1. Ma Zhanshan was a Chinese general famous for resisting the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
20 Facts About Ma Zhanshan
1. 2.
Ma Zhanshan became a national hero in China by fighting the unsuccessful but highly symbolic Jiangqiao campaign against the Kwantung Army's advance into Heilongjiang.
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Ma Zhanshan then joined and took command of the guerrilla campaign against Japanese occupation, taking with him large amounts of supplies, funds, and military intelligence.
4.
Ma Zhanshan rejoined the Northeastern Army after the guerrilla movement was largely defeated.
5.
Ma Zhanshan continued to oppose Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance and supported the Xi'an Incident that forced Chiang to form the Second United Front with the Chinese Communist Party.
6.
Ma Zhanshan commanded several units in the National Revolutionary Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War while covertly cooperating with the CCP.
7.
Ma Zhanshan was of Manchu heritage and his grandson Ma Zhiwei, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, mentioned the Manchu ethnicity of the family in his official biography and news report as well.
8.
Ma Zhanshan started his military career in Zhang Zuolin's Northeastern Army, serving as a brigade commander of 5th Cavalry Brigade, 17th Cavalry Division, then as brigadier of 3rd Infantry Brigade of the Heilongjiang Army.
9.
Zhang Xueliang telegraphed the Nanjing Government to ask for instructions, and then appointed Ma Zhanshan to act as Governor and Military Commander-in-chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 10,1931.
10.
Ma Zhanshan flew to Shenyang in January 1932, where he attended the meeting that founded the puppet state of Manchukuo.
11.
Ma Zhanshan secretly transported weapons and ammunition out of the arsenals, and evacuated the wives and families of his troops to safety.
12.
General Ma Zhanshan commanded 3,500 guerrilla fighters against the Japanese, conducting attacks such as a raid on the Manchukuo treasury, attacking Changchun, the capital, and hijacking six Japanese planes from an airfield.
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Ma Zhanshan was allegedly one of the commanders of the Soviet army during the Xinjiang War, during which he fought against the fellow Muslim General Ma Hushan.
14.
Ma Zhanshan went to Chiang Kai-shek to ask for armies to fight against the Japanese but was refused assistance.
15.
Ma Zhanshan established a headquarters in Datong in August 1937, led his troops to fight the Japanese in Chahar, Suiyuan Datong and Shanxi, and cooperated with Fu Zuoyi's troops in the defense of Suiyuan and in the Yinshan War.
16.
Ma Zhanshan abhorred the nonresistance policy of the Kuomintang government and he sided with the Chinese Communist Party in its anti-Japanese policy.
17.
Ma Zhanshan visited Yan'an in 1939 in order reach an accommodation with the Eighth Route Army.
18.
Ma Zhanshan was appointed as Chairman of the Provisional Government of Heilongjiang in August 1940 by the Chinese Communist Party, and held that title in secret to the end of the war.
19.
Ma Zhanshan took office in Shenyang, but a half year later he retired to his home in Beijing saying he was ill.
20.
Ma Zhanshan crossed over to the Communist Party in January 1949 after persuading General Fu Zuoyi to allow the city to be peacefully transferred to the Communists.