36th Division ( National Revolutionary Army ) The 36th Division was a cavalry division in the National Revolutionary Army . It was created in 1932 by the Kuomintang for General Ma Zhongying , who was also its first commander . It was made almost entirely out of Hui Muslim troops , all of its officers were Hui , with a few thousand Uighurs forced conscripts in the rank and file . It was commonly referred to as the " KMT 36th Division " , or " Tungan 36th Division " . Original organization . General Ma Zhongying , a Muslim who had trained under Chiang Kai - shek at Whampoa Military Academy in Nanjing in 1929 was the 36th Division Chief . Kamal Kaya Efendi , a Turk and a former Ottoman military officer was chief - of - staff to Ma Zhongying . 1st Brigade commanded by General Ma Ju - lung . 2nd Brigade commanded by General Ma Sheng - kuei Cavalry regiments were divided into 2 , 000 men each , by horse color , black , brown , or white . Infantry then followed cavalry . Su Chin - shou was General Ma Zhancang ' s chief of staff . Pai Tzu - li was another commander in the 36th division . An unnamed 36th division general was encountered by Peter Flemings . Ma Hushan was original Deputy Divisional Commander , then promoted to Chief of the 36th division . Equipment . Primary equipment consisted of Dadao swords , bolt action Lee - Enfield rifles , captured Soviet rifles , machine guns , and light cannons . Soviet rifles marked with 1930 dates were seized by Chinese Muslim soldiers from Russians during the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang as war booty . Uniform and Insignia . Ma Zhancang ' s troops wore green uniforms . Many of the troops wore Kuomintang Blue Sky with a White Sun armbands , and used Kuomintang Blue Sky with a White Sun banners . Training . Ma Zhongying made his men train in subzero temperatures , and they used shadow fencing to train and parallel bars for exercise . Ma Hushan forced his men to drill every day , conducting siege maneuvers and cavalry attacks . Peter Flemings said " I have never seen troops in China train so hard . " It is documented that troops sang Chinese Muslim marching songs , Ma Zhongying himself had a harmonium with him , spending hours playing Muslim hymns on it . He also kept Mauser pistols . Ma Zhongying cited as his role models Genghis Khan , Napoleon , Bismark , Hindenburg , and Zuo Zongtang . Xinjiang war . Kizil massacre . Uighur and Kirghiz Turkic fighters broke their agreement not to attack a column of retreating Han Chinese and Chinese Muslim soldiers from Kashgar . Battle of Aksu . A minor battle in which Chinese Muslim troops were expelled from the Aksu oases of Xinjiang by Uighurs when they rose up in revolt . Battle of Sekes Tash . A minor battle when Chinese Muslim troops under general Ma Zhancang attacked and inflicted a defeat upon uighur and Kirghiz armies at Sekes Tesh . About 200 uighur and Kirghiz were killed . Battle of Kashgar ( 1933 ) . Uighur and Kirghiz forces led by the Bughra brothers and Tawfiq Bay attempted to take the city of Kashgar from Chinese Muslim troops under General Ma Zhancang . They were defeated . Han chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into Ma Zhancang ' s army . A number of Han chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang ' s unit of the 36th division , presumably they had converted to Islam . Battle of Urumqi . The 36th division twice ( First Battle of Urumqi and Second Battle of Urumqi ) attempted to take the city of Urumqi , the second time , they were joined by a Han Chinese army under Zhang Peiyuan . Battle of Tutung . In 1934 , 2 brigades of Soviet Gosudarstvennoye Politicheskoye Upravlenie ( GPU ) troops of about 7 , 000 backed by tanks , planes , and artillery with mustard gas , attacked the 36th division near Tutung . The battle raged for several weeks on the Tutung frozen river . 36th division troops dressed up in sheepskins in the snow , and charged Soviet machine gun posts with swords to defeat a Soviet pincer attack . Soviet planes bombed the 36th division with mustard gas . Heavy casualties mounted on both sides before Ma Zhongying ordered the 36th division to withdraw . Battle of Dawan Cheng . Ma Zhongying encountered a Soviet armored car column of a few hundred soldiers near Dawan Cheng . The 36th division wiped out nearly the entire column , after engaging the Soviet in savage hand to hand combat , and rolled the wrecked Soviet armored cars off the mountainsides . When a White Russian force showed up , Ma Zhongying withdrew . Battle of Kashgar ( 1934 ) . 36th division General Ma Fuyuan stormed Kashgar , and attacked the Uighur and Kirghiz rebels of the First East Turkestan Republic . He freed another 36th division general , Ma Zhancang , who was trapped by the Uighurs and Kirghiz . Ma Zhancang repulsed six Uighur attacks , inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces . 2 , 000 to 8 , 000 uighur civilians were killed , in revenge for the Kizil massacre . General Ma Zhongying gave a speech at Idgah mosque , reminding the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China government at Nanjing . Several citizens at the British consulate were killed by the 36th division . Battle of Yangi Hissar . Ma Zhancang led the 36th division to attack Uighur forces at Yangi Hissar , wiping out the entire Uighur force , and killing the Emir Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra . Battle of Yarkand . Ma Zhancang defeated the Uighur and Afghan volunteers sent by king Mohammed Zahir Shah , and exterminated them all . The emir Abdullah Bughra was killed and beheaded , his head put on display at Idgah mosque . Charkhlik Revolt . The 36th division under General Ma Hushan crushed a revolt by the Uighurs in the Charkhlik oasis . Administration of Tunganistan . The 36th division under General Ma Hushan administered the oases of southern Xinjiang , and their administration was dubbed " Tunganistan " by western travelers . Ma Hushan and the 36th division declared their loyalty to the Kuomintang government in Nanjing and sent emissaries to Nanjing requesting aid to fight against Sheng Shicai ' s provincial forces and the Soviet Union . The administration which was set up was colonial in nature , the Chinese Muslims started putting up street signs and names in Chinese , which used to be in only Uighur language . They also sought to live a Chinese lifestyle , importing Chinese cooks and baths . Islam barely played a role except as a " vague spiritual focus " for unified opposition against Sheng Shicai and the Soviet Union . The Uighurs in the Charklik oases revolted against the 36th division in 1935 , and the Chinese Muslims crushed the Uighur insurgents , executed 100 people , and took the family of the Uighur chief as hostages . Camels were requisitioned by the 36th Division in Cherchen . Redesignation Prior to the Sino - Japanese War . In summer 1937 however , the 36th Division was reorganised as a German trained infantry division for the Battles of Shanghai and Nanking . In 1942 this division under Major General Li Chih - peng and sent into Burma as part of the Chinese Expeditionary Force to secure the Burma Road and rescue British forces . It played a pivotal part in the Chinese retreat from Burma and successfully blocked the Japanese 56th Division ' s advance in the Battle of Salween River in 1942 .