Among the 1955 titles, there was a pair of brother generals who were quite eye-catching, that is, He Jinnian and He Jixiang brothers. He Jixiang was born in the Red Army period of the Northwest Red Army and the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, at the regimental level, deputy division during the Liberation War, and commander of the Anti-US And Aid Korea Division.
Judging from this resume, the early stage is the rank of lieutenant general, and the later stage is the rank of colonel, and it should be said that it is very appropriate to be awarded the rank of major general. But his brother He Jinnian was different, and He Jinnian was awarded major general, which caused a lot of controversy at the time.
He Jinnian was a native of Anding County, Shaanxi Province (present-day Zichang County, Shaanxi Province), and was born in the Northwest Red Army. He was one of the founders of the Red Army in the northwest and an old subordinate of Xie Zichang, an outstanding leader in the early days of our army. During the Great Revolution, He Jinnian studied at the Fourth Normal School in Shaanxi and admired Xie Zichang, who carried out revolutionary activities as the regimental commander in Anding County.
Xie Zichang, as the regimental commander, organized the local agricultural movement and punished the local tycoons and inferior gentry, and was called "Xie Qingtian" by the people. Under the influence of Xie Zichang, He Jinnian was ideologically progressive and inclined to revolution, and in 1928, He Jinnian joined the Party and entered the third detachment of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrilla group led by Xie Zichang.
After that, Xie Zichang followed Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan to carry out armed struggle in northern Shaanxi, successively participated in the Jingyuan Uprising, the Qingjian Uprising, and the Weihua Uprising, and performed well in a series of wars in which the base areas of northern Shaanxi and Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia were created and the two base areas were connected. When the Red 25th Army, the Red 26th Army, and the Red 27th Army were combined to form the Red 15th Army, the position of the commander of the 81st Division (in fact, the former Red 27th Army) was achieved.
In 1936, the Red 27th Army was reinstated, and He Jinnian was appointed commander of the Red 27th Army. During the Red Army period, he became a military commander, and He Jinnian's seniority could not be said to be low. During the Red Army period, this is the general's foundation, and the general also has the opportunity to qualify.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, He Jinnian had been engaged in local government work until 1942, when he returned to the army and was appointed as the commander of the Third Brigade of the Jinsui Joint Defense Army. Although the brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army was born after 1940, his qualifications were also quite good, and in terms of guaranteeing the bottom, he also had to be a general.
During the Liberation War, He Jinnian successively served as the commander of the 11th Column of Dongye, the commander of the 48th Army of Siye, the deputy commander of the 15th Corps, and the deputy commander of the Jiangxi Military Region. During the Liberation War, the rank of deputy corps was also a position between a general and a lieutenant general. Let's look at the deputy corps level of Siye, General Han Xianchu, General Hong Xuezhi. Therefore, although the seniority of He Jinnian during the Liberation War period was lower than that of the Red Army period and the War of Resistance, it was also the standard of a general and a lieutenant general.
To sum up, we can see that as a commander in the Red Army period, a brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army during the War of Resistance Against Japan, a column commander in the early stage of the Liberation War, and a deputy commander of the corps in the later period, He Jinnian was a standard general with the qualifications of the foundation. But why was he only awarded the rank of major general?
We would like to say that there are many aspects to consider in the award of titles, and it is not only seniority and military merit that can be done. He Jinnian was an outstanding general, but as a representative of the Northwest Red Army and the Fourth Field Army, it is understandable that he was not awarded the title of general.
We see that the Northwest Red Army already had General Yan Hongyan as its representative at that time. Yan Hongyan's seniority in the Northwest Red Army was higher than that of He Jinnian. The Northwest Red Army created the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Northern Shaanxi Base Area, laying a solid rear for the Central Red Army, and the contribution cannot be said to be insignificant. However, the number of the Northwest Red Army is small after all, and the award of titles must also take care of the balance of all aspects, since there is already Yan Hongyan as a general, the Northwest Red Army cannot have two generals. Therefore, it is understandable that He Jinnian was not awarded the admiral.
Looking at the four fields, the Fourth Field Army is full of talents, and famous generals with outstanding achievements abound. Xie Fang, who served as chief of staff of the 13th Corps and chief of staff of the Volunteer Army, was only a major general, and Zhan Caifang, who was far more senior than He Jinnian during the Red Army period, was only a lieutenant general, and he Jinnian, as a general of The Four Fields, was indeed difficult to be awarded the rank of general.
Of course, we are discussing these here today, but in fact, General He Jinnian himself is very light on military ranks. After the award, his heart was as calm as water, without any complaints. Nothing can be perfect, and a list of more than a thousand generals is even more impossible to be perfect. Wu Daifeng, whose seniority was above He Jinnian in the Northwest Red Army, and Cheng Zihua, commander of the Red 25th Army and general of the Four Wild Tigers, did not even confer titles, and He Jinnian's military rank was completely understandable.
Although he was only awarded the title of major general, the history of He Jinnian's military exploits will not be forgotten, and He Jinnian is undoubtedly an outstanding general of the Northwest Red Army and the Fourth Field Army.