations at any time, Liu Zhen as the commander of the column and the commander of the first army, if there was any unexpected situation, the consequences would be unimaginable.
In the early days of the Liberation War, Zhang Aiping accidentally clipped her head to the door of the car because she slipped on the wheels of the vehicle, and due to her serious injuries, she had to go to the Soviet Union for treatment, and did not return until the end of 1948.
Liu Zhen drove a motorcycle and a jeep, and encountered dangers once each.
Once Liu Zhen drove a motorcycle galloping, on the road to avoid new people, the motorcycle accidentally overturned in the ditch, fortunately people hide faster, so there is no problem.
However, what is more interesting is that Liu Zhen did not learn his lesson, and later drove a jeep and almost encountered an accident.
In 1949, Liu Zhen led the 39th Army to the south, passing through Xuefeng Mountain in western Hunan Province, Liu Zhen drove a jeep carrying deputy commander Wu Xinquan, chief of staff Li Xueshan, etc. Due to the rugged and difficult mountain road, coupled with the slippery wheels, the vehicle suddenly stopped and slid backwards during the crawling process. I almost fell to the bottom of the cliff, but fortunately there was a boulder on the edge of the cliff that blocked the vehicle from sliding, which saved him.
Later, someone made up a passage to say about this matter: "Captain Liu Jun, highly skilled, drove up the mountain and ran backwards, not the big brother of the stone, all reimbursed under the cliff." ”
Pictured| Wu Xinquan and Liu Zhen
This moment also made Liu Zhen's heart palpitate, and he has not touched the jeep since then.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this that when Wang Zuobang mentioned Tao Zhu's question of the 39th Army, Liu Zhen said frankly: "I, the commander of the army, did not take the lead well. ”
It's just that Liu Zhen pays attention to the habit of his own grooming, but he has not changed until he is old, and in his old age, Liu Zhen's dress is still fashionable, and in 1992, when people visited General Liu Zhen, he later recalled:
The general's black hair swept back, his face was full of red light, and his two sword eyebrows were like frost grass. On his first visit, the general wore a red washed gauze jacket, which was a popular fashion in Hong Kong at that time. On another visit the next day, the general wore a light green fleece coat. Those who do not know the general mistakenly think that they are "old overseas Chinese." The general was seventy years old and seven also.
On August 20, 1992, Liu Zhen died in Beijing at the age of 78.