(Shuai Ke statement: original article, plagiarism must be investigated)
Recently, it has often been seen from the Internet that if Fang Zhimin does not sacrifice, he will definitely be awarded the rank of marshal and other views and expositions. For Fang Zhimin, each of us was impressed by his revolutionary heroic deeds, moved by his immortal masterpieces such as "Lovely China" and "Qing Poverty", and regretted his premature sacrifice for the revolution. Therefore, when discussing what rank he would be awarded without sacrifice, it is often easy to mix with a feeling of admiration and regret. From this point of view, many people think that if Fang Zhimin does not sacrifice, it is understandable that he will definitely be awarded the rank of marshal. So, objectively speaking, is it more likely that Fang Zhimin will not sacrifice the rank of marshal?
Fang Zhimin is the founder of the base area in northeast Jiangxi. He was able to combine the general principles of Marxism-Leninism with the reality of northeastern Jiangxi and ingeniously created a whole set of experiences in party building, army building, and red political power. Fang Zhimin's experience in creating base areas has continued to mature and sublimate with practice, and was called "Fang Zhimin-style" base area by Mao Zedong.
Fang Zhimin was the main founder of the Red Tenth Army. From the first independent regiment of the Jiangxi Red Army to the Tenth Red Army, it was formed by Fang Zhimin. After the Red Seventh Army and the Red Tenth Army merged to form the Red Tenth Army, Fang Zhimin served as the chairman of the Military and Political Committee of the Red Tenth Army and was the leader of the entire army.
Our army started from the grassroots and grew from weakness, and it was particularly difficult and difficult to start up. From this point of view, during the Red Army period, Fang Zhimin's position was higher than that of the regimental commander, and his qualifications and experience were absolutely excellent. It is said that in December 1935, the Comintern listed Fang Zhimin, along with Zhu De and Mao Zedong, as "the leader of the Chinese Soviet and the Chinese Red Army." Fang Zhimin's fame and influence can be seen from this. Therefore, based on qualifications and experience alone, Fang Zhimin's award of the rank of marshal is also worthy.
Fang Zhimin was recognized as a good hand at creating base areas and was called "the king of the peasant movement" by Mao Zedong. So, how did he command the troops to fight in combat?
Judging from the recollection of Su Yu, chief of staff of the Red Tenth Army, and others at that time, Fang Zhimin was not a strong point of military command. At this point, the defeat of Tanjiaqiao, which attacked from the outside of the Red Tenth Army, until the total army of Huaiyushan was destroyed and Fang Zhimin was captured, can also be somewhat corroborated. After all, Fang Zhimin is the number one of the Military and Political Committee, especially on several key issues, such as the choice of strategic direction for the Red Tenth Army to send troops, the question of whether the "Tea Mountain Conference" will divide troops, and the issue of Fang Zhimin returning from the vanguard troops to meet with the commander of the army, Liu Yuxi, and Fang Zhimin's practices and dispositions are debatable. Regarding this period of war, Fang Zhimin himself wrote in prison in the "Outline of My Revolutionary Struggle", and also made a review and reflection without regret.
As far as people's general understanding is concerned, in addition to making a significant contribution to the creation and leadership of the people's armed forces, it is also a question of whether he can lead the campaign corps and make outstanding meritorious achievements. Obviously, Fang Zhimin is slightly deficient in this regard. His command of operations and military merits were not enough to support him in conferring the rank of marshal.
In 1989, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, our army officially announced 33 military experts. Three more were added in 1994. Fang Zhimin was added this time. In this way, among the 36 military families in our army who have been recognized by the Central Military Commission, Fang Zhimin ranks 35th.
According to relevant information, the 36 military experts were assessed according to the benchmark of the general. Judging from the official ranking of Fang Zhimin, it can basically be judged that he ranked into the ranks of military experts according to the seniority of the general.
Of course, if Fang Zhimin is still alive, although the possibility of participating in the awarding of the title is not ruled out, it is also very likely that he will be transferred to local work. In this regard, Deng Zihui and Zhang Dingcheng, the founders of the western Fujian base area, are a good reference example. Of course, all this is based on a hypothesis, all on the reverie of expressing high respect for the proletarian revolutionary and military man Fang Zhimin...
(Shuai Ke is the author's online name, an expert in military history, and a special author of the biography of General Shuai.) Shuai Ke reads, insists on originality, insists on objectivity, and insists on fairness. Click to follow, work with Shuai Ke to deepen the war, taste the general shuai, and carry forward the main theme. ）
Main References: "Biography of Fang Zhimin", "History of the Founding of the Soviet in Northeast Jiangxi"