Not to be confused with fellow general Zhang Zizhong

Zhang Zizhong

Zhāng Zìzhōng was a Chinese general of the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Born in Linqing in Shandong province, he was the highest-ranked officer and the only Army group commander of the NRA to die in the war...

.

Zhang Zhizhong (October 27, 1895 - April 1969) was a general in the National Revolutionary Army

National Revolutionary Army

The National Revolutionary Army , pre-1928 sometimes shortened to 革命軍 or Revolutionary Army and between 1928-1947 as 國軍 or National Army was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule...

 of the Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

. He was born in Chaohu, Anhui

Anhui

Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny...

, and attended the Baoding Military Academy from which he graduated in 1916. He then served in the local warlord armies of Yunnan and Guangxi before heeding the call of Nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen

Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...

 and moving to Guangzhou to became an instructor at the Whampoa Academy. He participated in the Northern Expedition, and after the Nationalists established the new republican government in Nanjing, became the commandant of the Central Military Academy. He joined in Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....

's campaign against Yan Xishan

Yan Xishan

Yan Xishan, was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China. Yan effectively controlled the province of Shanxi from the 1911 Xinhai Revolution to the 1949 Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War...

 and Feng Yuxiang

Feng Yuxiang

Feng Yuxiang was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined...

, and led the 5th Army in the 1932 battle at Shanghai against Japan. Later as the head of the 9th Army Group (第九集團軍), Zhang supervised the defence of Shanghai against Japan in 1937. Zhang is generally regarded as one of Chiang's close confidants, he has been accused by one historian of acting as a mole for the Chinese Communists.

Later in the Second Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...

, Zhang was later appointed Governor of Hunan

Hunan

' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...

 and was responsible for the Great Fire of Changsha

1938 Changsha Fire

The Changsha Fire of 1938 , also known as Wenxi Fire , was the greatest human-caused city-wide fire that ever besieged China. It happened in 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War...

, a fire that got out of hand when he ordered key buildings razed in anticipation of a coming Japanese attack (which failed to materialize on time). He was relieved of his duty after this event and several individuals responsible for bad intelligence were executed. In 1940, he became the political director of the National Military Council.

He was Governor of Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

 from 1945-1948 during the Ili Rebellion.

In 1949 Zhang chose to remain on the mainland when Chiang and the remaining KMT forces fled to Taiwan. He joined the Communists afterwards.

Timeline of military career

• 1929 - 1937 Commandant of the Central Military Academy
• 1932 General Officer Commanding V Corps
• 1937 General Officer Commanding Nanking-Shanghai Garrison
• 1937 Commander in Chief 9th Army Group
• 1937 Commander in Chief Central Forces 3rd War Area
• 1940 Chief Aide-de-Camp to the Generalissimo
• 1940 - 1945 Minister of Political Training
• 1940 - 1945 Member of the National Military Council
• 1940 - 1945 Secretary-General of the Youth Corps San Min Chu I
• 1945 - 1949 Director of Nationalist North-western Headquarters
• 1946 - 1947 Chairman of the Government of Xinjiang
  Xinjiang
  Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
  
  Province
• 1954 Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Council, People's Republic of China