Tao Yong
Tao Yong | |
---|---|
Communist Party of China | |
Spouse | Zhu Lan |
Tao Yong (Chinese: 陶勇; 21 January 1913 - 21 January 1967) was a Chinese military leader. He served as Deputy Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Lieutenant General of the People's Liberation Army.
Early life
Tao Yong, originally Zhang Daoyong (Chinese: 张道庸), was born into a peasant family in Huoqiu County, Anhui Province on 21 January 1913. His father died when he was young. He became a cowboy at age seven.
Career
First Chinese Civil War
In February 1929, Zhang joined Communist Youth League and in April, he went to Shangcheng County, Henan Province to join the guerrillas. He was appointed commander of the company of Division 32 of the Eleventh Red Army. In 1931, Zhang was appointed leader of the security team of the security bureau in the Hubei, Henan and Anhui Areas. In June Zhang was appointed commander of the second company and deputy commander of the first battalion of Division 35, Regiment 35. In May 1932, Zhang joined the Communist Party of China and attended many anti-encirclement campaigns in the Eyuwan Soviet Area.[1]
Zhang followed the
Second Sino-Japanese War
After the outbreak of the
In January 1941, after the Southern Anhui Incident, the New Fourth Army was reorganized and Tao was appointed commander of the third bridge of the first regiment. In March 1942, Tao was appointed division commander of the Fourth Army of the military region of the middle Suzhou area. They participated in anti-Japanese battles in Qing County.[3] In 1944, Tao took part in Cheqiao Battle. At the end of the year, Tao led his division across the Yangtze and was appointed commander and political commissar of the third column of the military region of Suzhou and Zhejiang area. In 1945, Tao participated in the Tianmushan Battle.[4]
Second Chinese Civil War
In November 1945, Tao reorganized his division into the Eighth Colum of the Field Army. Tao commanded the Eighth Colum and led it to attack Gaoyou where he forced Japanese armies to give in. In June 1946, Tao was appointed deputy commander of the First Regiment of the Field Army. Tao participated in the battle in middle Suzhou and the battle in
In January 1947, the first regiment was reorganized into the fourth regiment of the Field Army of Eastern China and Tao was appointed commander. Wang Jicheng was appointed political commissar, leading the tenth, eleventh and twelfth regiments, with more than 30,000 soldiers.[6] At the end of February, the Fourth Column took part in Laiwu Battle and annihilated the NRA's Li Xianzhou Group. At the beginning of April, Tao led his regiment to Shandong Province. After more than a month's fighting, they annihilated the NRA's 74th regiment in Menglianggu Area. After three days of fighting, they annihilated the 74th regiment. At the end of June, Tao led his regiment to fight in Shandong Province. In August, he led the eleventh and twelfth regiments to southwestern Shandong Province and joined the West Troop. In November, they took part in the sabotage battle in Longhai Road and killed more than 3700 cavalry enemies in Guanting County.
In June 1948, Tao participated in the Yudong Battle, annihilating Qv Shounian's troops. In September, they took part in Jinan Battle. In November they participated in Huaihai Battle. Tao joined Huang Baitao's troop and then the Surrounding-Du Yuming's troop. He captured Du Yuming alive.[7] In February 1949, the Fourth Column was renamed the 23rd Army of the People's Liberation Army and Tao was appointed commander (Lu Sheng was appointed as political commissar, leading the 67th, 68th and 69th regiments).[8] On 21 April, the 23rd Army took part in the Crossing-River Battle, breaking the NRA defence between Zhenjiang and Jiangyin Area, and cutting the Huning Railway and Ninghang Road. In May, Tao led his regiments to attack Hangzhou and Shanghai.
People's Republic of China
In October 1950, Tao was appointed Deputy Commander of the Ninth Troop of the People's Volunteer Army and took part in the
Tao Yong died during Cultural Revolution. On 21 January 1967, Tao was found dead in the water well in the back garden of the guesthouse of the East Sea Fleet. The cause of Tao's death remains uncertain. According to an attempted rescuer, he reported to commissar of the East Sea Fleet Liu Haotian twice that "Commander Tao is dead despite efforts to rescue him, please come to the scene and see." However, Liu Haotian replied curtly, "He is dead so he is dead, await orders from above.", then never showed up to the scene. Soon after Tao's death, Liu Haotian declared based on his personal opinion, though without evidence, that the Navy had classified him as a "traitor" and that he "committing suicide for fear of punishment".[10] In September, Tao's wife Zhu Lan was killed. In 1977, the Central Military Commission redressed the grievances done to Tao Yong and his wife.
References
- ISBN 978-7-5065-5031-4.
- ISBN 978-7-80237-518-5.
- ISBN 978-7-208-11234-6.
- ISBN 978-7-5033-2252-5.
- ISBN 978-7-5033-1940-2.
- ISBN 978-7-5065-5397-1.
- ISBN 978-7-5483-0058-8.
- ISBN 978-7-80237-381-5.
- ^ "陶勇". 中国共产党新闻网. Retrieved 2010-03-01.
- ISBN 7-226-00399-6.