27 years ago today, on May 14, 1992, Nie Rongzhen died unconsciously in his sleep at the age of 93. He was the last marshal of New China to die. In his later years, he once said that he had fought a lifelong battle and had not been injured once; he had worked underground, had not been arrested, and was ordered to be a man of great blessings, known as "Fu Shuai".
▲Statue of Nie Rongzhen
Nie Rongzhen was born on December 29, 1899 in present-day Jiangjin District, Chongqing. At the age of 7, he entered a private school, and at the age of 11, he officially entered the school. In 1919 (20 years old), during the May Fourth Movement, Nie Rongzhen participated in the student movement in his hometown, and in November he went to France with Deng Xiaoping and other enthusiastic young people to work and study.
▲ In 1922, Nie Rongzhen studied in Europe
In 1922 (at the age of 23), Nie Rongzhen joined the Chinese Youth Communist Party in Europe and joined the Communist Party of China the following year. In 1924 (at the age of 25), he went to the Chinese class of the Soviet Red Army School to study military affairs, and returned to China the following year. After returning to China, Nie Rongzhen went to the Whampoa Military Academy as the secretary and instructor of the Political Department. In 1927 (at the age of 28), after the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup, Nie Rongzhen was sent to Shanghai to assist Zhou Enlai in his work.
▲Marshal Nie Rongzhen Exhibition Hall
On August 1, 1927, Nie Rongzhen participated in the Nanchang Uprising. In December, Nie Rongzhen sneaked back to Guangzhou to participate in leading the Guangzhou Uprising. In the face of the setback of the rebel army, Nie Rongzhen and Ye Ting decisively decided to retreat, preserving some of the revolutionary forces.
In 1930 (at the age of 31), Nie Rongzhen arrived in Shanghai and engaged in difficult and complex underground work in the central special branch. In 1931, Nie Rongzhen was appointed chief of staff of the Central Military Commission, and successively insisted on secret struggle in Hong Kong, Tianjin, Shanghai and other places.
At the end of 1931, the Party Central Committee in Shanghai was destroyed, and Nie Rongzhen went to the Central Revolutionary Base Area of Jiangxi to serve as the political commissar of the First Army of the Red Army, partnering with Lin Biao.
In October 1934 (at the age of 35), the Red Army was forced to begin the Long March. Nie Rongzhen and Lin Biao's First Army was the main vanguard force, covering the central crossing of the Xiang River; crossing the Chishui River in four directions and crossing the Jinsha River in a clever way; crossing the Jiajin Mountain to join the Red Fourth Front Army; and capturing the heavenly danger of Lazikou and opening the passage to the north; only then did the Red Army reach northern Shaanxi smoothly.
▲ In 1932, Nie Rongzhen and Lin Biao took a photo in front of the captured plane
In 1937 (at the age of 38), after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Nie Rongzhen served as deputy division commander and political commissar of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In the Battle of Xinkou, he and Lin Biao jointly commanded the Battle of Pingxingguan, achieving the first major victory since the National War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and winning the praise of public opinion for the Eighth Route Army.
In the autumn of 1939, the Japanese army carried out a winter "sweep". Nie Rongzhen carefully deployed and killed Lieutenant General Norihide Abe, the Japanese "Flower of Fame", in the Battle of Loess Ridge. Noriko Abe was the highest-ranking Japanese officer killed in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in China.
▲ After the Battle of the Hundred Regiments, Nie Rongzhen took a group photo with the Japanese orphan Yumi Hoshiko
In 1945 (at the age of 46), after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in accordance with the central government's strategic policy of "developing to the north and defending to the south", Nie Rongzhen organized eleven main regiments and a large number of cadres of the Jidong and Jizhong Military Regions to march into the northeast.
In April 1947, Nie Rongzhen commanded the Zhengtai Campaign, connecting the Jin-Cha-Ji and Jin-Ji Luyu Liberated Areas. In November, Nie Rongzhen took advantage of the victory to attack Shijiazhuang, annihilating more than 24,000 enemy troops defending the city. This was the first large-scale urban offensive launched by the People's Liberation Army, and was praised by Zhu De as "an example of capturing large cities".
In December 1948, after the Pingjin Campaign began, Nie Rongzhen, Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan formed the General Front Committee of the Pingjin Campaign, and soon captured Tianjin and Beijing was peacefully liberated. Nie Rongzhen served as commander of the Pingjin Garrison District and mayor of Beiping City.
In October 1949 (at the age of 50), after the founding of New China, Nie Rongzhen was appointed deputy chief of the general staff of the Central Military Commission. In 1955 (at the age of 56), he was awarded the rank of field marshal.
▲In December 1948, a group photo of the headquarters of the General Front Committee of the Pingjin Campaign. The front row left one Nie Rongzhen
In 1956, Nie Rongzhen was appointed vice premier of the State Council, in charge of science and technology. Nie Rongzhen led the formulation of the outline of the twelve-year plan and proposed the development of missiles and nuclear weapons.
In 1958 (at the age of 59), Nie Rongzhen served as the director of the National Defense Science and Technology Commission, presiding over the research of missiles, atomic bombs, and artificial satellites. In 1959, he was appointed vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, focusing on sophisticated weapons.
In August 1961, Nie Rongzhen issued the "Report on Missiles and Atomic Bombs Should Persist in Tackling Key Problems", which clearly stated that "two bombs and one satellite" must persist in "tackling key problems"! In June 1964, the "Dongfeng-2" was successfully test-fired, and on October 16, the first atomic bomb exploded successfully!
During the Cultural Revolution, Nie Rongzhen fought fiercely with Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four", but he always kept a close eye on the "two bombs" combination test, hydrogen bomb, nuclear submarine and satellite launch test. In 1967 (at the age of 68), China's first successful test of the hydrogen bomb was successful; in 1970 (at the age of 71), China successfully launched its first artificial satellite.
In August 1977 (at the age of 78), Nie Rongzhen was reinstated as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission. In 1987 (at the age of 88), Nie Rongzhen retired.
On May 14, 1992, Nie Rongzhen died at the age of 93. The last handsome star to participate in the creation of a new China has fallen!
(Source: History Today)