He was a general in the Northwest Army, led 2 regiments to engage the Japanese army, died and was buried in the state, posthumously awarded the second rank general
During the Republic of China, Feng Yuxiang was only a local warlord, but he had the largest private army in the world at that time, the Northwest Army, with as many as 400,000 troops at its strongest, so he had many famous generals under him, known as the "Five Tiger Generals" and the "Thirteen Taibao".
Which general of the Northwest Army was the most famous in the anti-Japanese war? Undoubtedly Zhang Zizhong. Because when the Five Tiger Generals and the Thirteen taibao were selected, Zhang Zizhong had not yet become famous, so he was not selected. After the End of the Central Plains War, Chiang Kai-shek incorporated Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army, and 400,000 troops were dismantled and distributed throughout the country, so that the Northwest Army could be avoided from rebelling.
Zhang Zizhong was assigned to the 29th Army led by Song Zheyuan, and he served as a division commander, participated in the Great Wall Resistance, and was the first general of the Northwest Army to engage the Japanese army.
When the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, Zhang Zizhong led his troops to garrison Wanping City, and he did not want to see the common people suffer from the fires of war, so he took the initiative to get in touch with the Japanese military high-level, hoping to use negotiations to avoid war. Unfortunately, his actions were distorted by the unscrupulous media at the time as defecting to the enemy and treason, and Chiang Kai-shek immediately transferred Zhang Zizhong, and then Peiping was occupied by the Japanese army.
Under the pressure of public opinion, Zhang Zizhong decided to use the anti-Japanese resistance to prove his innocence, and when he reinforced Linyi, he was active in battle, blocking the Japanese army's reinforcement to Taierzhuang in one fell swoop, and causing more than 6,000 casualties to the Japanese army, with remarkable achievements and laying the foundation for the great victory of Taierzhuang.
After the Battle of Taierzhuang, Zhang Zizhong was promoted to commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army, relying on his own ability.
In 1940, the Japanese army launched the Battle of Zaoyi, the west bank of the Xianghe River was stationed by Zhang Zizhong's troops, although he was the commander of the group army, but at that time he only had 2 regiments in his hands, because he was not at ease, Zhang Zizhong personally came to the front line to direct the battle. Perhaps the Japanese had received information from his command at the front, and on the same day they dispatched 1 twice as many bombers as usual to indiscriminately bomb the positions.
Zhang Zizhong knew that if he continued like this, he would be blown up before he could attack the position, so he decided to take the initiative to attack and personally led 2 regiments to prepare to take down the Japanese headquarters.
Unfortunately, in the battle with the Japanese army, Zhang Zizhong was hit by a grenade and died heroically on the spot.
The soldiers were both sad and angry, and vowed to avenge General Zhang, but unfortunately, the Japanese army was very well armed, and the soldiers fell down again and again, and finally Zhang Zizhong's troops were left without a single person. Zhang Zizhong's behavior also made the Japanese very awe-inspiring, did not destroy his body, but protected it, and did not bomb again the following day, as a sign of Japanese respect for Zhang Zizhong.
Subsequently, the whole country learned of Zhang Zizhong's heroic sacrifice, and Chiang Kai-shek was also very sad, posthumously awarded him a second-class general of the Kuomintang Army, and buried him as a state funeral.