Zhang Zongxun, this name has a high place in Chinese history and the People's Liberation Army. He joined hands with General *** to maneuver with Hu Zongnan's troops in the northwest battlefield during the Liberation War, and finally defeated the reactionaries and made indelible contributions to China's national liberation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was awarded the rank of general, and at the same time served as deputy chief of the general staff, becoming one of the core high-ranking members of the PLA.
Born into a homesteader family, Zhang Zongxun had a relatively prosperous childhood. His parents were able to provide for him to receive a good education. At the age of 7, he entered a private school in the countryside for basic education, and at the age of 12 he transferred to the town's primary school. At this stage, under the influence of his classmates, Zhang Zongxun began to come into contact with left-wing ideas and participated in the newly established Young Pioneers and other revolutionary activities.
In 1924, at the age of 17, he joined the Komsomol. Following the instructions of the organization, he went deep into the countryside to organize the poor peasants and wage a struggle against the oppressive classes of the landlords and gentry. He not only participated in the peasant movement, but also established night schools, on the one hand, to teach basic literacy to peasants and workers for free, and on the other hand, to spread communist ideas and attract more people with lofty ideals to join the revolutionary ranks.
In 1925, Zhang Zongxun joined the Kuomintang in his personal capacity, and the following year he was recommended to study at the Whampoa Military Academy. But when Chiang Kai-shek began to ostracize the Communists and demanded that the cadets of the Whampoa Military Academy not have both Kuomintang and Communist identities at the same time, Zhang Zongxun made a firm choice. Although Chiang Kai-shek had personally spoken to him and tried to persuade him to stay in the Kuomintang with sweet words, Zhang Zongxun did not waver and was determined to stand on the side of the red.
In 1927, after the failure of the Great Revolution, Zhang Zongxun went to the junction of Hunan and Jiangxi at the instructions of the party organization. Under his leadership, he launched a large-scale insurrection with the masses of workers and peasants, dealing a heavy blow to the local reactionary forces. After that, he followed *** to Jinggangshan and participated in the creation of the first base of the revolution.
In 1928, Zhang Zongxun was promoted to Red Army company commander. In the following years, he repeatedly led his troops to repel the Kuomintang troops attacking the Soviet area, holding on to the flame of communism.
With the progress of the revolutionary situation, by 1930, Zhang Zongxun had been promoted to division commander and became an important general in the Red Army. With his outstanding military talent and absolute loyalty to the party, he has won a high degree of trust from *** and ***. At the critical moments of the revolution, he was always able to stand up and create a miracle of victory for the party and the people.
In 1934, Zhang Zongxun was appointed as the senior leader of the ** column on the eve of the Long March, shouldering the important task of protecting the ** column. However, fate soon put him to the test. In 1935, he was unfortunately wounded by shrapnel in a battle in Guizhou, although the injuries were serious, but with strong perseverance and timely medical assistance, he finally survived the life-and-death crisis.
After the end of the Long March, Zhang Zongxun served as the commander of the guard unit and shouldered the important task of protecting the leaders of *** and ***. Some people half-jokingly called him the "Commander of the Forbidden Army".
After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, Zhang Zongxun was appointed as a brigade commander of the Eighth Route Army. He led his army across the Yellow River, went to Shanxi to fight the Japanese army, and joined forces with friendly forces to create an important revolutionary base in the northwest of Shanxi, forming a three-legged momentum with the Taiyue and Taihang base areas.
When the threat of the Kuomintang reactionary forces to Yan'an increased, ** decided to transfer Zhang Zongxun to lead troops back to northern Shaanxi, build a defensive line in the south of Yan'an, and make full combat preparations.
During the War of Liberation, Zhang Zongxun fought side by side with General ***, jointly commanded the Northwest Battlefield, successfully defeated Hu Zongnan's troops, and made great contributions to the liberation of the Northwest Region.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Zongxun continued to play an important role in the army. He was promoted to the rank of general, concurrently served as deputy chief of the General Staff, and in 1973 he was transferred to the post of chief of general logistics, making indelible contributions to the construction and development of the PLA.
After retiring from the army, Zhang Zongxun lived a quiet life in Beijing, enjoying the company of his family. His children and grandchildren are also very good, especially the second son Zhang Youxia, who not only inherited his father's military talent, but also gained the reuse of high-level leaders and became the core leaders of the new generation of the PLA.
In short, General Zhang Zongxun's life is full of legends. He grew from a rural boy to a great general, and devoted countless painstaking efforts to China's revolution and construction. His story teaches us that with faith and determination, anyone can make history.