Zhang Zizhong | |
|---|---|
 Zhang Zizhong | |
| Native name | 張自忠 |
| Born | August 11, 1891 Linqing, Shandong, Qing dynasty |
| Died | May 16, 1940 (aged 48) Yicheng, Hubei |
| Allegiance |  Republic of China |
| Service |  National Revolutionary Army |
| Years of service | 1914–1940 |
| Rank | .svg){kind=small} General |
| Unit |
|
| Commands | 33rd Army Group † Third Division |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Taierzhuang, Battle of Wuhan, Battle of Yichang † |
| Awards | Order of Blue Sky and White Sun |
Zhang Zizhong (traditional Chinese: 張自忠; simplified Chinese: 张自忠; pinyin: Zhāng Zìzhōng; Wade–Giles: Chang Tzu-chung; August 11, 1891 – May 16, 1940) was a general of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army (NRA) during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Born in Linqing, Shandong, he was the highest-ranked officer and the only Army group commander of the NRA to die in the war. He was killed-in-action during the Battle of Yichang after refusing to retreat from the front lines. He showed great valor in the field and was regarded as one of the most valiant and respectable Chinese generals by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Because he was lieutenant general with the effective rank of full general at the time of his death, and was posthumously promoted to full general, he was also one of the highest-ranked Allied officers killed in action in World War II.[1] His mausoleum is situated in Beibei District, Chongqing. There are roads named after him in Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Wuhan.
- ^ Along with Royal Navy Admiral Tom Phillips, killed in the Sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941, Red Army Army Generals Nikolai Vatutin, mortally wounded by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army in 1944, and Ivan Chernyakhovsky, killed by artillery fire in the campaign leading to the battle of Königsberg in 1945, and US Army Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair, killed by friendly fire in France on July 25, 1944.