The First Field Army was one of the five main forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army during the National War of Liberation and a strong force under the Military Commission.It was reorganized and formed by the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army and local armed forces in the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Liberated Area and the Shanxi-Sui Liberated Area during the Anti-Japanese War.Its development has gone through the stages of the Jinsui Field Army, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Jinsui Joint Defense Army, the Northwest Field Army and the First Field Army. Under the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Mao Zedong, and under the command of Peng Dehuai, the deputy commander-in-chief of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the commander and political commissar of the First (Northwest) Field Army, this force was deployed in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Sui Joint Defense Army (Northwest) He Long, Commander of the Military Region) and Xi Zhongxun, Secretary of the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Xi Zhongxun, Political Commissar of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Shanxi-Sui Joint Defense Force (Northwest Military Region), participated in the decision-making and assisted in the command, relying on the strong support of the broad masses of the people and the active cooperation of friendly and neighboring troops, the victory Completed the glorious task of defending the Party Central Committee, defending Chairman Mao, defending the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and liberating the Northwest.This heroic unit made great contributions to the victory of the National War of Liberation, the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the defense of national sovereignty and security, and established immortal historical feats.

When Chiang Kai-shek, with the support of U.S. imperialism, blatantly "went down the mountain" to snatch the fruits of victory in the War of Resistance, and encircled and blocked the Shanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region with large troops, the Shanxi-Sui Military Region and the Shanxi-Sui Field Army under the unified command of Commander He Long and Political Commissar Li Jingquan, Immediately launched a major counterattack against the Japanese and puppet troops, cut off the Pingsui Railway, and liberated a large area of ​​land. After Japan surrendered, the Shanxi-Sui Military Region was separated from the Shan-Gan-Ning-Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army, and the troops in the Shan-Gan-Ning-Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army still retained the designation of the Shan-Gan-Ning-Jin-Sui Joint Defense Army. It governed five brigades and five military divisions, with a total of more than 28,000 troops people.At that time, the Kuomintang encircled and blocked the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region with eight armies and three cavalry divisions totaling more than 200,000 troops. It continued to carry out military provocations and even attempted to sneak attack Yan'an, the seat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.The army and civilians in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region launched a tit-for-tat struggle against the Kuomintang army's harassment and local attacks.The Northwest People's Liberation Army launched an attack on the southern line, and the 359th Brigade, which had broken through the Central Plains, returned to northern Shaanxi in victory; through the Battle of Yuheng, it defeated the harassment of Deng Baoshan's troops at the Shanxi-Shanxi-Sui Border Area Headquarters on the northern line; smashed the Hu Zongnan and Ma Hongkui Group's surprise attack on Yan'an plan; in the battle for the Guanzhong division, inflict heavy damage on the invading enemy.Zhou Shidi commanded the Northern Shanxi Field Army to launch the Northern Shanxi Campaign, and Zhang Zongxun commanded the Datong Frontline People's Liberation Army to launch the Datong and Jining Campaigns, which dealt a heavy blow to the Kuomintang troops.During more than a year from September 1945 to February 1947, the People's Liberation Army of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, together with militias and guerrillas, fought more than 250 times, wiped out more than 10,000 enemies, and won more than 5,000 enemy troops to revolt, defending and consolidating the The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region was captured, laying the foundation for smashing the key offensive of the Kuomintang Army.

When the Hu Zongnan Group aggressively attacked Yan'an in February 1947, Peng Dehuai asked for orders in the face of danger and became the commander of the Northwest Field Corps.Facing an enemy ten times larger than himself and well-equipped, Peng Dehuai remained calm and commanded the Northwest People's Liberation Army to rely on the superior mass conditions and favorable terrain in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, and correctly use the "mushroom" tactics formulated by Chairman Mao Zedong. Qinghuabian, Yangmahe, and Panlong won three battles and three victories, which dampened the offensive spirit of Hu Zongnan's group and made Chiang Kai-shek's attempt to "solve the northern Shaanxi issue within three months" come to naught.

After the establishment of the Northwest Field Army, in order to attract the main force of Hu Zongnan's group to move northward and cooperate with Chen Xie's army to cross the Yellow River south, Peng Dehuai's command post launched the Yulin and Shajiadian battles and a series of counter-offensive operations, which wiped out a large number of Hu Zongnan's vital forces. In 1948, facing five times as many enemies as it had, the Northwest Field Army resolutely switched to outside battles. It successively launched the battles of Yichuan, Huanglong Mountain, Xifu, Chenghe, Libei and Dongdong, shifting the war from northern Shaanxi to beyond the Weihe River. The Guanzhong area in the north continued to contain and weaken Hu Zongnan's group, and effectively supported and cooperated with operations on other battlefields.

After the three major battles of Liaoshen, Pingjin, and Huaihai, the National War of Liberation has entered the stage of strategic pursuit, but on the Northwest battlefield, the situation of the enemy is strong and we are weak has not been fundamentally changed.Under such circumstances, the First Field Army launched the Spring Offensive and the Battle of Central Shaanxi before the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Corps entered Shaanxi, liberated Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province, and the vast area of ​​central Shaanxi, and repelled the joint counterattack of the Hu and Ma armies. , Created conditions for the liberation of the Northwest.

After the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Corps entered Shaanxi, the First Field Army had a comparative advantage in numbers, and the time for a decisive battle in the northwest was ripe.In order to speed up the process of liberating the Great Northwest, the First Field Army launched the Fumei Campaign in accordance with the decision of "clamping horses and beating barbarians, first barbarians and then horses", annihilating Hu Zongnan's heavy army group; launching the Northwest battlefield with the policy of "clamping barbarians and beating horses" is of decisive significance In the Battle of Lanzhou, they conquered Lanzhou, which was called "the unbreakable iron city" by Qingma.The First Field Army took advantage of the victory to liberate Xining and completely destroyed the feudal rule of the Ma Bufang family.

Beginning in September 1949, the commanders and fighters of the First Field Army carried forward the spirit of "it is better to chase the poor with the remaining bravery" and liberated the entire territory of the Northwest with overwhelming force.The First Field Army launched the Ningxia Campaign and the Hexi Campaign, sweeping away the remaining enemies in southern Shaanxi and Longnan, and liberated the entire territory of Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and Qinghai provinces.Then the troops were divided into two groups, one was led by Peng Dehuai and marched into Xinjiang; the other was led by He Long and marched into northern Sichuan.The First Field Army also cooperated with the Southwest Military Region to march into Tibet, and planted the five-star red flag all over the Tianshan Mountains in the north and south of the motherland.

After the merger of the First Field Army and the Northwest Military Region, each unit carried out work such as suppressing bandits, producing, reclaiming and guarding border areas, assisting local governments in party building, and land reform. made an important contribution. The officers and soldiers of the First Field Army threw their heads and blood for the liberation of the Chinese people.At the foot of the Pagoda Mountain, the Guanzhong Plain, the banks of the Yellow River, and the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, they left their footprints and buried the loyal bones of the heroes.

The people of all ethnic groups in China will always remember this heroic army and the heroic fighters. The immortal achievements of the First Field Army will go down in history forever!