The Northern Expedition (Chinese Chinese or the Sinitic language (汉语／漢語 Hànyǔ; 华语／華語 Huáyǔ; 中文 Zhōngwén) is a language family consisting of languages which are mostly mutually unintelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages: 北伐; pinyin Pinyin , or more formally Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音 / 漢語拼音), is currently the most commonly used romanization system for Standard Mandarin (标准普通话 / 標準普通話). Hànyǔ (汉语 / 漢語) means the Chinese language, and pīnyīn (拼音) means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or ": běi fá) was a military campaign led by the Kuomintang The Kuomintang of China (KMT); (Hanyu Pinyin: Guómíndǎng, GMD), translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party or Chinese National People's Party, is a political party of the Republic of China (Taiwan, ROC). It can be seen romanized as Guomindang (according to the Pinyin transcription system) in some contexts. It is the founding and the ruling (KMT) from 1926 Year 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar to 1928 Year 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. Its main objective was to unify China under the Kuomintang banner by ending the rule of local warlords A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war. The word has a strong connotation that the person. It led to the demise of the Beiyang government The Beiyang government or warlord government collectively refers to a series of military regimes that ruled from Beijing from 1912 to 1928 at Zhongnanhai. It was internationally recognized as the legitimate Government of the Republic of China. The name comes from the Beiyang Army which dominated its politics with the rise of Yuan Shikai who was a and the Chinese reunification of 1928.
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Preparation
Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a political and military leader of 20th century China, Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army, emerged from the Northern Expedition as the leader of China.The Northern Expedition began from the KMT's power base in Guangdong Guangdong is a province on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province. It surpassed Henan and Sichuan to become the most populous province in China in January 2005, registering 79 million permanent residents and 31 million migrants who lived in province. In 1925 the May 30th Movement The May Thirtieth Movement was a labor and anti-imperalist movement during the middle-period of the Republic of China era. It began when Shanghai Municipal Police officers opened fire on Chinese protesters in Shanghai's International Settlement. The shootings sparked international censure and nation-wide anti-foreign demonstrations announced plans for strike and protest against western imperialism and its warlord agents in China. At the same time, the alliance between KMT and Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and the ruling political party of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and is one of the world's largest political parties was questioned after the Zhongshan Warship Incident in March 1926, and the following events made Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975) was a political and military leader of 20th century China the paramount military leader of KMT in effect. Although Chiang doubted Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the Father of the Nation. Sun played an instrumental role in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty in October 1911, the last imperial dynasty of China. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of's policy of alliance with the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик (help·info), tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, IPA [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪ and CCP, he still needed aid from the Soviet Union, so he could not break up the alliance at that time.
The main targets of this expedition consisted of three notorious and powerful warlords of China: Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 (see Warlord Era in China). He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926. The economy of Manchuria, the basis of Zhang's power, was overtaxed by who governed Manchuria Manchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within People's Republic of China, or is divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast China , and historically referred as Guandong (simplified Chinese: , Wu Peifu in the Central Plain Zhongyuan or the Central Plain of China refers to the area on the lower reaches of the Yellow River which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization. It forms part of the North China Plain of China and Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang (1885 - November 13, 1935) aka the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protege of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu (1874-1939) in eastern coast of China. Advised by the famous Russian general Vasily 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.
First Expedition
On July 9, 1926, Chiang gave his lecture to 100,000 soldiers of the National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army (simplified Chinese: 国民革命军; traditional Chinese: 國民革命軍; pinyin: Guómín Gémìng Jūn, sometimes shortened to 國軍 or National Army) was the Military Arm of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1925 until 1947, as well as the national army of the Republic of China during the KMT's period of party rule, which was set up by the students trained in the Whampoa Military Academy The Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy , commonly known as the Whampoa Military Academy (traditional Chinese: 黃埔軍校; simplified Chinese: 黄埔军校; pinyin: Huángpŭ Jūnxiào), was a military academy in the Republic of China (ROC) that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in many of China's conflicts in the 20th and equipped with Russian and German weapons 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. 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 to Yangtze River The name Yangtze River, as well as other similar names such as Yangtse River, Yangzi River and Yangtze Kiang, is derived from Yangzi Jiang (simplified Chinese: 扬 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.
The Purge
With the defeat of the Zhili clique, Chiang thought it the opportune moment to dispense with his Communist allies. In the Shanghai massacre of April 12 The Shanghai massacre of 1927, also known as the April 12 Incident, was a large-scale purge of Communists from the Kuomintang in Shanghai, ordered by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek on 12 April 1927, during the Northern Expedition against the warlords, thousands of Communists were executed. This also caused a split between the KMT's left and right wings. The leftists, led by Wang Jingwei Wang Jingwei (May 4, 1883 – November 10, 1944), alternate name Wang Zhaoming (traditional Chinese: 汪兆銘), was a Chinese politician. He was initially known as a member of the left wing of the Kuomintang (KMT), but he was staunchly anti-Communist, and his politics veered sharply to the right later in his career. A close associate of Sun Yat-, ruled from Wuhan Wuhan (simplified Chinese: 武汉; traditional Chinese: 武漢; pinyin: Wǔhàn; Mandarin pronunciation: [wu˧˩xan˥˩] [Listen] ) is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in central China. It lies at the east of Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han. They maintained the alliance with the CCP and condemned Chiang's purge. As a result, the party and its military forces were disorganized during the late summer of 1927.
Warlord Counteroffensive
The purge gave the warlords an opportunity to rebuild their armies and counter the now weakened Kuomintang. Sun Chuanfang Sun Chuanfang (1885 - November 13, 1935) aka the "Nanking Warlord" or leader of the "League of Five Provinces" was a Zhili clique warlord and protege of the "Jade Marshal" Wu Peifu (1874-1939) began to marshal his forces with his ally Xu Kun, one of China's best generals. At the same time, Sun was communicating with Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 (see Warlord Era in China). He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926. The economy of Manchuria, the basis of Zhang's power, was overtaxed by of Manchuria Manchuria is a historical name given to a vast geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria either falls entirely within People's Republic of China, or is divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast China , and historically referred as Guandong (simplified Chinese: , requesting assistance of any kind in the hopes of regaining his lost territory, including Nanking. He brought up an army of one hundred thousand men and arranged them around the Lower Yangtze River. His plan was to begin an all-out attack upon the Nationalist forces of Chiang, Li Zongren Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen (13 August 1890 - 30 January 1969), courtesy name Delin (德鄰), was prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang (KMT) military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. He served as vice-president and acting president of the Republic of China under the 1947 Chinese Constitution and Bai Chongxi, drive them away from the Yangtze and Nanking and pursue them southward back into Guangzhou, where the expedition had started.
Opposing the rejuvenated warlord armies were three Kuomintang Armies, referred to as the "Route Armies". The First Route Army, north of Nanking Nanjing (Chinese: 南京; Romanizations: Nánjīng (Pinyin), Nan-ching (Wade-Giles), Nanking (Postal map spelling); Mandarin pronunciation: [nan˧˥ t͡ɕiŋ˥˥]) is the capital of Jiangsu Province, China and a city with a prominent place in Chinese history and culture. The different spellings 'Nanjing' or 'Nanking' bear the same Chinese name ' in Jiangsu Jiangsu (simplified Chinese: 江苏; traditional Chinese: 江蘇; pinyin: Jiāngsū; Wade–Giles: Chiang-su; Postal map spelling: Kiangsu) is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning (now Nanjing), and su, for the city of Suzhou. The Province; the Second Route, to the west of the First and centered around the city of Xuzhou Xuzhou , known as Pengcheng (Chinese: 彭城; pinyin: Péngchéng) in ancient times, is the fourth largest prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It is known for its convenient location as a transportation hub in northern Jiangsu, as it has expressways and railway links connecting directly to the provinces of Henan, and the Third on the west of Xuzhou closer to Wuhan in the South, protecting against any intervention by the Leftist Wuhan forces. The Nationalists could afford to muster the same amount of manpower but was very divided by political tensions and leadership conflicts. Yet, it was the element of surprise that gave Sun and Xu Kun the advantage for their attack was not fully expected by Chiang or his military commanders. Finally, the Nationalists had stationed many of their troops on the northern side of the Yangtze in order to hold Xuzhou that had left them exposed to the warlord armies and their impending counteroffensive. Thus, Chiang had sent a large number of troops into positions in which they could neither defend properly, without the combined support of the army, nor defend with any real purpose, setting the stage for the last great struggle of the Warlord Era The warlord era is the period in the history of the Republic of China, from 1916 to 1928, when the country was divided among military cliques, a division that continued until the fall of the Nationalist government in the mainland China regions of Sichuan, Shanxi, Qinghai, Ningxia, Guangdong, Guangxi, Gansu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang.
Sun Chuanfang, on July 24, ordered the counterattack to begin. His army, including Xu Kun's forces, tore through the surprised Nationalist forces, resulting in the loss of Xuzhou in northern Jiangsu province. The Second Route Army, stationed in the area, was forced to withdraw south, using the Long-Hai railway as an escape route. The other Route Armies also began to retreat south toward the Yangtze as the warlord armies routed any remaining troops in their path. Chiang, who was astounded to hear that Xuzhou had fallen, sacked the army's commander, Wang Tianpei, and ordered that Xuzhou be retaken. Against the advice of Li Zongren, who thought it was better to withdraw south, Chiang, having exclaimed, "I will not return to Nanking until Xuzhou is back in our possession". He launched his attack with the Second Route Army in August, resulting in a terrible defeat for the Nationalists. This defeat led to Chiang's immediate resignation on Aug. 6th as head of the Nanking Government, prompting him to move to Shanghai, where his loyal supporters followed. Following this, Li Zongren and other military leaders evacuated the whole army to the Yangtze with the principle goal of defending Nanking.
Nationalist Rapprochement
Li Zongren, if only in name, the de facto leader of the Nanking Government, set out to negotiate the possible reconciliation between the Wuhan and Nanking Governments. The talks, however, were interrupted on Aug. 24th when Sun's troops, supported by Wuhan dissenters, attacked the Yangtze warship that Li was staying on. Yet, the talks had succeeeded in getting Wuhan to cooperate with the Nanking Government. Wang Jingwei, upon the end of negotiations, order the purging of all Communists with Wuhan. This resulted in a military coup by Communist troops in Nanchang of Jiangxi Province, leaving eight thousand Nationalists dead while many others fled. As a result, chaos broke out in Wuhan, contributing to its destabilization and the strengthening of the Nanking Government.
The Battle of Longtan
On Aug. 25th, Sun Chuanfang's army, now close to the Yangtze, launched an all-out attack upon the Nationalist Forces. The worst hit was the First Route Army, defending the strategically placed city of Longtan, vital to the supply of Nanking via Shanghai Shanghai is the most populous city in China and one of the most populous cities in the world. A global city, Shanghai exerts influence over global commerce, finance, culture, art, fashion, research and entertainment. The city is located at the middle part of the coast of mainland China, it sits at the mouth of the Yangtze. The battle raged around Longtan, especially on Mt. Wulongshan, where Nationalist troops stubbornly held out far longer than any expected, assuring that Sun could not continue his advance to Nanking. Bai Chongxi, recognizing the importance of Longtan, ordered reinforcements to be brought up as quickly as possible. Units of the Seventh and Nineteenth Corps arrived on the scene on the 28th and pushed Sun's battered army back to Longtan, relieving Mt. Wulongshan's defenders and buying time for further troops to arrive. On August 30, the full might of the Second Route Army attacked Longtan and, by late afternoon, recaptured the city. Sun's army, with losses equal to two-thirds of their original strength, fled across the Yangtze in defeat.
Second Expedition
The period between September and November were calm periods of time in which the Nationalists, once more led by the reinstated Chiang Kai-shek, reorganized themselves, though it was not until Jan. 2 that it was formally announced. The Wuhan government, finally bowing to pressure, reconciled itself with Chiang and formally merged with the Nanking Government. On Dec. 12, the Nationalist forces, after reoccupying most of the territory lost that summer, recaptured Xuzhou. In response, Zhang Zuolin Zhang Zuolin was the warlord of Manchuria from 1916 to 1928 (see Warlord Era in China). He successfully invaded China proper in October 1924 in the Second Zhili-Fengtian War. He gained control of Peking, including China's internationally recognized government, in April 1926. The economy of Manchuria, the basis of Zhang's power, was overtaxed by ordered that all loyal troops join his Anguo-jun Army, which had formed in response to the losses incurred by Sun Chuanfang's counteroffensive. Yet, it was not until April 2, following the conclusion of the Fourth Meeting of the Congress of the Kuomintang that Chiang ordered the beginning of the Second Expedition.
The Nationalists swept across the remains of Sun Chuanfang's and Xu Kun's Zhili Clique forces and reached the Yellow River in mid-April, 1928. When Yan Xishan Yan Xishan, (8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China declared his intention to take Beijing, Zhang decided it was best to evacuate. On June 4, Zhang, who was heading north from Beijing by train, was assassinated by Japanese conspirators, operating from Japan's Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army , also known as the Guandong Army (simplified Chinese: 关东军; traditional Chinese: 關東軍; pinyin: Guāndōngjūn; Wade-Giles: Kwan-dong gun; Korean: 관동군), was an army group of the Imperial Japanese Army in the early twentieth century. It became the largest and most prestigious command in the IJA. Many of its. Yan's forces occupied Beijing and the city was renamed "Beiping Beijing , also known as Peking (pronounced /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is a metropolis in northern China, and the capital of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a municipality under direct administration of the central government, Beijing borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and" or "Northern Peace". Zhang's son, Zhang Xueliang Zhang Xueliang or Chang Hsüeh-liang (3 June 1901 (according to other accounts in 1898 or 1900) in Haicheng County, Fengtian province of China – 14 October 2001 in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States), nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), became the effective ruler of Manchuria and much of North China after the assassination of his, began to work with Chiang and the Kuomintang in the hopes of resisting Japanese aims in the area, these fears being confirmed three years later.
Outcome
Nowadays, the Northern Expedition is viewed positively in China 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 only faction destroyed during the expedition was the Zhili clique. Local provincial warlords who seized or enhanced their power included Li Zongren Li Zongren or Li Tsung-jen (13 August 1890 - 30 January 1969), courtesy name Delin (德鄰), was prominent Guangxi warlord and Kuomintang (KMT) military commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War. He served as vice-president and acting president of the Republic of China under the 1947 Chinese Constitution of the New Guangxi Clique, Yan Xishan Yan Xishan, (8 October 1883 – 22 July 1960) was a Chinese warlord who served in the government of the Republic of China of the Shanxi clique, Feng Yuxiang Feng Yuxiang (1882–1948) was a warlord and leader in Republican China. He was also known as the Christian General for his zeal to convert his troops and the Betrayal General for his penchant to break with the establishment. In 1911, he was an officer in the ranks of Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army but joined forces with revolutionaries against the and his Northwestern or Guominjun The Guominjun , a.k.a Nationalist Army (西北軍), KMC, or Northwest Army, refers to the military faction founded by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi and Sun Yue during China's Warlord Era. It was formed when Feng betrayed the Zhili clique during the Second Zhili-Fengtian War with the Fengtian clique in 1924. The Guominjun occupied Beijing and captured Clique, Tang Shengzhi in Hunan Hunan (Chinese: 湖南; pinyin: Húnán) is a province of China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting (hence the name Hunan, meaning "south of the lake"). Hunan is sometimes called 湘 (pinyin: Xiāng) for short, after the Xiang River which runs through the province, Chiang Kuang-Nai in Fujian Fujian is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait. The name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jian'ou, two cities in Fujian, during the Tang Dynasty. It is one of the most culturally and, Sheng Shicai of Xinjiang Xinjiang is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2. Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil, Long Yun of Yunnan Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with high elevations in the northwest and low elevations in the southeast. Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the relative height from mountain peaks to river valleys can be as much as 3,000 m. Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of, Wang Jialie of Guizhou Guizhou (simplified Chinese: 贵 , Liu Xiang and Liu Wenhui of the Sichuan The province and its vicinity were the cradle of unique local civilizations, which can be dated back to at least the fifteenth century BC . Beginning from the ninth century BC, Shu (today Chengdu) and Ba (today Chongqing City) emerged as cultural and administrative centers where two rival kingdoms were established Clique, Han Fuqu of Shandong Shandong (simplified Chinese: 山 , Bie Tingfang (别廷芳) of Henan Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the eastern central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is 豫 (pinyin: yù), named after Yuzhou Province (豫州 Yù Zhōu), a Han Dynasty province (zhou) that included parts of Henan. The name Henan means "south of the (Yellow) River" (Huang He), the Ma Clique of Ma Bufang and his family in Qinghai, Ma Hongkui in Ningxia, and Ma Zhongyin in Gansu, Chen Jitang and his Cantonese Clique, Lu Diping (鲁涤平) of Jiangxi and Jing Yuexiu (井岳秀) of Shaanxi.
This is because of their alliance with the Kuomintang. They acted as franchisees of the party, wore NRA uniforms, and espoused the party doctrine. With the exception of the Xinjiang and Fengtian cliques, the warlords that survived 1928 tended to have some background in revolutionary circles, some going back to the Tongmenghui era.
The wars between these new warlords claimed more lives than ever in the 1930s. This would prove to be a major problem for the KMT all the way through World War II and the following civil war.
Chiang did get the greatest benefit from the expedition, however, 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.
It is worth noting that the Northern Expedition was one of 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.
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Lawrence Lewis
Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:50:58 GM
On March 12, 2010, I had the unique experience to dive on BC Ferries newest flagship, the . Northern Expedition. . Just so you know, it was fully floating and not on the bottom. The job was to conduct a thorough underwater hull inspection ...
