Ma Zhanshan is a native of Huaide, Jilin Province, a famous patriotic general and national hero of the Anti-Japanese War. After the September 18 Incident, he served as the chairman of Heilongjiang Province and the deputy commander of the Northeast Border Defense Army in the province, and later led patriotic officers and soldiers to rise up against the Japanese invading army, led the Jiangqiao War of Resistance, and fired the first shot of the Chinese people's armed resistance against Japan. After the July 7 Incident, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Northeast Advance Army, leading his troops to resist the Japanese invading army in Jinsui. During the Liberation War, he campaigned for peace and made contributions to the peaceful settlement of the Peiping issue.
In 1931, the Japanese aggressors launched the "918" incident that shocked China and foreign countries, and the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out. In just a few days, hundreds of thousands of northeast troops withdrew from Jilin and Liaoning. The Northeast Army possessed more than 300 aircraft, 150,000 rifles, 60,000 pistols, more than 3 million rounds of ammunition, 250 heavy artillery and 100,000 shells and a large number of strategic equipment into the hands of the enemy. Even the Japanese could not believe that such a result would be achieved. After the capture of Jilin, the Japanese commander Honjo Fansu, who had always been cautious, feared that if the attack was too fast, his troops would be dispersed and might be ambushed by the northeast army. So he ordered the attack to stop and protect all these rich achievements.
Thus, of the three northeastern provinces, only Heilongjiang remained in the hands of the Chinese army. In October 1931, Zhang Xueliang sent General Ma to temporarily serve as chairman of the Heilongjiang provincial government, handling all political and military affairs in Heilongjiang. On October 20, General Ma was solemnly inaugurated in Qiqihar. Japanese diplomats in Heilongjiang were also present. He wanted to see General Ma's attitude in order to take action. In his inaugural speech, General Ma zheng reiterated: "I, Ma Zhanshan, am here to defend the land, not to experience the prestige of being an official!" If the territory of our country is violated, I will do my best to eliminate them! ”
At this time, Heilongjiang was full of the atmosphere of surrender. Zhang Haipeng, the former Governor of the Kuomintang government, has become a lackey of Japan. The Japanese also instigated him to launch an attack on the Heilongjiang fortress Jiangqiao Bridge. Fortunately, they were repulsed by the Chinese army, so the Japanese plot did not succeed. After General Ma became the chairman of Heilongjiang Province, the Japanese army first sent out sugar-coated shells to try to win him over, and he was unsuccessful, and finally he was angry and turned to threaten him, but they made a mistake in their calculations and found the wrong people. Seeing that he was soft and hard, Rikou decided to attack by force, and in this way, the Battle of Jiangqiao broke out.
Jiangqiao was the only way to capture Heilongjiang. On November 4, the Japanese dispatched 4 armored vehicles, 7 aircraft, more than 10 mountain artillery and 4,000 infantry, destroyed Ma Zhanshan and occupied Heilongjiang in one fell swoop. Before the war began, Ma Zhanshan had already deployed and dispatched the most powerful rear guard regiment as a front-line fortification of the Jiangqiao Defense Line. After the battle began, the Front Line Defense Regiment relied on its geographical and topographical advantages to repeatedly defend against the Japanese. In this attack, in order to prevent the Japanese from sneaking across the river, an ambush was set up in the reeds on the riverbank. Once it was discovered that the Japanese army had successfully crossed the river, it was solved on the spot. In order to relieve the pressure on the frontal defenses, Ma Zhanshan sent a cavalry company to attack the Japanese left flank. Despite the killing of the cavalry company commander, the company commander continued to command and seriously damaged the Japanese army and retired.
Jiangqiao is a major transportation route, a necessary way for the enemy to take Heilongjiang, and its importance is self-evident. The Japanese dispatched 4 armored vehicles, 7 aircraft, more than 10 cannons and 4,000 infantry to try to annihilate Ma Zhanshan and occupy Heilongjiang in one fell swoop. Before the war began, General Ma had made a thorough deployment and sent the most powerful rear guard regiment as the main defensive force of the Jiangqiao defense line. After the battle began, the front line defense regiment relied on their unique geographical and topographical advantages to withstand the Japanese attack, and in order to prevent the Japanese from sneaking across the river, they set up an ambush in the reeds on the riverbank. Once the Japanese were found to have successfully crossed the river, they were solved on the spot. In order to relieve the pressure on the frontal defenses, General Ma sent a company of cavalry to attack the Japanese left flank. Although the commander of the cavalry company was heroically sacrificed, the deputy company commander continued to command the relay, and also inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese Kou, and they could not form an army and could only flee into the wilderness.
afterward. The Japanese army suddenly changed its strategic deployment and sent Zhang Haipeng's Japanese puppet army as the vanguard, and the offensive became more fierce, but General Ma was not afraid, because Zhang Haipeng's puppet army was all a ragtag group, it was easy to kill them, and the elimination of the Japanese was the most important thing at present. General Ma asked the guards to hold their current positions, and he quietly sent infantry around the Japanese rear. When the battle was in full swing, his infantry suddenly launched an attack from the rear of the Japanese army, so that the Japanese army was caught off guard, and more than half of the casualties fled. In this battle, the Japanese and puppet troops each suffered more than 700 casualties. This was the biggest loss since Japan invaded China. When the news reached Japan, it was shocked and considered the biggest defeat in the history of the Japanese army.
On the morning of the 6th, the Japanese army gathered an infantry company, a cavalry company, with a total number of more than 4,000 people, a puppet army of more than 3,000 people, more than 50 field guns, and 8 aircraft. They launched a fierce attack on the Jiangqiao position defended by General Ma. Relying on heavy weapons and with the support of aircraft, the guards responsible for defending the Jiangqiao position suffered heavy losses. The river bridge was full of wolf smoke and flames, and the position of the river bridge could not be saved. At the critical moment, General Ma's soldiers took a dangerous action, ordering the cavalry company to attack quickly and encircle the Japanese on the south side of the river bridge. The Attention of the Japanese at this time was on the front line. He didn't expect the flanks to strike a force. As soon as the cavalry came, the heads of the Japanese could not be saved, and they panicked, frightened, and confused.
The Ma Zhanshan Guards, who were defending the Jiangqiao defense line, saw that the Japanese rear was in chaos, and they quickly took advantage of the victory to pursue, and this time it was another wonderful attack. The Japanese infantry regiment was almost annihilated, and the cavalry regiment suffered heavy casualties. This campaign was the first time since the Japanese invasion of China that the Chinese army annihilated the entire Japanese army, and it was also the first position of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japan.
This battle of Jiangqiao greatly increased the fame of General Ma, shocked China and foreign countries, and won the high praise and support of the whole Chinese people, and stimulated the patriotic enthusiasm of the Chinese people. There were even "Ma Zhanshan" brand cigarettes, which were sold throughout the country. Who would have thought that the first such splendid victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan was fought by a little wrangler who had once herded horses for a landlord?
On November 29, 1950, Ma Zhanshan died of illness in his Beijing apartment at the age of 65.