In 1955, China held its historic first military rank awarding ceremony, when General Zhang Zhen was made a lieutenant general. General Zhang is known for his outstanding military exploits, and many believe that his actual contributions go far beyond the scope of the rank of lieutenant general. During the War of Liberation, General Zhang served as the chief of staff of Sanye, and in the Huaihai Campaign, as the chief of staff, he can be described as the out-and-out anchor of the army. Whether it was in war or peace, General Zhang was a legend, a veritable national hero, and a brave general on the battlefield. General Zhang was born in Hunan, and Hunan has been a heroic country since ancient times. He was born in 1914, at a time when the contradictions between the various classes in the country were acute.
In his hometown, General Zhang witnessed various contradictions and struggles since he was a child, which had a great impact on his childhood. The time has come when the country must change, and if it wants it to survive, it must stand up and fight against fate. Although General Zhang is young, his thinking is beyond ordinary people. In 1926, at the age of 12, General Zhang joined the Pingjiang Children's Regiment and became a member of the team. After joining the Children's League, he actively participated in the uprising of the people of Pingjiang and eventually became one of the main leaders of the uprising. With his outstanding ability, General Zhang finally officially joined the ranks of the Red Army and began an even more difficult combat journey.
The experience of struggle accumulated since childhood endowed the young General Zhang with strong work ability and psychological quality, and he never panicked in the face of a vicious enemy, but was able to calmly plunge into battle. This kind of general demeanor made his superiors praise him, and General Zhang became one of the young generals who were focused on training in Jinggangshan. In 1934, General Zhang embarked on the Long March with the Red Army. During this perilous journey, he gradually grew into a mature general, who not only fought bravely, but also learned to use stratagem to divide and disintegrate the enemy, and achieve maximum results at a small cost.
After the Red Army arrived in northern Shaanxi and fought against the Northeast Army, General Zhang made good use of his resourcefulness, distributed a large number of anti-Japanese leaflets, and shouted to the Northeast Army: "The Chinese do not fight the Chinese, the Red Army will help you fight back to the three eastern provinces!"Sure enough, the Northeast Army was shaken by his strategy, and its morale was greatly damaged, and it can be described as a soldier who surrendered without a fight. During the Anti-Japanese War, Zhang Zhen showed extraordinary military talent and heroic fighting spirit. In the Battle of Banqiaoji, he led his soldiers in a bloody battle and fought stubbornly against the Japanese army. Not only did he not allow the enemy to succeed, but he also successfully shot down a fighter plane, becoming the first hero to shoot down a Japanese fighter plane in an anti-Japanese base area behind enemy lines in Central China, which greatly boosted the morale of the army.
With a series of victories, Zhang Zhen's exploits spread throughout the army and were highly respected. By the time of the Liberation War, Zhang Zhen's responsibility was even heavier. He was full of admiration for General Su Yu's heroic actions, because Su Yu's seven battles and seven victories made him deeply admired. In the Soviet-Chinese Seventh War, Zhang Zhen was willing to obey Su Yu's command, because Su Yu showed unrivaled war command ability, which made Zhang Zhen ashamed. Zhang Zhen admires talented people, and Su Yu's every battle can be described as flawless, and Zhang Zhen is eager to learn from him Xi. The moment when the dream came true soon came, and with the reorganization of the army, the second column led by Zhang Zhen was incorporated into the East China Field Army and became the unit under the command of General Su Yu.
From then on, Zhang Zhen and Su Yu fought in the south and the north, and fought with the enemy. At the beginning of 1947, under the deployment of Su Yu, Zhang Zhen's troops ambushed the enemy in the Shuyang area, annihilated nearly 10,000 people, and made great achievements. In May of the same year, the Battle of Menglianggu broke out, and Zhang Zhen was one of the main forces, participating in the encirclement and annihilation of Zhang Lingfu's integrated 74th Division. A year later, Zhang Zhen led his troops to participate in the Battle of Jinan, and once again annihilated tens of thousands of enemies, which went down in history. His exploits may not be listed one by one, but it is certain that as an outstanding general, Zhang Zhen and Su Yu's tacit cooperation and deep friendship have formed an indelible friendship on the battlefield.
These two good friends experienced the most brutal war years together, witnessed the birth of New China, and their immortal exploits were engraved under the five-star red flag. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Zhen and Su Yu still supported each other and worked together for the country. Regrettably, however, in 1958, Su Yu was dismissed and criticized, leaving his core post and taking up an idle position in the local area. Zhang Zhen, a well-respected historical general, has a moving story. He is well aware of the responsibilities of his old friend Su Yu for the country, and he knows his character very well. Therefore, when Su Yu was treated unfairly, Zhang Zhen was indignant. However, his solidarity was rebuked.
Fortunately, when Zhang Zhen was most in trouble, Su Yu, who was also in a predicament, reached out and asked for the help of ***, so that Zhang Zhen could get out of the predicament. Since then, Zhang Zhen has been concerned about Su Yu's plight, and after he was transferred back to Beijing in the 70s, he often visited Su Yu to soothe him and seek opportunities to clear his fortune. However, until Su Yu died, he was unable to do so. Zhang Zhen deeply regretted this incident, but he always insisted on rehabilitating his old friend. Until 1992, when Zhang Zhen was 78 years old and served as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, he still made every effort to promote the rehabilitation work. In the end, in 1994, Su Yu finally got the snow clear, and this general who was loyal to the country got the justice he deserved.
After all this was completed, Zhang Zhen was finally relieved, and the long-term concern in his heart was over. In 1998, Zhang Zhen, who served as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, retired from his position at the deputy national level. Zhang Zhen's son, Zhang Haiyang, also stepped into the barracks, and was later awarded the rank of general, continuing the family's military tradition. Today, two generations of the Zhang family have become generals, demonstrating the glory of the family. In 2015, Zhang Zhen, who died at the age of 101, passed away peacefully. His life was legendary and glorious, leaving a glorious footprint in both the war years and the peacetime. The hero is gone, but his monument stands forever.