- Northern Expedition (1926–1927)
The Northern Expedition (zh-cp |c=北伐|p=běi fá) was a military campaign led by the
Kuomintang (KMT) from1926 to1928 . Its main objective was to speed up the Chineserevolution againstfeudalism andimperialism plaguingChina after theXinhai Revolution and unify China under the Nationalist banner by ending the rule of localwarlord s.The term “Northern Expedition” may also be understood to include a related campaign in 1928, which is otherwise called the
Second Northern Expedition , during which theNational Revolutionary Army (NRA) capturedBeijing (8 June 1928 ) and paved the way for theChinese reunification (1928) .Objective
The Northern Expedition began from the KMT's power base in
Guangdong province. In 1925 the May 30th Movement announced the chains for strike and protest against western imperialism and its warlord agents in China. At the same time, the alliance between KMT and CPC was questioned after theZhongshan Warship Incident in March 1926, and the following events madeChiang Kai-shek the paramount military leader of KMT in effect. Although Chiang doubtedSun Yat-sen 's policy of alliance with theSoviet Union and CPC, he still needed aid from the Soviet Union, so he could not break up the alliance at that time. Above all, Chiang needed a stage to indicate his role of paramount leader and military talent. On the other hand, the Soviet Union and CPC cherished the alliance more than Chiang, as they did need a stage to show their friendship to the KMT. Thus all three parties agreed to launch the Northern Expedition to solve their own problems.The main targets of this expedition consisted of three notorious and powerful warlords of China:
Zhang Zuolin who governedManchuria ,Wu Peifu in theCentral Plain of China andSun Chuanfang in eastern coast of China. Advised by the famous Russian generalVasily Blyukher using the pseudonym Galen, the HQ of the expedition decided to use all its power to defeat these warlords one by one: first Wu, then Sun, and finally Zhang. OnJuly 9 1926 , Chiang gave his lecture to 100,000 soldiers of theNational Revolutionary Army , which was set up by the students trained in theWhampoa Military Academy and equipped with Russian arsenal in the opening ceremony, which was the official commencement of Northern Expedition. NRA soldiers were far better organized than the warlord armies which they faced, for they had good military advisors, better weapons and commissars from CPC to inspire the soldiers. In addition, the NRA was regarded as a progressive force on behalf of ordinary people persecuted by warlords, for which it received warm welcome and strong support from peasants and workers. It was no surprise the NRA could march from Zhu River area toYangtze River in less than half a year and annihilate the main force of Wu and Sun, and strengthen its force from 100,000 to 250,000.Outcome
Today, the Northern Expedition is viewed positively by Chinese because it ended a period of disorder and started the formation of an effective central government. However it did not fully solve the warlord problem, as many warlords still had large armies that served their needs, not those of China.
The irony is that when the old warlords such as Wu and Sun were brought down, new warlords such as Chiang,
Li Zongren and hisNew Guangxi Clique arose. In addition,Yan Xishan 'sShanxi clique ,Feng Yuxiang and his Northwestern orGuominjun Clique,Zhang Xueliang of the Northeastern or Fengtian Clique remained.Local provincial warlords seized or enhanced their power such as
Tang Shengzhi inHunan ,Chiang Kuang-Nai inFujian ,Sheng Shicai ofXinjiang ,Long Yun ofYunnan ,Wang Jialie ofGuizhou , Liu Xiang andLiu Wenhui of theSichuan Clique,Han Fuqu ofShandong ,Bie Tingfang (别廷芳) ofHenan , the Ma Clique ofMa Bufang and his family inQinghai ,Ma Hongkui inNingxia , andMa Zhongyin inGansu ,Chen Jitang and his Cantonese Clique,Lu Diping (鲁涤平) ofJiangxi ,Jing Yuexiu (井岳秀) ofShaanxi .The wars between these new warlords claimed more lives than ever in the 1930's. This would prove to be a major headache for the KMT all the way through WW2 and the following civil war.
However, Chiang did get the greatest benefit from the expedition, for the victory achieved his personal goal of becoming paramount leader. Furthermore, Chiang made the military command superior to KMT party leadership, which resulted in his dictatorship later.
Significantly, even before the objectives of the Northern Expedition had been achieved cooperation between KMT and CPC broke down. In the
April 12 Incident in the summer of 1927, CPC members and parts of the KMT political left-wing broke their ties with Chiang. But with the military now firmly in Chiang's grasp, these proved no match for him, and all CPC members of the KMT were expelled. This would also prove to be the beginning of a 20 year long KMT/CPC civil war that ended with the KMT's withdrawal to Taiwan in 1949.It is worth noting that the Northern Expedition was one of the only two times in Chinese history when China was united by a conquest from south to north. The other time was when the
Ming Dynasty succeeded in expelling the Mongol-Yuan Dynasty from China.ee also
*
National Revolutionary Army
*Whampoa Military Academy
*Chiang Kai-shek
*Military of the Republic of China
*History of the Republic of China
*Sino-German cooperation
*Central Plains War
*Kuomintang External links
* [http://www.mnd.gov.tw/English/ ROC Ministry of National Defense Official Website]
* [http://museum.mnd.gov.tw/English/index.aspx The Armed Forces Museum of ROC]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.