Xu Guangda
Xu Guangda was a People's Liberation Army general who was conferred the Da Jiang rank in 1955. His former name was Xu Dehua.
Xu Guangda joined the Communist Youth League of China in 1925 and the Chinese Communist Party later the same year. At the age of 18, Xu went to Whampoa Military Academy. A year later, he was appointed the platoon leader on probation in the 4th Army of National Revolutionary Army. He took part in the Nanchang Uprising the same year, designated as the platoon leader and the substituted company commander. During the period of Agrarian Revolutionary War, Xu had held successively the post of: Staff of the 6 Army in the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, Political Commissar and Commander of the 17 Divisional Army, Regimental Commander of the 22nd Regiment of the Eighth Divisional Army of 3 Red Army, Commander of the 8 Divisional Army, Regimental Commander of the 25th Regiment of 3 Red Army.
Early life
He was born on November 19, 1908, in Changsha County, Hunan Province. His former name is Xu Dehua. He went to the primary school at the age of seven. In 1921, he went to the Changsha Normal University, and actively participated in the patriotic student movement. In May 1925 he joined the Communist Youth League of China, and in September he joined the Chinese Communist Party.Army career
In October 1929, Xu was sent by the central command to Honghu revolutionary base areas. In February 1930, he participated in a red army of workers and peasants in China's sixth army. He took turns to act as the army chief, the political committee member and division commander and so on. He took part in opening up the Soviet area centered on Honghu and for many times joined the counter-campaigns against "encirclement and suppression". In the Soviet union in 1932, he successively attended the International Leninism College and Oriental Laborer Communist University to study.During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Xu Guangda returned to China, successively took on the minister of anti-Japan training college, the principal of the third college, engaged in military theory of Marxism, cultivated anti-Japan cadre. In January 1941, Xu was appointed as the minister of revolutionary military commission as well as the communist party secretary general staff of the central committee, and Yan’an traffic commander, air defense commander, sincerely commander, later the military commander of 120 independent of the eighth route, army division brigade major and the commander of JinSui military area 2nd second, carried out guerrilla warfare civilian and military leadership in Wu Zhai, Shen Chi, partial shut area, strengthened and expanded the anti-Japan base areas.
At the beginning of the communist takeover, he served as commander of the Jinsui Military Region Column 3. In August 1947, he led the number 3 column cross the Yellow River, changing them to belong the Northwest Field Army. He also took part in the Battle of Shajiadian, Yan and Qing. In January 1949, he was appointed commander. July in the same year, during the Battle Humei, which was against the KMT Hu Zong, he led the troops to detour behind enemy lines, break the enemy's retreat, which made a great contribution to ensuring the whole victory. Then he led his army by setting off to the west, conquered the main enemy positions in Nanshan and seized the Yellow River Bridge. At last, they wiped out the whole of the enemy with the 19th corps and liberated Lanzhou.