Chapter 50 Martyr Xia Guozhang (1894-1937)

Martyr Xia Guozhang, courtesy name Chaoran, was born in 1894 in Shatian Village, Rong County, Guangxi.He was smart and eager to learn since he was a child. He entered the village primary and secondary school at the age of five and was known as a child prodigy.Later, he was admitted to the county middle school with honors.Two years later, Xia Guozhang was admitted to Hubei Fazheng University. After witnessing the decline of the country and the miserable life of the people, he determined to join the army, save the country and the people, enrich the country and strengthen the army, so he was admitted to the Qinghe Army Officer Preparatory School, and later promoted to Baoding Military Officer Academy.

During his studies at school, Xia Guozhang was diligent and studious, trained hard, and achieved excellent results in previous exams, and was deeply loved by his classmates. In 1923, Xia Guozhang graduated from Baoding Military Academy, returned to Guangxi, and served as the captain's staff at the General Headquarters of the Xingui Army.Soon, he was transferred to the third company commander of the engineering battalion. In June 1926, the General Headquarters of the National Revolutionary Army was established in Guangzhou, preparing for the Northern Expedition to overthrow imperialism and its lackeys, the Beiyang warlords.Xia Guozhang was promoted to lieutenant colonel staff officer of the National Revolutionary Army General Headquarters.

In June 1928, Xia Guozhang was promoted to Colonel Staff Officer of the Twelfth Route Army Headquarters.In September, he was successively transferred to the head of the first regiment of the first division of the 17th army and the sixth regiment of the ninth division. In the spring of 1930, Xia Guozhang served as the colonel's staff at the General Command of the Third Army of the National Revolutionary Army. In the summer of 1931, he served as the captain of the colonel of the Nanning branch of the Central Military Academy.In 1932, he was admitted to the Central Army University for further study.In 1935, after graduating from the Army University, Xia Guozhang served as the colonel and section chief of the Fourth Army General Command.

In June 1936, Xia Guozhang served as the head of the 135th Regiment of the 45th Division of the Army.Soon he was promoted to deputy commander of the division. In May 1937, Xia Guozhang was promoted to the rank of Major General and served as the commander of the 522nd Brigade and the 135th Regiment of the 174th Division of the Army.In July, he was promoted to the deputy division of the 175th Division. In July 1937, the Japanese imperialists launched a large-scale war of aggression against China, and successively provoked wars in North China and Shanghai. Under the banner of the anti-Japanese national united front based on the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, the great anti-aggression war of the whole nation began.

At this time, the Songhu Battlefield became an important battleground between the enemy and ourselves in the early days of the war. The Japanese army continued to launch fierce attacks by virtue of its superior land, sea, and air force firepower.Our soldiers resisted tenaciously and hit the enemy hard with crude infantry weapons. The two sides fought desperately and suffered heavy casualties. At this time, General Xia Guozhang was ordered to lead his troops to the north, and entered the Songhu battlefield. He fought bravely and was unstoppable, repeatedly defeating the enemy's front.In late November, I shifted my strategy and withdrew from Songhu.General Xia was ordered to lead a brigade of strong men to guard Wuxing and cover the retreat of the army.

Soon, under the cover of planes, artillery and armored vehicles, tens of thousands of Japanese main forces surrounded Wuxing tightly and began a crazy siege battle.General Xia was trapped in an isolated city, fearless in the face of danger, and with a deep-seated hatred for Japanese imperialism, he put life and death aside.He personally went to the front line to command the battle, educated the officers and soldiers with the principle that they would win the war against Japan and would rather die than be slaves to the country, and encouraged them to fight the enemy bravely and serve the country. The attack was relentless, and he responded calmly. He beat the Japanese army with dense infantry firearms, crying and howling, leaving their corpses behind.Whenever the Japanese army rushed into our position, General Xia would take the lead, raised his arms and shouted, and led a brave team to counterattack, fighting hand-to-hand with extraordinary bravery, and killing the Japanese invaders, known as Bushido, with weak legs and trembling hands.But after several days of fierce fighting, my soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and the battle situation gradually turned against me.

On November 21, the Japanese army, which had suffered heavy losses, became furious. They concentrated a large number of aircraft, heavy artillery and elite troops. After launching a frenzied bombardment of our position, they began an intensive group charge.Our position was destroyed by artillery fire. General Xia led all the anti-Japanese soldiers to stand up to resist without fear, but in the end, because they were outnumbered, the Japanese army broke through the defense line. General Xia roared and rushed into the enemy line. In the anti-Japanese battlefield. In recognition of General Xia Guozhang's heroic deeds in resisting Japan and saving the country, the National Government specially presented the martyr Xia Guozhang as a lieutenant general.