His best known victory was at the Battle of Jieting in 228, in which he defeated the Shu general Ma Su by cutting off the enemy's access to water supplies and then attacking them.

[3] Zhang He was from Mao County (鄚縣), Hejian State (河閒國), which is in present-day Maozhou, Hebei.

He was commissioned as a Major (司馬) and placed under the command of Han Fu, the Inspector of Ji Province (present-day southern Hebei).

[8] Yuan Shao had sent his general Chunyu Qiong to guard his army's supply depot at Wuchao (烏巢; southeast of present-day Yanjin County, Henan).

[17] In 206, Zhang He participated in the campaign against pirate forces led by Guan Cheng (管承) in Donglai Commandery (東萊郡; around present-day Yantai and Weihai, Shandong).

[18][19] In 209, after the Battle of Red Cliffs,[20] Chen Lan (陳蘭) and Mei Cheng (梅成) started a rebellion in Lu County (六縣; in present-day Lu'an, Anhui).

[21][22] In 211,[20] Zhang He participated in the Battle of Weinan against a coalition of warlords from the Guanzhong region led by Ma Chao and Han Sui.

[23] In 212,[20] Zhang He accompanied Xiahou Yuan on a campaign against another of the warlords, Liang Xing (梁興), and the Di tribes in Wudu Commandery (武都郡; in present-day Longnan, Gansu).

He ordered Zhang He to lead 5,000 infantry to clear the path after entering Hanzhong via San Pass (散關; southwest of present-day Baoji, Shaanxi).

[30] He garrisoned his forces at Yangping Pass (陽平關; in present-day Ningqiang County, Shaanxi) while Zhang He stationed his troops at Guangshi (廣石).

Liu Bei divided his thousands of elite soldiers into ten groups and ordered them to attack Zhang He's position at night.

Zhang He personally led his men to resist Liu Bei's forces and succeeded in holding off the enemy.

In the meantime, Liu Bei set fire to the fences at Zhang He's camp in Zouma Valley (走馬谷).

Guo Huai, a Major who served under Xiahou Yuan, expressed support for Zhang He to be the new commander.

During the battle, Zhang He supervised the Wei forces as they captured an island on the Yangtze River and started constructing a small castle on it.

[39] Cao Rui ordered Zhang He to garrison in Jing Province to defend Wei's southern border from Eastern Wu.

Zhang He was recalled back from Jing Province to defend Wei's western borders in the Guanzhong region (covering areas in present-day Gansu and Shaanxi) from the Shu armies.

Later that year, he defeated the Shu general Ma Su at the Battle of Jieting by first cutting off the enemy's access to water supplies and then attacking them.

Cao Rui issued an imperial decree to praise Zhang He for his success in repelling the Shu invasion and reward him by adding 1,000 taxable households to his marquisate.

Cao Rui ordered Zhang He to lead forces from the Guanzhong region to Jing Province to support Sima Yi.

However, when they arrived in Jing Province, it was already in winter and the waters were unsuitable for the larger ships to sail on, hence the campaign was aborted.

Cao Rui summoned Zhang He back to the capital Luoyang to discuss plans to counter the Shu invasion[45] but they met in Henan instead.

"[46] Zhang He predicted that Zhuge Liang's forces could not maintain the siege on Chencang for long because they lacked supplies.

Zhang He had four sons, who were all enfeoffed as marquises by Cao Rui in recognition of their father's contributions to Wei.

The eldest, Zhang Xiong (張雄), inherited his father's title and became the next Marquis of Mao (鄚侯).

He once recommended Bei Zhan (卑湛), a learned scholar who was known for his good moral conduct and who was from the same hometown as him, to serve in the Wei government.

Cao Rui accepted Zhang He's suggestion and appointed Bei Zhan as an Academician (博士).