The name Cheng Zihua sounds unfamiliar at first glance, but he is a well-known general in the history of our army
During the Liberation War, there were a total of 19 corps in several major field armies of our army, and Cheng Zihua served for a long time as the commander-in-chief of the 13th Corps of the Fourth Field Army. Among the 1955 ranks, 18 corps commanders were awarded the ranks of marshal, general and admiral.
Wang Zhen, commander and political commissar of the 1st Corps, awarded him the rank of general.
Xu Guangda, commander of the 2nd Corps, awarded the rank of Grand General.
The commander of the 3rd Corps awarded Chen Xilian the rank of general.
Chen Geng, commander and political commissar of the 4th Corps, conferred the rank of Grand General.
Yang Yong, commander of the 5th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Wang Jian'an, commander of the 7th Corps, awarded him the rank of general.
Chen Shiyu, commander of the 8th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Song Shilun, commander of the 9th Corps, conferred the rank of general.
Ye Fei, commander of the 10th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Xiao Jinguang, commander and political commissar of the 12th Corps, was awarded the title of general.
Cheng Zihua, commander of the 13th Corps, did not confer a military rank.
Liu Yalou, commander of the 14th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Deng Hua, commander of the 15th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Xu Xiangqian, commander and political commissar of the 18th Corps, conferred the rank of marshal.
Yang Dezhi, commander of the 19th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
Yang Chengwu, commander of the 20th Corps, awarded the rank of general.
The only corps commander who was not awarded a title was Cheng Zihua.
Cheng Zihua
It should be known that the 13th Corps at that time was a male army, and this corps had elite units such as the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 42nd Armies, and Cheng Zihua was able to stand out from the Fourth Field Army, which gathered stars and became one of the commanders of the Four Fields Corps, which showed Cheng Zihua's military superiority.
Unfortunately, after the Battle of Pingjin, Cheng Zihua was transferred out of the army and returned to local work, and by the time of the grand award in 1955, Cheng Zihua had become the only corps commander who had not been awarded a military rank.
Many people say that if Cheng Zihua did not leave the army, he would be awarded the rank of great general.
But if we examine Cheng Zihua's revolutionary experience carefully, we will find that he cannot be rated as a major general because he does not meet the criteria for awarding military ranks.
According to some existing official information, we can summarize the four main criteria for evaluating generals, and of these four criteria, how many do Cheng Zihua meet?
General Xu Haidong
The first is to take part in one of the first important armed uprisings of our Party. Cheng Zihua conforms.
Second, during the Red Army period, it must be leading cadres at the military level (including deputy troops). Cheng Zihua conforms.
Third, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, it was necessary to hold a position at the brigade level of the Eighth Route Army, and if the New Fourth Army was at the level of a division. Cheng Zihua conforms.
Fourth, during the Liberation War, he must have held the post of leader of the general headquarters or deputy of the major military region. Cheng Zihua did not conform.
Among the above four criteria, Cheng Zihua only met three of them, which naturally did not meet the criteria for awarding the general.
So let's take a closer look at why Cheng Zihua only meets three of these four criteria.
Battle of Liaoshen
The first is to take part in one of the first important armed uprisings of our Party. Cheng Zihua conforms. In December 1926, Cheng Zihua was first admitted to the Wuhan branch of the Whampoa Military Academy, and then became a soldier in the Teaching Regiment of the Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army. After the defeat of the Revolution, Cheng Zihua participated in the Guangzhou Uprising with his troops in December 1927. After 1929, he went to the Kuomintang Army Yue Weijun Department to do secret work for the party. At the end of 1929, he served as the leader of the second detachment of the fifth column of the Fifth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The Guangzhou Uprising was a very important uprising of our army, and Cheng Zihua, as a participant, was naturally in line with this article.
Nanchang Uprising, Autumn Harvest together map
Second, during the Red Army period, it must be leading cadres at the military level (including deputy troops). Cheng Zihua conforms. Since 1934, Cheng Zihua has served as a leading cadre at the military level in the Red Army. Since the beginning of this year, Cheng Zihua has successively served as the commander of the Twenty-fifth Army. In September 1935, he became the political commissar of the Red Twenty-fifth Army. From September 1935 to August 1937 he was further political commissar of the Red XV Army. Cheng Zihua had already exceeded the criteria for awarding the rank of Great General.
The Eighth Route Army conducted a simulated exercise in the sandbox
Third, during the War of Resistance Against Japan, it was necessary to hold a position at the brigade level of the Eighth Route Army, and if the New Fourth Army was at the level of a division. Cheng Zihua conforms. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Cheng Zihua served as the political commissar of the Jizhong Military Region from January 1939 and as the deputy political commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region in August 1943. From 1943, he served as acting secretary of the Jin-Cha-Ji Sub-Bureau, acting commander and acting political commissar of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region. Although he did not hold military positions within the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, the position of acting commander of the Jin-Cha-Ji Military Region could already reach the standard of conferring the rank of general.
Tunnel warfare in Jizhong
Fourth, during the Liberation War, he must have held the post of leader of the general headquarters or deputy of the major military region. Cheng Zihua did not conform. In October 1945, Cheng Zihua served as commander and political commissar of the Jireliao Military Region, and deputy political commissar of the Northeast People's Autonomous Army and the Northeast Democratic United Army. From October 1948 to March 1949, Cheng Zihua served as the commander of the Second Corps of the Northeast Field Army and the secretary of the Party Committee of the Corps. After the liberation of Peiping, Cheng Zihua began to serve as the commander and political commissar of the Beiping garrison. In March 1949, he became the commander of the 13th Corps of the Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army and the secretary of the Party Committee of the Corps. During this period, Cheng Zihua's positions did not reach the positions of headquarters leader or regional deputy post or above, so it did not meet the criteria for awarding the rank of general.
Battle of Pingjin
From the above analysis, we can see that Cheng Zihua meets the three criteria for awarding the rank of great general, so Cheng Zihua's seniority and military achievements are not enough to be awarded the rank of great general.
More importantly, in August 1949, Cheng Zihua was transferred out of the military system to serve as secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. Subsequently, Cheng Zihua served as chairman of the Shanxi Provincial People's Government from August 1949 to February 1951.
And when it came time to award the title, Cheng Zihua had left the army for a full 5 years, and it was naturally unreasonable to award him a title at this time, let alone confer the rank of great general
As for why Cheng Zihua was transferred to work in the localities, there is a theory that he made a good claim and disrupted the military deployment of the entire theater.
In November 1948, the victory in the Liaoshen Campaign had just ended, and in order not to let the main forces of Fu Zuoyi, the "General Commander of suppression" in North China, flee east. The Central Military Commission instructed Cheng Zihua, commander of the 2nd Corps of the Northeast Field Army, to lead the 4th Column and the 11th Column of the East Field army to form the Northeast Advance Corps to enter the pass first, cooperate with the 2nd Corps of Yang Dezhi and the 3rd Corps of yang Chengwu of the North China Military Region to fight, and encircle Fu Zuoyi's headquarters in advance.
But what he did not expect was that when the Northeast Advance Corps passed through The county seat of Miyun County, Cheng Zihua made a good claim and launched an attack on Miyun. Although more than 6,000 defenders of Miyun were completely annihilated in the end, they delayed the battle record and led to the failure to cut off the flat line on time.
On the other hand, the news of Cheng Zihua's attack on Miyun alarmed Fu Zuoyi, commander of the Kuomintang 's Northern China Suppression Army,' who almost caused the 35th Army to flee back to Beiping, almost affecting the deployment of the entire campaign.
It is said that when Chairman Mao received this news, he sent several telegrams in a row, severely criticizing Cheng Zihua. Less than a year later, Cheng Zihua left the army command post.
However, Cheng Zihua did not regret this, and in his new job, Cheng Zihua still made indelible contributions to the construction of new China.
So, do you think Cheng Zihua should be awarded the rank of general or general?