Peng Dehuai and Lin Biao are the only two people in our army who have commanded an army of more than one million people. Who has a more talented general?

Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, once asked Han Xin: "How many troops can I lead?"

Han Xin replied: "No more than one hundred thousand."

Liu Bang then asked: "So, how many troops can you lead?"

Han Xin proudly said: "The more, the better, the more, the better." Okay."

This is the origin of the famous historical allusion that the more soldiers the better Han Xin has.

From this conversation between Liu Bang and Han Xin, we can see that leading troops and uniting them to fight is not an easy task, especially when it comes to the number of troops. It’s not that the more troops you have, the easier it will be to win the battle. On the contrary, the more troops you have, there will be various constraints and pressures on battlefield logistics, commander-in-chief decision-making, etc., and may even cause disasters on the battlefield. For example, Liu Bang commanded 560,000 soldiers. The army was defeated by Xiang Yu's 30,000 elite soldiers in Pengcheng, and was reduced to ashes.

Therefore, throughout the history of China, it is very rare to command an army of millions in one or more battles. Even if there is, the victory is less and the defeat is more, such as Fei's victory. Fu Jian in the Battle of Water, Chiang Kai-shek in the Shanghai-Song Battle, Du Yuming in the Huaihai Battle, etc. Of course, there are those who command millions of troops to win battles. There are two in the history of our army-Peng Dehuai and Lin Biao.

Peng Dehuai is a general in our army who has commanded millions of troops twice. The first time was the Anti-Japanese War. The Eighth Route Army grew from small to large, from weak to strong. From 1937 From 46,000 when it was first reorganized, to the 1.27 million main force in 1945 (excluding local troops and militia), Peng Dehuai was indispensable. However, during the entire Anti-Japanese War, the Eighth Route Army focused on guerrilla warfare and was relatively scattered. Peng Dehuai was nominally He was the commander-in-chief of a million-strong army, but he did not actually command a million-strong army to fight at the same time. The battle with the largest number of troops commanded was the Hundred Regiment War, with about 400,000 troops dispatched.

Peng Dehuai’s second command of a million-strong army was the famous one to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea. This time, he really commanded a million-strong army. In more than two years of fighting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, ** *More than 2 million volunteers fought on the Korean battlefield, fighting in turns, and their achievements were obvious to all. Li Qiwei of the United Nations Army even left a message on the wall of his office in Seoul to express his admiration for Peng Dehuai and the volunteers.

During the War of Liberation, Lin Biao also commanded an army of millions. The four fields he led had more than 1.5 million people at their peak, spanning the Northeast and Central and South war zones. White mountains and black waters, reaching the ends of the earth, is how to describe the four fields commanded by Lin Biao. Lin Biao also commanded many classic battles with millions of troops. Among the three major battles, he fought two - the Battle of Liaoshen and the Battle of Pingjin.

So Peng Dehuai and Lin Biao, as the only two commanders in the history of our army who have commanded an army of one million, who is a more talented general?

Some people say that Lin Biao was a war-strategic general. Before a battle, he would make up his mind whether to fight through careful planning and planning. He would not fight a battle that he was not sure about. When it comes to head-to-head battles, it is said that Peng Dehuai is a brave general. When fighting, as long as the core is to meet in a narrow road, the brave will win, and his calculation and planning of the war are relatively weak. In fact, this is a misunderstanding. Both of them are actually wise and courageous generals, but their emphasis on the battlefield is slightly different. Having clarified this point, there is a comparison between the two.

One: In terms of courage, Peng Dehuai is better.

In his more than 20 years of war career, Lin Biao’s performance can be said to be brave and tough. Among other things, the Siping Defense War is an example. In this battle, Lin Biao He led the Northeastern Democratic Alliance Army to fight hard against the two main forces of the Kuomintang army, the New First Army, the New Sixth Army, and another elite 71st Army, causing more than 10,000 casualties to the Kuomintang army.

However, compared with Peng Dehuai, Lin Biao's courage and tenacity on the battlefield were slightly inferior. Peng Dehuai's courage and tenacity were deep in his bones. Putting aside those tough battles, let’s talk about the attitude towards Americans and the atomic bomb.

When Chairman Mao ordered Peng Dehuai to send troops to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea, Peng Dehuai did not hesitate much and said: "The first of the three major disciplines and eight points of attention: all actions must be obeyed." Command."

In contrast, Lin Biao did not dare to fight the Americans. He said: "Our army is sure to defeat Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang army, but the US military has huge We have the land, sea and air force, air and naval superiority, atomic bombs, cash, science and technology, and a strong industrial base... My opinion is that it is best not to fight this war unless it is absolutely necessary." After that, he replied. He used illness as an excuse to refuse to fight and asked to go to the Soviet Union for treatment.

The spirit of wielding the sword is an important criterion for measuring a general. When facing the powerful enemy of the United States, Lin Biao did not even dare to draw the sword, but Peng Dehuai did not hesitate at all. From this point on He said that Lin Biao was inferior to Peng Dehuai.

Two: When it comes to strategy, the two are equally matched.

Lin Biao’s strategy was evident in the three-year liberation war. He made three expeditions to the south of the Yangtze River, secured Linjiang four times, won three victories in Liaoxi, conquered Jinzhou, and encircled and annihilated Liao Yaoxiang. Corps... there are too many classic examples. Especially the three trips to the south of the Yangtze River and the fourth trip to the riverside, the Thirty-six Stratagems were used vividly.

But Peng Dehuai was not bad either. He commanded tens of thousands of troops in the northwest and led Hu Zongnan by the nose of hundreds of thousands of elites. The battles such as Qinghua Bianjun and Panlong Town were all plots. Determine and then move, a classic example of annihilating enemy forces on the move. The so-called mobile warfare is the last of the thirty-six strategies - go to the top.

Therefore, in terms of strategy, the two are equally matched.

Three: In terms of overall planning, Lin Biao is slightly better.

Commanding an army of millions requires extremely careful coordination. In this regard, Lin Biao is undoubtedly slightly better than Peng Dehuai. During the Northeast Liberation War, Lin Biao not only coordinated every column, but even every division and regiment, so he achieved the feat of capturing Liao Yaoxiang alive in the Battle of Western Liaoning.

In contrast, Peng Dehuai's coordination during the battle at Tupingli in the Fourth Battle to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the siege of the 180th Division in the Fifth Battle was somewhat inadequate. Of course, this cannot be completely blamed on Peng Dehuai. The US military stationed in Tuipingli was not the Kuomintang army. The 180th Division was surrounded and had more to do with the division commander and political commissar. But in general, Peng Dehuai's overall planning ability is not as good as Lin Biao. In addition, Peng Dehuai was not as decisive as Lin Biao when making decisions. During the Battle of Tuipingli, Peng Dehuai repeatedly revised the battle plan many times.

It is worth mentioning that the overall coordination ability not only depends on the commander, but also has a close relationship with the cooperation with the political commissar, chief of staff and others. Peng Dehuai serves as both commander and concurrently. The pressure on the political commissar is much greater than the division of labor and cooperation between Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan. Jie Fang is good enough, but in terms of staff ability, he is still not as good as Liu Yalou.

Four: When it comes to knowing people and being good at tasks, they are equally divided.

In a battle, putting the right people in the right position can achieve unexpected results. Therefore, it is very important for a commander to know people well and assign them well. . In this regard, Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai are equally divided. Examples include Lin Biao placing Wu Kehua and Hu Qicai in the Tashan Blockade, Peng Dehuai placing Zeng Zesheng in the Han River Blockade, etc.

It should be mentioned here that Peng Dehuai resolutely appointed Hong Xuezhi as the logistics commander of the Volunteer Army. This can be said to be a relatively common occurrence in the Korean War. At that time, Peng Dehuai, in order to relieve the logistics pressure , proposed Hong Xuezhi to serve as the logistics commander of the Volunteer Army. Hong Xuezhi was afraid that he would not be able to win. Peng Dehuai became angry and said, "If you don't want to be the logistics commander, don't go. I will go." Hong Xuezhi was defeated and had to take office. As a result, It is Peng Dehuai who knows people well and has a keen eye for picking up pearls. With the efforts of Hong Xuezhi and the majority of logistics commanders and fighters, the logistics of the Volunteer Army has been greatly improved.

From the above four points, Lin Biao and Peng Dehuai are equally qualified as generals, with Peng Dehuai slightly higher. In fact, this can be seen from their positions in the war. It turns out that Peng Dehuai has always been higher than Lin Biao. In addition, Peng Dehuai commanded more battles than Lin Biao. After all, Lin Biao's achievements were mainly in the Agrarian Revolutionary War and the War of Liberation. As for the Anti-Japanese War, he got off to a good start with the Battle of Pingxingguan. After that, he was basically in a state of recuperation and did not participate in more anti-Japanese battles. However, Peng Dehuai played almost all the games in the anti-Japanese war and the Korean war.