Death of Two Generals

More than 1000 Chinese generals died in the WWII defending the motherland. Among them, the two highest ranked generals are the commander of the 33 army group General Zhang Zizhong, and the commander of the 36 army group General Li Jiayu.

Days after the 11th Army of the Japanese invasion army launched the Zao-Yi Battle, General Zhang took all the troops he had at hand: two infantry regiments of 74D and one battalion of command guards to cross the enemy line and block their withdraw path. Before setting out, he sent a letter to General Feng Zhi'an, deputy commander of the 33AG, and asked him to take care of the troops. General Zhang loved the people and land deeply, but was not optimistic on the outcome of the war. In many occasions after the war started, General Zhang had expressed his eagerness to die for the country. The first day he assumed the commander of 59D in November 1937, he told his soldiers: "beyond killing enemies, my goal is to find a place to die for the country with you". In every battle, he would fight in the most front line. Some believed General Zhang finally realized his wish of dying for the country on May 16, 1940.

General Li Jiayu was a patriotic hero, who led his barely armed provincial army marched thousands of miles from inland to fight the Japanese army. When it's obviously the battle of Henan was falling, General volunteered to stay behind with his troops so that other troops could withdraw faster. General Li's scouts did not find the Japanese ambush until it was all to late. General Li's general uniform stood up among a few guards following him, which made him a primary target. General Li would love to live to see the victory, but he was killed by 2 bullets and 1 grenade shrapnel on May 21, 1944.

Two brave generals, one determined to sacrifice and one wanted to survive, both killed on battlefield in the war defending their motherland.

Statue of General Zhang Zizhong in Tianjin

General Zhang Zizhong (1891-1940) was the highest ranking Chinese officer died in the battlefield during the war defending homeland from Japan invasion.

General Zhang was born in Linqing, Shangdong. He entered Tianjin Law and Government School in 1911. He was the mayor of Tianjin from 1936 to 1937. General Zhang visited Japan during April 28 to May 23 in 1937. Although he was sent by his commending officer Song Zheyuan, many Chinese saw the visit a poor judgement. At the time, it seemed General Zhang attempted to avoid a full scale war between China and Japan. In one instance, he ordered Chinese troops not to return fire even after Japanese army had started attacked Peking. He also stayed behind as a civilian political leader after Chinese troops retreated. These controversial moves made him a public enemy at the time.

Seeing diplomatic maneuver no longer a feasible option, he left Tianjin soon after its fell to Japan, and reassumed military command. Although the central government cleared him of any wrong doings, he was not forgiven by many Chinese at the time, and probably not by himself. In a scene of a biography movie of General Zhang, when he arrived home after fled from Japanese occupied Tianjin, he was shut out by his wife, and spit upon by his children. It is believed that General had the death wish of dying for the country on the battlefield, before the war would be lost.

Between 1937 and 1940, his troops participated in the battle of Taierzhuang as well as other battles. Each time, he would encourage his soldiers to die in a good place for a good cause. His troops was among the most effective Chinese military forces and won many major battles, often with high cost.

In May 1940, as the commanding officer of the 33rd Army Group, he led 2000 soldiers to intercept a much stronger Japanese attacking force. Some historian think General Zhang was by and large pessimistic on the outcome of the war, and this move was particular suicidal. Before he set out, he took his formal attire and wrote a letter to his associate commander, in which he said he was going to die for the country. General Zhang was out numbered and out gunned. He fought as a soldier after wounded several times to his death on May 16, 1940 in Nanguadian, Hubei. His command and his soldiers all died with him.

Many Chinese cities named roads after his name. In Tianjin, Zhang Zizhong Road and Zhao Dengyu (another general died defending homeland against Japanese invasion) Road accompanied each side of Haihe River winding through the city. In May 2, 2006, a bronze statue of General Zhang was erected on the intersection of Zhang Zizhong Road and Taian Road. The statue is made by professor Jing yumin of Tianjin Art Institute.