In the following period, the Japanese suffered heavy losses due to their crushing defeat in the Battle of Chahar.Due to the limitation of its strength, the Japanese army in North China was temporarily unable to launch a large-scale counteroffensive against Chahar, Suiyuan, and other places, and the situation in North China was temporarily stabilized.Taking advantage of this rare opportunity, the Eighth Route Army stepped up its efforts to expand its forces and further strengthened its control over the newly recovered Chahar and other places.The Seventh Column of the Eighth Route Army, in accordance with the instructions of its superiors, also took advantage of this opportunity to reorganize and prepare for war.In May 1940, the 11th Army of the Japanese Army in Central China, under the command of Commander Kazuichiro Sonobe, launched a large-scale attack on Zaoyang, Yichang and other places on our country, and the Battle of Zaoyi broke out.The Japanese army attacked the defense line of the Xianghe River in a big way, and at that time, only two regiments of Zhang Zizhong of the 33rd Group Army of the Chinese army were stationed on the west bank of the Xianghe River.On the evening of 6 May, Zhang Zizhong sent a letter to Feng Zhi'an, deputy commander-in-chief and commander of the 77th Army: "My brother Yang is like a meeting: Because of the relationship between the all-out war in the theater and his own responsibility, it is necessary to cross the river to fight with the enemy, and it has been decided to march to the east bank of the Xiang River tonight, and after arriving at the east of the river, if he can get in touch with the 38th Division and the 179th Division, he will lead the two divisions and the horse division to fight to the death against the enemy advancing northward regardless of everything.If we can't get in touch with the 179th Division and the 38th Division, we will lead the three regiments of the Horse Division and march north towards our ultimate goal.No matter what you do good or bad, you must seek comfort in your conscience, and in the future, you will have to ask my brother to be responsible for both public and private affairs.From now on, in the future or temporarily, forever, it is not known, and this is the Buda. ”Zhang Zizhong personally wrote a notice to all troops and generals: "The country has reached such a point that there is no other way but to die for us."
I also believe that as long as we can make this determination, our country and our nation with a history of 5,000 years will never die at the hands of the Japanese slaves of the three islands.The determination to die for the country and the nation is not clear, the stone is not rotten, and it will never change at all. ”After Zhang Zizhong led more than 2,000 people to cross the Xianghe River eastward, he attacked bravely all the way and cut off the 13th Division of the Japanese Army.The Japanese army then encircled and attacked Zhang Zizhong's headquarters with superior forces.Unflinching, Zhang Zizhong commanded his troops to charge and kill more than 10 times the number of enemies who outnumbered them.The Japanese suffered heavy casualties.When the Japanese army gathered heavy troops and moved south, our main force should have temporarily evaded and sought an opportunity to concentrate on encircling and destroying the invading enemy.However, the Chinese high command at that time was confused by the false information of the Japanese side, misjudged the situation, and ordered the troops of the Fifth Theater to encircle and annihilate the Japanese troops in the north and south at the same time.Although Zhang Zizhong's troops in Hedong only had more than 20,000 men in five divisions, and the strength was only half of that of the other side, the soldiers regarded obedience to orders as their duty, and he immediately adjusted his deployment according to his own situation.Unfortunately, however, Zhang Zizhong's telegram code was intercepted and deciphered by the Japanese army, and his military deployment was completely in the hands of the enemy.The Japanese army immediately mobilized two divisions and four brigades to attack.On the 14th, there was an encounter between the two sides.On the 15th, more than 1,500 people led by Zhang Zizhong were surrounded by nearly 6,000 Japanese invaders in the village of Gouyanli, north of the pumpkin shop.On the morning of the same day, the Japanese army attacked.The disparity between the strength of the enemy and the enemy was extremely great, and the battle was extremely fierce.By 3 p.m., most of the soldiers around Zhang Zizhong had been killed, and he himself had been injured in the right leg by a shell.At this time, he had withdrawn to Almond Mountain, and resisted bravely with the remaining dozen or so guards, and actually blocked the swarming Japanese troops on the mountain for more than two hours.The fierce battle reached the dawn of the 16th, and Zhang Zizhong was forced to lead his troops to retreat into the pumpkin shop ten miles long mountain.The Japanese, under the cover of aircraft artillery, launched a fierce assault on the positions of the Chinese troops.Launch 9 charges in one day and night.The casualties of Zhang Zizhong's unit rose sharply, and the battle was unprecedentedly fierce.By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Zizhong had only a few hundred officers and soldiers left, and he transferred all his guards to the front for reinforcements, leaving only eight people, including senior staff officer Zhang Jing and adjutant Ma Xiaotang.Soon, a large group of Japanese soldiers had rushed in front of them.According to Japanese sources, Private Fujioka of the 4th Regiment of the Japanese Army was the first to rush to the front.Suddenly, a tall officer stood up from the pool of blood, and his majestic gaze made Fujioka immediately stop and stunned there.Dono, the leader of the third squadron who rushed behind, immediately opened fire, and the bullet hit the officer in the head, but Fujioka, who still did not fall and woke up, picked up his bayonet and stabbed it with all his strength, and the officer's tall body finally fell to the ground with a bang.It was 4 p.m. on May 16, 1940.After Zhang Zizhong died in battle, the Japanese found the body of General Zhang, verified it without falsification, worshiped together, used good wood to hold the funeral, and erected wooden plaques.The whole army saluted him, and even when his body was transported back to the rear, the Japanese army received the news and ordered to stop the air raids of the air force for one day to avoid hurting Zhang Zizhong's loyal remains.It can be seen that the military virtues displayed by General Zhang Zizhong in the War of Resistance against Japan were even moved by the Japanese army that advocated militarism at that time.Late that night, the Japanese army's radio station in Hankou interrupted its normal broadcasting, inserted the news of Zhang Zizhong's death, and said: "The officers and men of the 39th Division of our Imperial Army offered the most pious and reverent silent prayer to the peerless brave generals who died in the heroic battle on the desolate battlefield, solemnly buried the remains in the coffin, and planned to transport Hankou by special plane." ”The Japanese army showed great reverence for General Zhang Zizhong, and the body was carefully cleaned with military medical alcohol, and the wounds were bandaged, solemnly decorated and put into the coffin that was prepared.This coffin was buried on a hillside, and a tombstone was erected, which read: "The tomb of Zhang Zizhong, the general of China".Lao Jiang was shocked to hear that Zhang Zizhong had been martyred, and immediately ordered the 5th War Zone to recapture Zhang Zizhong's remains at any cost.More than 100 outstanding soldiers and soldiers snatched back the bones of General Zhang, and after examination, Zhang Zizhong had eight wounds on his body, including two wounds from artillery shells, one wound from bayonets, and five wounds from gunshot bullets.When the coffin passed through Yichang, the flag was lowered at half-mast throughout the city, and more than 100,000 people went to pay their respects.The whole city was enveloped in a tragic and solemn atmosphere.Enemy planes circled and roared overhead, but no one evaded, and no one fled.On the morning of May 28, 1940, when the coffin was transported to the Chaotianmen Wharf in Chongqing, Jiang, Feng and other government military and political dignitaries wore black veils on their arms, stood solemnly at the wharf to welcome the spirit, and boarded the ship to circle the coffin to mourn.Jiang "caressed the coffin" on the boat, which moved everyone present.Jiang personally helped the coffin to carry it, and then climbed the stairs to escort the coffin through the whole city of Chongqing.The National Government issued a state funeral order and issued a certificate of honor and condolences to the "Rong Zi No. 1".The tablet of Zhang Zizhong was enshrined in the Martyrs' Shrine and tied for the first place.On the afternoon of the 28th, Chiang, military and political dignitaries, and people from all walks of life held a grand and solemn memorial ceremony for Zhang Zizhong at Chuqimen.General Zhang Zizhong bravely resisted the enemy, was loyal and unyielding, and was a great national hero, whose loyalty and heroic spirit could be the soul of the Chinese soldiers of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the heroic soul would be immortal.Although Zhang Zizhong died, he lived in the hearts of the Chinese people, and will always be engraved in the hearts of the Chinese people, Liufang Baishi aa2705221: