In 1995, General Zhang Wannian played chess during the break of the National People’s Congress.
"Sixty years!" Zhang Wannian, a veteran who participated in the "Four Guarantees of Linjiang" battle, and Yu Ruomu, the wife of Chen Yun, the old superior, got together at the premiere of the TV series "Chen Yun in Linjiang", which was filled with emotion.
Zhang Wannian, former vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, died in Beijing on January 14th.
In August 1944, 16-year-old Zhang Wannian joined the Eighth Route Army and was awarded the rank of general in May 1993. He won the Third Class Medal of Liberation and made great contributions five times.
war of liberation
Tashan blocking war fought fiercely for 6 days and nights
Xiong Guangkai, former deputy chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, recalled his old leader Zhang Wannian in an article. He wrote that the Tashan blocking war that took place in October 1948 was a rare defensive war in the history of our army in terms of scale, time and cruelty. Zhang Wannian took part in a bloody battle for 6 days and nights as the chief of communications at that time, so Tashan became a haunting place in Zhang Wannian’s life.
"Although there is a word" mountain "in the place name of Tashan, it is actually only some hills with little ups and downs, not real" mountains ",which cannot constitute a dangerous terrain for sticking to defense, but Zhang Wannian and his comrades-in-arms just ensured the overall victory of the Jinzhou campaign without danger." Xiong Guangkai wrote.
Counter-attack against Vietnam
Deng Xiaoping praised him.
When the self-defense counterattack started, Zhang Wannian was the "Iron Strategist" teacher. He was familiar with the terrain and the characteristics of the enemy. The enemy was both afraid and angry, and he played the slogan "Destroy 127 (Division) and capture Zhang Wannian alive".
In 1968, Zhang Wannian, then the chief of the operations department of the Guangzhou Military Region, suddenly went to into thin air. His wife only knew that he had gone on a top-secret mission, but she didn’t know where he had gone. It turns out that Zhang Wannian and nine other people went to Vietnam to learn from the experience of the War of Resistance Against America on the orders of the Central Military Commission. A year later, Zhang Wannian came back and got malaria in Vietnam. His weight dropped sharply from 160 kg to 120 kg, and his wife almost didn’t recognize him. However, Zhang Wannian is also considered as glad you came, and his accumulated experience during his stay in Vietnam provided a good reference for the Vietnam war.
In December 1978, the Central Military Commission ordered the 43rd Army to take part in the self-defense counterattack on the Sino-Vietnamese border, and appointed Zhang Wannian as the deputy commander of the 43rd Army and the division commander of the 127th Division. Zhang Wannian fought four wars in succession in Zhima and Luping areas outside lang son, a Vietnamese military town, and won four victories in four wars.
At 19: 00 on March 3, 1979, Zhang Wannian received instructions from the head of the army: because the troops attacking a city had not yet arrived at the designated position, the time for the general attack on the city was changed to 7: 00 a.m. on the 4th. The 2nd Battalion and Rocket Battalion of a regiment preparing to cross the river were immediately ordered to stop their operations.
Zhang Wannian is in a dilemma. The troops behind stopped crossing the river, and the two battalions that had already crossed the river were alone. If the other army suddenly comes under heavy pressure and attacks at night, the two battalions will fight against each other. If you withdraw, once the other side reoccupied the other side of the river and strengthened its defense, it will pay a higher price to cross the river again.
Facing the most severe test since the war, Zhang Wannian smoked one cigarette after another. He quickly calmed himself down, repeatedly considered the gains and losses, and quickly made up his mind, and reported it to the head of the army: take the attack as the defense, "guide the west", confuse the other side’s nerves, and disintegrate the attack that the other side’s heavy troops may have on our troops crossing the river in advance.
This action worked that night. The other side was blinded by the "abnormal activities" of the artillery and infantry of the People’s Liberation Army, and rushed to make an emergency transfer overnight, which was too busy to take care of the ferry controlled by the "iron strategist". Zhang Wannian finally breathed a sigh of relief. That night, he smoked seven packs of cigarettes!
On May 12, 1979, the People’s Liberation Army Daily published a long interview "Kill the chicken with a knife-Zhang Wannian, the teacher, talks about the problem of concentrating troops on the war of annihilation", and Deng Xiaoping also praised him.
When Hong Kong and Macao returned to China,
Guide the troops to settle in
In November 1992, Zhang Wannian served as the leader of the preparatory work for the Hong Kong Garrison, and organized and guided the negotiations on the handover of Hong Kong’s defense, the formation of troops stationed in Hong Kong, and the legal preparations for the Hong Kong Garrison. On July 1, 1997, he accompanied Jiang Zemin and other central leaders to attend the handover ceremony of Hong Kong’s political power between China and Britain. Using the experience of Hong Kong garrison preparation, Zhang Wannian once again guided Macao garrison preparation, and on December 19, 1999, on behalf of the Central Military Commission, he went to Zhuhai to bid farewell to the troops stationed in Macao.
In November, 2002, at the handover meeting of new and old comrades of the Military Commission, Zhang Wannian, after reviewing the 10-year history and feelings of the Military Commission, said with deep affection: "As a veteran, nearly 60 years of military service came to an end today. Looking back on the passionate years, my heart is still full of lofty sentiments. Here, I would also like to encourage myself with four old sayings:’ Be worthy of the Party in the upper class, be worthy of the soldiers in the lower class, do your best and die’! I have retired and will continue to practice hard all my life. "
After retirement
Former honorary chairman of mountaineering association.
Zhang Wannian once compiled his daily life after retirement into "Song of the Day": "Get up early and do morning exercises, and suck the breath of heaven and earth; Read freely and cast noble sentiments; Take a walk in the garden and enjoy the natural beauty; Reading articles and newspapers, watching the world trend … "
After retirement, General Zhang likes to climb mountains, and has been re-elected as honorary chairman of chinese mountaineering association for many times. When meeting with the climbers of Mount Everest, General Zhang Wannian kindly said to the Tibetan mountaineer Nima, "I have seen you on TV. You are the one who unfurled the five-star red flag on the top of Mount Everest."
(Comprehensive Beijing News, Tengzhou Daily and Guangzhou Daily, etc.)