Born in Linqing, Shandong, he was the highest-ranked officer and the only Army group commander of the NRA to die in the war.

He showed great valor in the field and was regarded as one of the most valiant and respectable Chinese generals by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

General Zhang Zizhong, commander of the eight divisions that constituted the Chinese 33rd Army Group, was killed at approximately 4:00 p.m. on May 16, 1940, in fighting at Shilichangshan (‘Ten li mountain’) near Nanguadian in Northern Hubei.

In the ensuing hand-to-hand combat, General Zhang had been wounded seven times in all, by grenade, bullet, and finally by bayonet.

The victorious Japanese realized Zhang's identity only when a major discovered, in the left breast pocket of his blood-soaked yellow uniform, a fine gold pen engraved with his name.