The Birth of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy

When it comes to April 23, 1949, many people will think of the festive day when the Chinese People's Liberation Army broke through the Yangtze River and Nanjing declared liberation, but few people know that it was also the birth day of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. "The nine-story platform starts from the tired soil." Over the past 70 years, the People's Navy has grown from scratch, from small to large, and from weak to strong. It has developed into a modern maritime armed force with multiple arms and dual combat methods, and is moving towards a world-class navy.
 

Mao Zedong's Foresight to Create the People's Navy after the Victory of the Anti-Japanese War in Yan'an

On November 5, 1944, more than 600 members of the Wang Puppet Navy stationed on Liagong Island in Weihai, Shandong Province, led by Zheng Daoji, the second lieutenant of the training battalion guard team, and others, armed an uprising, and then defected to the Jiaodong Eighth Route Army. On November 12, Luo Ronghuan, secretary of the Shandong Branch of the CPC Central Committee and commander and political commissar of the Shandong military region, sent a telegram to the Central military Commission and the headquarters of the eighth Route Army to report on the Liagongdao uprising. On November 13, Yan'an Xinhua News Agency broadcast the news entitled "Liu Gongdao puppet navy 600 people anyway", announcing the facts of the Liu Gongdao uprising at home and abroad, which greatly encouraged the confidence of the army and the people behind the enemy lines in the war of resistance against Japan. on 22 November, the shandong military region named the uprising troops as the "eighth route army shandong jiaodong military region coastal defense detachment".

Mao Zedong, chairman of the Central military Commission, was very happy when he learned of this situation in Yan'an and said to Liu Shaoqi, Zhu de and other comrades with foresight: "do you think that after the Japanese are driven away, if you want to be optimistic about the eastern and southern gates of our country, we must build our own navy. China can no longer open its doors and let others enter at will. From now on, we will begin to study the problems of coastal defense and coastal defense!" Subsequently, Mao Zedong instructed Ye Jianying, chief of staff of the Central military Commission, to organize and set up the first "naval research group" in the history of the people's army, and began to study the problems related to the formation of the navy and coastal defense after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. it opened the prelude to planning the construction of the people's navy.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made the strategic decision to establish the People's Navy as soon as possible in Xibaipo.

At the beginning of 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China deeply realized the importance of having maritime armed forces and made a major strategic decision to establish the People's Navy as soon as possible. This is not only a profound summary of historical experience, but also to meet the urgent needs of the actual struggle.

After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, in order to complete the deployment of the anti-communist civil war as soon as possible, the Kuomintang government, while driving its navy to participate in the transportation of troops, requested the U.S. Navy to transport the Kuomintang troops far behind the southwest to South China, East China, North China, and Northeast China. As the Kuomintang army quickly completed the military deployment on the battlefield, its strength was once overwhelming, and the attack on the liberated areas reached a climax in early 1947. Under extremely difficult conditions, the people's revolutionary armed forces under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, after more than a year of bloody fighting and paying a huge price, contained the all-round attack of the Kuomintang army, and changed from strategic defense to strategic attack, reversing the battlefield situation. In the later period of the War of Liberation, the People's Liberation Army organized several large-scale battles in the coastal areas, including Liaoshen, Pingjin, and Shanghai. It once created a strategic situation to wipe out the Kuomintang troops in the area. However, due to the lack of maritime armed forces, the remnants of the Kuomintang army Many times evacuated from the sea with the help of the Kuomintang Navy and the U.S. Navy. It is obvious that maritime channels and maritime forces have a significant impact on the course of war and even on the overall situation of war. In addition, if the Communist Party of China still lacks maritime armed forces, after the liberation of the mainland, the People's Liberation Army will not be able to march to the sea, liberate Taiwan and thousands of coastal islands, and carry out the war of liberation to the end; after the founding of New China, it will also be difficult to defend the sea and resist Foreign enemies consolidate the new people's power.

It was on the basis of comprehensive consideration of the above situation that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made the strategic decision to establish the People's Navy as soon as possible. From January 6 to 8, 1949, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a Politburo meeting in Xibaipo to discuss and pass the resolution "The Current Situation and the Party's Tasks in 1949" drafted by Mao Zedong. While judging the fact that "the Kuomintang regime has been basically overthrown by us", the resolution reminds all comrades in the party that "the concept of belittling the enemy should not exist at any time, and we must never let victory go to our minds." in particular, there is the possibility that "the United States will directly send troops to occupy some coastal cities in China and fight against us", it is proposed that "in 1949 and 1950, we should strive to form a usable air force and a navy to defend the coast and the river." Soon, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao Zedong handed over the important task of forming the People's Navy to the Third Field Army.

The Navy of the East China Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army was established in Baima Temple, Taizhou, Jiangsu Province

On March 26, 1949, Chen Yi, commander and political commissar of the Third Field Army, attended the cross-river operation meeting held by the General Front Committee of the cross-river campaign in Sunjiaxu Town, Bengbu, Anhui Province. Zhang Aiping, deputy commander of the Central China Military Region and member of the Frontline Committee of the Third Field Army, conveyed the decision of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission: In order to liberate China and prevent imperialist aggression, in order to prepare for the task of liberating Taiwan, it was decided that the third field army should form a navy and appoint Zhang Aiping to be responsible for the preparation of the navy. Later, General Zhang Aiping recalled: "After listening to Comrade Chen Yi's communication, I felt very excited and under great pressure. Prior to this, the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission handed over the task of forming the People's Air Force to the Fourth Field Army, and began to form it in Jiamusi. Now they have made a timely decision to form a navy, which has made the Chinese People's Liberation Army from a single service. It has become a people's army with a complete range of land, sea and air forces. This is undoubtedly a major event in the history of our army construction."

On April 23, on the same day that the people's Liberation Army forcibly crossed the Yangtze River and planted the red flag on the presidential palace of the Kuomintang in Nanjing, the Central military Commission urgently ordered the former enemy Committee of the third Field Army to immediately form a navy, named the Navy of the East China military region of the Chinese people's Liberation Army, and appointed Zhang Aiping as commander and political commissar. In the afternoon of the same day, Zhang Aiping presided over the first meeting to form the Navy of the East China Military Region at the headquarters of the Dujiang Campaign on Sanye East Road, Baimamiao, Taizhou, Jiangsu. Only 13 people from all over the world attended the meeting. In addition to Zhang Aiping, there were Li Jin, chief of staff of the 84th Division of the 28th Army, Huang Shengtian, chief of staff of operational intelligence of the headquarters of the 3rd Field Army, Zhang Weiqing, chief of the procurement section of the Ministry of Military Industry, Wen Lizhi, administrator of the organ, and eight soldiers as workers. These 13 people became witnesses to the founding of the people's Navy, and they witnessed this historic moment in the annals of history in the flames of war.

Zhang Aiping delivered a speech at the meeting. He first talked about the occupation of the Nanjing Presidential Palace by the People's Liberation Army from the three major battles, and from the development of the war situation to the necessity of forming the People's Navy. He said: "The victories of the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin pushed the Chinese People's Liberation War to a climax, basically eliminated the elite troops that the Kuomintang relied on to launch a counter-revolutionary civil war, and greatly accelerated the arrival of national victory. Today, the People's Liberation Army has again occupied Chiang Kai-shek's presidential palace. However, the enemy was not reconciled to defeat, and with the remnants of their only remaining soldiers in their hands, they withdrew to Taiwan and other southeast coastal islands and continued to fight against the people as their enemy. The estuary of the Yangtze River and the Pearl River are still blocked, and important ports such as Shanghai and Guangzhou are still paralyzed. In order to accomplish these major historical missions, the people's Liberation Army must quickly establish a corresponding navy, otherwise it will be difficult to accomplish the great revolutionary cause of liberating the whole of China." He also talked about the history of imperialist aggression in modern China and the warnings it left behind. He said: "Judging from historical experience, most of the large-scale aggression by imperialist powers against our country over the past 100 years has also come from the sea. After the founding of New China, if the people did not have a strong maritime power and a solid coastal defense, it would be difficult to consolidate the new regime. Therefore, in January this year, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee made a resolution proposing to form a navy to defend the coast and the river. During my stay in Bengbu, Commander Chen Yi conveyed to me the instructions of the Central Military Commission to form the People's Navy." Finally, Zhang Aiping asked the participants to devote themselves to the preparation of the navy. He said: "Now we are the main members. In addition, we have some comrades of the three field teachers and the Kuomintang fleet uprising personnel. Although they are not here at present, they are our basic strength. Today, I have gathered all of you to mobilize and announce the beginning of the official work of the navy. It can also be said that today is the first day of the birth of our communist navy."

Although the meeting was very brief, it was a landmark meeting in the history of the development of the people's army. As we all know, due to the uniqueness of the Chinese revolution, the army has been the only service of the people's army for a long time. This historic meeting 70 years ago marked the emergence of a new service in the Chinese People's Liberation Army-the People's Navy. As some naval history experts have said: "In terms of the military system construction at that time, this was a meeting for the birth of a major branch of the People's Liberation Army; in terms of the the People's Republic of China armed forces system that is about to be born, this is the beginning of a new branch of the People's Liberation Army." It is precisely for this reason that the Central Military Commission approved on February 17, 1989 that "the date of the establishment of the East China Military Region Navy on April 23, 1949 is the date of the establishment of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy".
 

Source: People's Daily Online