World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseZhang Zhizhong was born in Anhui Province, China. After graduating from the Baoding Military Academy in Hebei Province, China in 1916, he served with the local warlord forces of Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, reaching regimental command. In 1924, he joined the Nationalist government, receiving appointment from Chiang Kaishek to serve as an instructor at the Whampoa Military Academy in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. In 1926, he played a critical role in the establishment of the Wuhan branch of Whampoa Military Academy. In 1928, Whampoa Military Academy was relocated to Nanjing, and Zhang served in several high level positions at the newly renamed Central Military Academy. During his career at the Central Military Academy, he was relied upon to lead troops in the field several times, including the 1932 campaign against the Japanese (as commanding general of 5th Corps), the 1933 campaign against communist forces in Fujian Province, and the 1937 full scale battle against Japanese forces in Shanghai (as commander-in-chief of the 3rd War Area with personal command over 9th Army). In Nov 1938, as the Governor of Hunan Province, upon receiving inaccurate intelligence on the approach of Japanese troops, he gave the order to set fire to a few key buildings at Changsha, the provincial capital, to deprive the Japanese of use should the city fall; the fire unexpectedly, destroying many buildings. In Feb 1939, after he was relieved of duty as the Governor of Hunan Province over the fire debacle, he was made a staff officer attached to Chiang Kaishek's headquarters. Between 1940 and 1945, he held the titles of Minister of Political Training, Member of the National Military Council, and Secretary-General of the Youth Corps "Sanmin Zhuyi", none of which granted him front line command. Between 1945 and 1949, he served as the commander-in-chief of the Northwestern Headquarters of the Nationalist forces; between 1946 and 1947, he also served as the Governor of Xinjiang Province. In 1947, he was elected the representative to the National Assembly for his home province of Anhui. His greatest achievement during this period of this career was the de-escalation of the rebellion of Turkic tribes in western China and the successful defense against Mongolian raids from the north. During this time, he was courted by the communists. In Jun 1949, as the communist victory in the Chinese Civil War appeared imminent, he announced his resignation from the Nationalist Party. He would remain an important communist leader, reaching the position of Vice Chairman of the National Defense Council of Communist China by 1954. He passed away in 1969 and was buried at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, China.

Zhang Zhizhong Interactive Map

Photographs

Zhang Zhizhong Timeline