When it comes to the generals of the Nationalist Army who were martyred in the war against Japan, the first thing that comes to everyone's mind should be Zhang Zizhong, and the names of Zhao Dengyu, Li Jiayu, Hao Mengling, and Tong Linge are all posthumously awarded the rank of general after martyrdom.
In fact, in addition to the above famous generals, there is another general (posthumously) whose fame is not very big, but it is also worthy of respect, that is, Chen Anbao, who will be introduced today.
Born in 1891 in Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, Chen Anbao graduated from the Baoding Army Officer School and was known as the "Tiger General" at a young age.
Chen Anbao's name of "Tiger General" was by no means blown out. In the battle against the Shandong warlord Zhang Zongchang, Chen Anbao annihilated 300 White Russian ironclad Cossacks who had died for Zhang Bu, and his reputation was so famous that he was specially praised by Sun Chuanfang.
After Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expeditionary Army captured Jiangxi, he reorganized the Zhejiang Army, and because he had long heard of Chen Anbao's great name, he caged Chen Anbao in his sleeve and used it for his own use. At that time, Cao Cao called the fierce general Xu Chan a "tiger fool", and Chiang Kai-shek also imitated it, calling Chen Anbao a "tiger fool".
However, in terms of values, Chen Anbao and Chiang Kai-shek are not the same people. Chiang Kai-shek was nothing more than a relatively new warlord, while Chen Anbao's ambition was to destroy the Japanese and settle China.
In Chen Anbao's anti-Japanese career, the Battle of Songhu had to be mentioned. At the end of October 1937, Chen Anbao led the 79th Division south to Shanghai and joined the campaign. The 79th Division's mission was originally to go to Shanghai, but because it learned that the Japanese 18th Division had landed at Jinshan near Hangzhou Bay, intending to cut off our army's retreat, Chen Anbao received an order: Be sure to block the Japanese 18th Division!
The Japanese 18th Division was a worker on Kyushu Island, and the battle was very fierce. Chen Anbao was not afraid, and in the early morning of November 7, Chen Anbao led his troops to attack Jinshan County. This battle was completely unequal, the Japanese army's weapons were very advanced, with strong fire protection, while our army's weapons were a generation behind, and the lone army went deep, and if we were not careful, we might completely annihilate the army.
But Chen Anbao did not have the heart to be afraid, every battle charged forward, many soldiers fell, Chen Anbao did not have time to wipe his tears, and led the brothers to fight hard with the Japanese artillery with flesh and blood. At this time, Chen Anbao was ready to be martyred, but Chiang Kai-shek had more consideration and ordered the troops to withdraw westward.
In this battle, Chen Anbao fought hard and gloriously, but it was more a pity that he could not fight the Japanese Kou down, if there was such an opportunity again, he would die on the battlefield!
Soon, his chance came.
On March 27, 1939, the Japanese army captured Nanchang. Chen Anbao, who had been promoted to lieutenant general of the 29th Army, was ordered to raid Nanchang under Japanese occupation, and the 79th Division of the 29th Army was the main force in the siege.
At that time, the Japanese 101st Division was stationed in Nanchang, and the force allocation far exceeded that of our army. The main task of the 79th Division was to scare off the Japanese army through tactical intimidation and create opportunities for other divisions to cross the Fuhe River and capture Nanchang.
At first, the 79th Division fought very firmly, and as long as it held out for a while, friendly reinforcements could break the city. Unexpectedly, the division commander Duan Langru did not want to die, and even changed the combat order without authorization, resulting in the Japanese 101st Division having time to recover. What is even more frightening is that after the Japanese army recovered its vitality, the 79th Division, which went deep alone, became a piece of fat in their mouths.
The most favorable thing for the Chinese army at the moment is to retreat, do not care about the gains and losses of one city and one place, but Chiang Kai-shek will not allow it, and even ordered the shooting of Duan Langru, who supported the troops. Although he knew that Chiang Kai-shek's order was wrong, the duty of a soldier was to obey the order, and on May 4, when Chen Anbao personally led the 78th Brigade of the 26th Division to cross the Fuhe River, he already had a premonition and said to the people around him: "If you go to Nanchang, you will die, but you will die as you want." ”
This lone army attacked the Japanese army at the Xinlong airfield in Nanchang, killing several Japanese fighters, but the friendly reinforcements were not timely, and a large number of Japanese troops surrounded the 78th Brigade. Chen Anbao's soldiers were fighting less and less, and he also knew that he could not break out, so it was better to kill a few more devils and earn one!
Three Japanese planes flew by and fired at our army's position, but General Chen Anbao could not dodge it, was shot in the heart, and was martyred at the age of 48.
Chen Anbao's body was found by a small soldier of the Japanese army, who did not know Chen Anbao, but from this body wearing the Zhongzheng sword, he knew that it must be a general of the Chinese army. In order to ask for credit, this little soldier actually cut off Chen Anbao's head. When Okamura Ninji learned of this, he hung General Chen's head on the tower of Nanchang Castle for three days. Subsequently, he sent General Chen's head to Japan to ask for credit.
From the perspective of the country and the nation, General Chen Anbao died where he deserved, and it was extremely glorious. But alas, he did not get the respect he deserved. Because the Battle of Nanchang was fought so badly, Chiang Kai-shek did not want to mention it more, and naturally he deliberately ignored the merits of General Chen Anbao. After General Zhang Zizhong was martyred, Chiang Kai-shek held a state funeral for General Zhang in order to win the hearts and minds of the people, but after chen Anbao, who was also a national hero, was martyred, he did not have anything.
Chiang Kai-shek had no conscience, but the military and people of Zhejiang had not forgotten General Chen. On July 3, 1939, Chen Anbao's body was escorted back to Zhejiang, and hundreds of thousands of people cried and sacrificed along the streets.
Chiang Kai-shek may have also known that he could not stand up to General Chen, and a year later, on July 7, 1940, he posthumously recognized Chen Anbao as a general in the army.