In February 1917, at the age of 15, he joined the army and participated in the
Constitutional Protection Movement. From 1923, he was selected to study engineering at the
Yunnan Military Academy and successfully graduated the next year. In 1926, he participated in the
Northern Expedition. In March 1927, Zhou served as deputy commander of the 56th Regiment of the Sixth Army of
Cheng Qian's National Revolutionary Army. In 1927, he joined the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in
Wuhan. During this time, he engaged in troop movement and liaison work in
Hunan,
Zhejiang,
Henan and other provinces. At the end of 1928, Zhou entered the special class of
Communist University of the Toilers of the East in the
Soviet Union to study military affairs, where his classmate was future
Marshal of China Ye Jianying. Later, he was transferred to the
International Lenin School to study politics.
Second Sino-Japanese War After the
September 18th incident in 1931, he returned to China and went to the
Northeast, which was then part of the Japanese puppet state of
Manchukuo, to serve in the leadership of the
Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. He served as a member of the Manchuria Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Military Commission of the CCP. During this time, he changed his name to
Zhou Baozhong. As chief of the general staff, he led the army in two battles to conquer
Antu County and three battles against the city of
Ning'an. In February 1934, he led the formation of the
Suining Anti-Japanese Allied Forces, served as the chairman of the military committee, and led his troops to carry out guerrilla activities in Ning'an. Zhou successively served as the commander of the 5th Army of the
Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army. The unit fought mostly within the
Heilongjiang Province. In March 1937, he commanded troops to fight Yilan City, where they caused more than 300 Japanese casualties. In October 1937, the Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth armies of the Anti-Japanese Army was reorganized into the 2nd Route Army. Zhou served as the commander-in-chief of the Second Route Army of the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army and secretary of the CCP
Jidong Provincial Committee. The main guerrilla bases were located in more than 20 counties on the banks of
Songhua and
Ussuri Rivers. After the reorganization of the army in 1937, Zhou became the commander of the Third Route Army, which was active in the mountainous areas of eastern
Jilin Province. In 1940, the unit withdrew into the
Soviet Union for training, after suffering from massive losses due to Japanese retaliatory attacks. This was in accordance with the discussions between Zhou,
Li Zhaolin and Feng Zhongyun with the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union Committee of the Far Eastern Territory and the Soviet Far Eastern Army at headquarters in
Khabarovsk. During this time, he met and became acquainted with future
leader of North Korea Kim Il Sung, who also served in Zhou's unit. In early August 1941, the teaching brigade of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Forces was established in the Soviet Union, with Zhou serving as the brigade commander. In February 1942, Zhou Baozhong and
Zhao Shangzhi returned to the Northeast Second Route Army headquarters from Soviet Union. On August 1, the Northeast Anti-Japanese Army was reorganized into the
88th Separate Rifle Brigade of the
Soviet Red Army’s
Far Eastern Front, and Zhou was appointed as its commander. Zhou was made a Lieutenant Colonel in the
Red Army. In August 1945, following the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria, Zhou led his troops in cooperating with the Red Army's march into the Northeast China. As a result, the troops were transferred from the Northeast to the
Eighth Route Army and the
New Fourth Army. On August 11, Zhou summoned troops to board the ship according to a predetermined plan and arrived in Heilongjiang to return home. (1948) He also served as secretary of the Jihe District Party Committee, commander and
political commissar of the Jihe National Army, and chairman of the Jihe Administrative Committee in Hubei. In November, the Jilin Provincial Working Committee and Jilin Military Region were established. Zhou served as a member of the Provincial Working Committee and commander of the Jilin Military Region. In January 1946, the Northeast People's Autonomous Army was renamed as Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, and Zhou served as the deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army and commander of the Jilin Military Region. On April 14, 1946, part of the main force of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army, together with the Jilin Military Region, was divided into three
columns under the command of Zhou to attack the Kuomintang units in Changchun. The battle led to the destruction of Kuomintang's Northeast Security Corps fourth and fifth units, leading to a major Chinese Communist military victory in the Northeast in October 1948. However, after the Democratic Alliance Army was renamed the Northeastern People's Liberation Army in January 1948, it was reorganized into the Fourth Field Army in November 1948 and on the same month, Zhou was dismissed as a deputy commander. In September 1949, Zhou Baozhong served as commander-in-chief and political commissar of the Northeast People's Self-Defense Army, deputy commander-in-chief of the Northeast Democratic Alliance Army and commander of the Dongman Military Region, chairman of the Jilin Provincial Government, deputy commander of the
Northeast Military Region of the Chinese
People's Liberation Army and commander of the Jilin Military Region. He also served as the Northeast Member of the Standing Committee of the Administrative Committee. ==Political career==