In the eight years since the outbreak of the All-out War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Chinese soldiers have paid a terrible price in order to resist the aggression of Japanese imperialism. Throughout the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China sacrificed more than 200 generals of the rank of general alone, the highest of whom was General Zhang Zizhong, commander-in-chief of the Right Wing Army group in the Fifth Theater and commander-in-chief of the 33rd Group Army.
In 1891, Zhang Zizhong was born in Linqing, Shandong Province, to a family of eunuchs. In 1911, Zhang Zizhong, who was studying at the Beiyang Law and Politics School, joined the League and participated in the vigorous revolutionary movement. In 1916, under the introduction of a friend, Zhang Zizhong joined Feng Yuxiang's Northwest Army. Feng Yuxiang saw that he was tall and heroic, and liked him very much, and at the beginning he gave him a lieutenant, and then let him go to the grass-roots unit as a platoon leader to exercise him. When the Central Plains War broke out in 1930, Zhang Zizhong would already be the commander of the division.
After the End of the Central Plains War, the remnants of the Northwest Army retreated to the Jinnan region, and Zhang Zizhong's army structure was the most complete, when Zhang Zizhong also had two brigades and a pistol regiment totaling more than 5,000 people. In January 1931, the remnants of the Northwest Army were reorganized into the Third Army of the Northeast Army, with Song Zheyuan as the commander, and then the Third Army of the Northeast Army was reorganized into the 29th Army, with Song Zheyuan still serving as the commander and Zhang Zizhong as the commander of the 38th Division.
In 1933, when the Great Wall War of Resistance broke out, Zhang Zizhong, Feng Zhi'an, Liu Ruming and other generals of the 29th Army led their troops to Xifengkou to fight against the Japanese army. On July 7, 1937, the Lugou Bridge Incident broke out, the 29th Army once again engaged the Japanese army in a fierce battle, and later in the battle, Zhang Zizhong was left behind to negotiate with the Japanese army and cover the retreat of the main force of the 29th Army, but he was also misunderstood by public opinion as a traitor. After the main force of the 29th Army retreated, Zhang Zizhong secretly went to Nanjing and asked Chiang Kai-shek for his guilt. Under the intercession of Feng Yuxiang, Li Zongren, Song Zheyuan and others, Zhang Zizhong was not only not punished, but also promoted to the commander of the 59th Army.
During the Battle of Xuzhou in 1938, Zhang Zizhong led the 59th Army and the Japanese Banyuan Division, and the Sakamoto Brigade destroyed tens of thousands of enemies in the Battle of Linyi for seven days and nights, but the 59th Army also suffered heavy losses, and the 38th Division of the 59th Army was left with more than 3,000 people from 15,000 people, but the sacrifice of the 59th Army guaranteed the victory of the Battle of Taierzhuang. In May 1939, during the Battle of Suizao, Zhang Zizhong once again led his troops to severely damage the Japanese army. In December 1939, Zhang Zizhong led the Right Wing Army of the Fifth Theater to launch a winter offensive and annihilate the 103rd Brigade of the 13th Division of the Japanese Army.
In May 1940, the Battle of Zaoyi broke out, and only two regiments of the 33rd Group Army were on the west bank of the Xiang River, Zhang Zizhong personally led 2,000 officers and men to cross the river to kill the Japanese 13th Division, unfortunately fell into the Japanese army's heavy encirclement. Zhang Zizhong led his troops and the Japanese army to carry out more than ten battles, and finally killed Chengren and sacrificed his life for the country.
After Zhang Zizhong's death, Huang Weigang, the commander of the 38th Division, led his troops to retrieve his body. When the general's body passed through Yichang, 100,000 people risked their lives to send him off. On May 28, 1940, the coffin of General Zhang Zizhong arrived at the Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing, and Chiang Kai-shek supported the coffin and wept bitterly and sent him off. After the news of Zhang Zizhong's sacrifice came home, his wife died of hunger strike for seven days, and Chiang Kai-shek buried his husband and wife together in the foothills of Meihua Mountain in Chongqing.