Zhang Lingfu Zhang Lingfu ( ; August 20 , 1903 – May 16 , 1947 ) was a high - ranking general of the Chinese National Revolutionary Army . He successfully fought against the Communists and the Imperial Japanese Army . In 1947 , his unit was surrounded by Chinese communist forces commanded by Field Marshal Chen Yi and General Su Yu , unable to breakout from the communist encirclement because the relief efforts headed by his nationalist colleagues did not arrive on time , he was killed in action in the Menglianggu Campaign on May 16 , 1947 . Early years . Zhang was born with the given name of Zhonglin ( 鐘麟 ) in a rural gentry family outside of Xi ' an , the capital of Shaanxi province . He was a gifted calligrapher during his middle school days and was praised by his schoolmaster Yu Youren , a famous calligrapher and educator of the time . In 1924 , he was admitted to the University of Beijing as a history major . In 1924 he abandoned his studies and traveled with other young students to the South , joining the Whampoa Military Academy , some of his notable classmates included Du Yuming , Fan Hanjie , Li Mi , Qiu Qingquan , Hu Lian , Liu Yuzhang , Guan Linzheng and Lin Biao . As a member of the fourth graduating class of the Academy , he joined the first corps of the National Revolutionary Army , Chiang Kai - shek served as the corps commander as well as commander - in - chief of the North Expedition . After the KMT - CCP split occurred , he stayed with the Chinese Nationalist Party and served at platoon , battalion , and regiment levels during the Anti - Communist Encirclement Campaigns against the Jiangxi Soviet under nationalist general Hu Zongnan . In 1936 , he suspected his wife of being a communist sympathizer ; she stole some military documents from him , so he shot her dead in his home . Generalissimo Chiang Kai - shek sentenced him to ten years in prison . Second Sino - Japanese War . After serving in the prison for less than a year , the Second Sino - Japanese War broke out , his senior classmate Wang Yaowu successfully bailed him out of prison and appointed him as a regiment commander , Zhang participated the brutal street fighting in the Battle of Shanghai and Battle of Nanjing . In 1938 he was promoted to brigade commander , during the Battle of Wanjialing of the Wuhan theatre , he personally led a detachment that cut off the Japanese retreat route and ensured the final Chinese victory . In 1939 he was wounded in his left leg during the Battle of Nanchang . Although his doctor told after one more month of treatment his wounds could be healed , he returned to the army and participated in the Battle of Changsha . As a result , he was unable to recover from his injuries and his colleagues nicknamed him The lame legged general . Afterward , he was promoted to assistant division commander of the 51st division and deputy commander of 74th corps . In 1943 , Zhang personally led a task force which relieved the besieged Chinese defenders in the ferocious Battle of Changde and forced the Imperial Japanese Army to retreat , and Chiang Kai - shek called him the model soldier . Although he failed to save General Fang Xianjue from the Japanese attacks during the Defense of Hengyang in 1944 , his unit fought well and he tried his best , so the National War Council did not take any action against him . After this rather unhappy episode in his military career , his old superior officer Wang Yaowu helped him again by sending Zhang to the Army War College to study , and Zhang graduated with top grades . In the May 1945 , he fought under Wang Yaowu in the Battle of West Hunan and was decorated with Order of Precious Tripod and Medal of Freedom , and He Yingqin promoted him as commander of 74th corps . Chinese Civil War . Soon after the Second Sino - Japanese War is concluded , the resumption of the Chinese Civil War occurred throughout most of the country . Chiang Kai - shek reorganized his American trained and equipped divisions into five elite units : Sun Li - jen ' s New First Army , Liao Yaoxiang ' s New 6th Army , Qiu Qingquan ' s Fifth Army , Hu Lian ' s 18th Army and Zhang ' s 74th corps . Like many of his own nationalist classmates , Zhang joined the early successful nationalist advance against the communist controlled areas , and scored a smashing victory in the Battle of Huaiyin – Huai ' an in the August 1946 against the communists . In early 1947 , Chiang shifted his strategy and launched attacks on Yenan and Shandong under nationalist general Hu Zongnan and commander - in - chief of the nationalist army general Gu Zhutong , Zhang ' s 74th division speared nationalist advance into Shangdong province . Communist commanders Chen Yi and Su Yu avoid to battle the nationalists because they tightly concentrated their formation together , which rendered the communist guerrilla tactics useless . Tang Enbo ordered Zhang Lingfu ' s 74th independent enhanced division to advanced further than their original goal , as a result he was trapped by 5 columns of communist troops , on May 12 , 1947 , Chiang ordered Huang Baitao ' s 25th corps , Li Tianxia ' s 83rd corps , Hu Lian ' s 11th independent enhanced division , Qiu Qingquan ' s 5th corps to save Zhang Lingfu from the communist encirclement . But Li Tianxia only sent a token force to help his beleaguered colleague because of jealousy , Huang Baitao did try his best but his relief efforts were beaten back despite being supported by tanks and air cover , Qiu Qingquan and Hu Lian were too far away from the actual battlefield to be much of help . The situation did not look good on the intelligence front either , when high - ranking communist moles in KMT department of defense , such as Guo Ruhuai ( ) and Liu Fei ( ) , leaked vital military plans to the communist commanders . The difficult terrain in the mountainous areas also made Zhang unable to use his heavy weaponry ; on the morning of May 16 , 1947 , Chiang issued another order on the pain of death to his commanders to save Zhang Lingfu and the 74th division , but none of the nationalist generals could make it on time . Zhang was killed in action in his cave hideout around 3 : 00 p . m . that same afternoon , although some sources cited that he committed suicide . Aftermath . Chiang Kai - shek lost one of his ablest generals in the Menglianggu Campaign and his elite 74th independent enhanced division was wiped out from nationalist order of battle . Although the unit was rebuilt later on , but it never regained the former strength of the old 74th independent enhanced division , and was again destroyed in the Huaihai Campaign next year . Because of this disastrous defeat , Chiang responded by relieving Gu Zhutong as commander - in - chief of the army , Tang Enbo lost his position as commander of the first army , Li Tianxia was court - martialled and would not be holding any command position for the next two years , while Huang Baitao received a serious reprimand but was allowed to stay on as commander of the 25th corps . Chiang Kai - shek personally arranged a state funeral for Zhang after recovering his remains from the Communist forces , and renamed the Mengyin County of Shangdong province in his honor , and a naval destroyer was also been named in his honor . When the nationalist government relocated to Taipei , the survivors of the 74th independent enhanced division transferred their commander ' s remains to the Martyrs ' Shrine in Taiwan . Trivia . In early 2009 , his widow sent a letter to KMT party chairman Wu Po - hsiung to ask for the reissuing of her husband ' s medals , since Zhang destroyed his medal box during the end of the Menglianggu Campaign . But the military spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense said his wife must make some payments in order to have those medals back . When the news broke in the media on November 9 of the same year , it caused a firestorm of controversy : the defense ministry held a press conference , apologized to his family , issued the medals right away and promised responsible parties involved in this scandal would be punished .