Duan Dechang was born in jiudushan Jiuwu factory, Nanzhou, Hunan Province in August 1904. In 1922, he entered Changsha Jacob middle school to study, participated in the organization of Marxist study groups, and carried out the patriotic student movement. In 1924, he Changgong and he founded Xinhua Middle School in Huarong to spread progressive ideas. After the May 30 massacre in 1925, he and the progressive youth initiated and organized the "snow disgrace Association of Nanxian County in Qinghu Massacre", often went to the county's Riverside wharf and traffic thoroughfares, banned foreign goods and severely punished the profiteers. He joined the Communist Youth League of China in June and transferred to the Communist Party of China in September. After that, he went to Guangzhou to study in the fourth Huangpu Military Academy and the central political workshop. After graduation in June 1926, he worked in the Political Department of the first division of the Eighth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and participated in the northern expedition.
After the failure of the 1927 revolution, Duan Dechang carried out revolutionary activities in Nanxian, Huarong, Shishou, public security and other places. He once served as secretary of the CPC Public Security County Committee and led the annual customs riots in the county. Peng Dehuai, head of the 1st regiment of Hunan independent 5th division of the Kuomintang army, was introduced to join the Communist Party of China.
From June 1928, Duan Dechang was appointed member of the special committee of the western Hubei Province of the Communist Party of China, leader of the guerrilla brigade in the western Hubei Province, chief of staff of the guerrilla general army and head of the independent division. He led the Ministry to establish guerrilla base areas in the border areas of Jianli and Mianyang. After February 1930, he served as the deputy commander and commander of the 1st column of the 6th army of the Chinese workers' and peasants' Red Army, the political commissar and commander of the 6th army of the 2nd corps, and the chief of the Red Guard of the Western Hunan Hubei Soviet Union County Government, and participated in the establishment and consolidation of the Western Hunan Hubei Soviet area centered on Honghu Lake.
In April 1931, Duan Dechang served as the division chief of the 9th division of the Red Army 3 (adapted from the Red Army 2). He commanded the army to succeed in successive battles, and won the battles of Sanguandian, Shagang, pujiguan, haoxue, Wangjiaqiao, longwangji, wenjiadun and Xingouzui. It is known as the "ever victorious general" by the army and people of the Western Soviet Area of Hunan, Hubei and Hubei.
In the autumn of this year, under the large-scale "encirclement and suppression" by the Kuomintang army, the Red Army was forced to leave the Honghu Soviet area. He led the 9th division to take on such arduous tasks as blocking and cutting off, and transferred to fight for more than 3500 kilometers, reaching the border of Hunan and Hubei in late December.
In May 1933, Duan Dechang died at the age of 29.