Nationalist government victory
85-634: National Revolutionary Army Warlord coalitions Autumn War 2nd main phase The Central Plains War ( traditional Chinese : 中原大戰 ; simplified Chinese : 中原大战 ; pinyin : Zhōngyúan Dàzhàn ) was a series of military campaigns in 1929 and 1930 that constituted a Chinese civil war between the Nationalist Kuomintang government in Nanjing led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and several regional military commanders and warlords who were former allies of Chiang. After
170-615: A big hole, human bodies and animal bodies mixed. The reason as to why these bodies could not be buried is because surrounding villages kept throwing bodies into this big hole. In addition, some people would dig the graves, to eat recently dead bodies or to collect money. In ancient Chinese culture, when a person died, their children would also bury something they used with them. Usually, there would be pottery, in rich people's graves there would be gold, silver and jewelry. Some people would dig rich people's graves for these valuables. Bodies that could not be buried and bodies that were dug out produced
255-883: A failure. A 2nd conference was held in August. This August conference divided China into 6 military regions roughly corresponding to the regions of the major warlords (and one for the minor warlords). The new national army was to have 65 divisions of 11,000 men or 715,000 soldiers (not including any personnel above divisional level); this was a large reduction of the 1,502,000 men currently under arms in China. Yan and Feng accused Chiang of attempting to centralise military power under his control and thus remove them from their positions of power. Army (Northeast Army) (neutral) 1,034,000-1,134,000 September 1930 (Guominjun) (140,000 deemed reliable) (Shanxi) (Guangxi) forces (did not participate) (ironsides) 805,000 paper Feng controlled
340-652: A grand total of 515 divisions . However, many divisions were formed from two or more other divisions, and were not active at the same time. At the apex of the NRA was the National Military Council, also translated as Military Affairs Commission. Chaired by Chiang Kai-Shek, it directed the staffs and commands. It included from 1937 the Chief of the General Staff, General He Yingqin , the General Staff,
425-552: A link-up. The war involved over 1,000,000 of which 300,000 became casualties. Chiang's forces proved themselves capable even when outnumbered routing the southern forces by July, however in the north Chiang's forces were defeated and he himself narrowly avoided capture in June only when the northern forces stopped due to the defeat of the southern forces did the north stabilise. Chiang began negotiations for peace with Zhang as an intermediary however Feng and Yan believing themselves to be on
510-1082: A means for the KMT to unify China during the Warlord Era , the National Revolutionary Army fought major engagements in the Northern Expedition against the Chinese Beiyang Army warlords, in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) against the Imperial Japanese Army and in the Chinese Civil War against the People's Liberation Army . During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the armed forces of
595-608: A military conference in 1929. The National Revolutionary Army was reorganized into four army groups after the Northern Expedition, incorporating armies from regional warlords. The First Army Group was formed by the Whampoa clique , alternatively known as the Central Army, which were directly led by Chiang himself. The Second Army Group consisted of elements from Guominjun led by Feng Yuxiang . The Third Army Group
680-737: A new organisation. The Years below relate to the Minguo calendar which starts in 1911. Therefore, the 22nd year division is the 1933 division. The above template was only applied to divisions serving in Guangxi during the 5th encirclement campaign. A new Plan was devised in 1935 to raise 60 new divisions in 6 month batches with divisions to be raised from divisional districts tied to them, in an aim to enhance cohesion and communication as well as simplifying recruitment, officers however were to be recruited nationally and placed into these divisions to disrupt regional affiliations. The 24th Year New Type division
765-639: A rebellion against Sun Yat-sen in Guangzhou. Chiang's role in helping Sun to retreat from Guangzhou ultimately helped him to become Sun's protégé. After Sun's death in 1925, factions within the Kuomintang began to surface. A power struggle between Chiang and Wang Jingwei led to the split of the KMT. Chiang was able to use his influence as the commandant of the Whampoa Academy and eventually took over
850-656: A year after the Northern Expedition war ended. This war ended the power of imperialism in China and it was a war in which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) collaborated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP). After the Northern Expedition ended, Chiang, as the leader of the CNP, breached the collaboration between the two parties and began to arrest and murder the members of the CCP. This event
935-692: Is called the Shanghai massacre , the April 12 Purge or the April 12 Incident. In the same year, the Nanjing Nationalist government was established. The CCP retreated to the countryside and hid, while Chiang kept murdering CCP party members. When the famine happened, the Nanjing Nationalist government was still busy on fighting the CCP. At the time, the leader of the Northwestern army, Feng Yuxiang , did not agree with Chiang's policies against
SECTION 10
#17327657520591020-556: The 3rd , 6th , 9th , 14th , 36th , 87th , 88th , and the Training Division . Another German general, Alexander von Falkenhausen , came to China in 1934 to help reform the army. However, because of Nazi Germany's later cooperation with the Empire of Japan, he was later recalled in 1937. For a time, during the Second Sino-Japanese War, Communist forces fought as a nominal part of the National Revolutionary Army, forming
1105-534: The Battle of Shanghai and Battle of Nanjing . The newly provided tanks, armoured cars, and trucks from the Soviet Union and Italy made it possible to create the only mechanized division in the army, the 200th Division . This Division eventually ceased to be a mechanized unit after the June 1938 reorganization of Divisions. The armoured and artillery Regiments were placed under direct command of 5th Corps and
1190-737: The Central Plains in China, involving 300,000 soldiers from Nanjing and 700,000 soldiers from the coalition. Compared to other senior party officials like Hu Hanmin and Wang Jingwei , the political status of Chiang Kai-shek in the Kuomintang (KMT) was lower in the beginning. Chiang began his rise to prominence in 1917 during the Constitutional Protection Movement and the formation of the Guangzhou government, where he displayed his military talent. The turning point came in 1923 when Chen Jiongming launched
1275-676: The Chinese Army in India called X Force, and Chinese Expeditionary Force in Yunnan, called Y Force . The US government repeatedly threatened to cut off aid to China during World War 2 unless they handed over total command of all Chinese military forces to the US. After considerable stalling, the arrangement only fell through due to a particularly insulting letter from the Americans to Chiang. By
1360-403: The Chinese Civil War the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) was known to have used penal battalions from 1945 to 1949. A unit made up of deserters and those accused of cowardice, the penal battalion was giving such tasks as scouting ahead of the main forces to check for ambushes, crossing rivers and torrents to see whether they were fordable, and walking across unmapped minefields. The military
1445-648: The Chinese Communist Party were nominally incorporated into the National Revolutionary Army (while retaining separate commands), but broke away to form the People's Liberation Army shortly after the end of the war. With the promulgation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947 and the formal end of the KMT party-state, the National Revolutionary Army was renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces , with
1530-684: The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army units, but this co-operation later fell apart. Women were also part of the army's corps during the war. In 1937 Soong Mei-ling encouraged women to support the Second Sino-Japanese War effort, by forming battalions, such as the Guangxi Women's Battalion . Troops in India and Burma during World War II included the Chinese Expeditionary Force (Burma) ,
1615-512: The Generalissimo. However, Chinese industry was incapable of producing the artillery or infantry guns in large quantities needed for the 60 division plan and German imports were not forthcoming. Mortars were introduced as substitutes for the infantry guns and later as a substitute for artillery. Horses were also lacking as the new division required many of them and Chinese divisions often used mules oxen or even buffalos as substitutes for
1700-636: The Guangxi clique broke off relations with Chiang in March 1929, which effectively started the confrontation between these commanders and the Nanjing government. In May, Feng Yuxiang of the Northwest Army also clashed with Chiang. In November, Li Zongren issued a declaration to form anti-Chiang coalition along with Wang Jingwei . In December, Tang Shengzhi and Zhang Fakui announced their support of
1785-415: The Northern Expedition ended in 1928, Yan Xishan , Feng Yuxiang , Li Zongren and Zhang Fakui broke off relations with Chiang shortly after a demilitarization conference in 1929, and together they formed an anti-Chiang coalition to openly challenge the legitimacy of the Nanjing government. The war was the largest conflict in the Warlord Era , fought across Henan , Shandong , Anhui and other areas of
SECTION 20
#17327657520591870-581: The Xinhai Revolution and the Warlord Era of the Republic of China, "Dare to Die Corps" ( traditional Chinese : 敢死隊 ; simplified Chinese : 敢死队 ; pinyin : gǎnsǐduì ) were frequently used by Chinese armies. China deployed these suicide units against the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War . "Dare to Die" troops were used by warlords in their armies to conduct suicide attacks . "Dare to Die" corps continued to be used in
1955-799: The Yellow River to counter the Shanxi Army. Main forces of the Nationalists would be stationed in Xuzhou to await for impending offensives. On 11 May, the Central Army led by Chiang Kai-shek launched a series of general offensives against Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang. Following the Longhai Railway , the Central Army marched westward from Xuzhou , reaching the outskirts of Kaifeng in the Henan province by 16 May. The Northwest Army, being
2040-518: The anti-communist Nazi Party and the anti-communist KMT were soon engaged in close cooperation . With Germany training Chinese troops and expanding Chinese infrastructure, while China opened its markets and natural resources to Germany. Max Bauer was the first adviser to China. In 1934, Gen. Hans von Seeckt , acting as adviser to Chiang, proposed an "80 Division Plan" for reforming the entire Chinese army into 80 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops organised along German lines. The plan
2125-600: The 200th Division became a motorized Infantry Division within the same Corps. This Corps fought battles in Guangxi in 1939–1940 and in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road in 1942 reducing the armoured units due to losses and mechanical breakdown of the vehicles. On paper China had 3.8 million men under arms in 1941. They were organized into 246 "front-line" divisions, with another 70 divisions assigned to rear areas. Perhaps as many as forty Chinese divisions had been equipped with European-manufactured weapons and trained by foreign, particularly German and Soviet, advisers. The rest of
2210-592: The Army's officers passed through the Whampoa Military Academy , and the first commandant, Chiang Kai-shek , became commander-in-chief of the Army in 1925 before launching the successful Northern Expedition. Other prominent commanders included Du Yuming and Chen Cheng . The end of the Northern Expedition in 1928 is often taken as the date when China's Warlord era ended, though smaller-scale warlord activity continued for years afterwards. In 1927, after
2295-648: The CCP, therefore, he was preparing for a war against Chiang's domination. This war came to be known as the Central Plains War . When famine developed, people began to eat everything they could, including bark, grass roots, tree leaves, bran, mud and animals they fed. Human cannibalism also occurred; people exchanged their young children to eat. Many dead bodies had no feet or arms, people even thought that if they did not eat their own children or parents' bodies, other people would eat their bodies. Some people died from eating too much mud. The mud that they ate
2380-712: The Chinese Muslims remained loyal to the Nanjing government through the war, diverting forces of Feng away from the Central Plains. The anti-Chiang coalition planned their renewed attack on the Nationalist government in Nanjing through different routes. Li Zongren was expected to lead the Guangxi Army from Guangxi and toward Hunan to threaten the stronghold of Chiang in Wuhan . Feng Yuxiang would lead
2465-723: The Chinese military. The Kuomintang used one to put down an insurrection in Canton. Many women joined them in addition to men to achieve martyrdom against China's opponents. A "dare to die corps" was effectively used against Japanese units at the Battle of Taierzhuang . They used swords. Suicide bombing was also used against the Japanese. A Chinese soldier detonated a grenade vest and killed 20 Japanese soldiers at Sihang Warehouse . Chinese troops strapped explosives like grenade packs or dynamite to their bodies and threw themselves under Japanese tanks to blow them up. This tactic
2550-444: The Chinese. However, even though this 1937 reorganisation maintained division strength at slightly under 11,000 men, less than 4,000 (the frontline personnel) were issued small arms such as rifles. In 1938 a further reform was brought about by He Yingqin at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek. He's report called for an integrated numbering and designation of units from the regimental level up and a standardised financial and supply system and
2635-654: The Guangxi Army in Hunan, the Nanjing government decided to launch a major counteroffensive against the Shanxi Army in Shandong. Marching from Qingdao , Chiang's forces retook Jinan on 15 August. The Central Army then amassed troops in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, launching their final offensive against the Northwest Army which lasted from the end of August to the beginning of September. On 18 September Zhang Xueliang and
Central Plains War - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-515: The Guangxi clique controlled two: the Wuhan and Beiping; under Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi , respectively. Li Jishen , who was related to the Guangxi clique, loosely controlled the Guangzhou council; and a sixth council in Shenyang was under Zhang Xueliang . Chiang was faced with two options one was to immediately centralise the other to gradually do so, in the spirit of the expedition itself which
2805-573: The Guangxi clique to ally to face Chiang as Chiang had taken revenue sources from Yan. The anti-Chiang coalition had forces totalling 700,000 against Chiang's 300,000. Their plan was to seize Shandong and contain Chiang south of the Long-hai railway and the Beijing-wuhan railway then they would advance along the railway lines seizing Xuzhou and Wuhan whilst southern forces did the same to force
2890-440: The Guangxi clique, who ran Chiang's governor out of office. Chiang did not tolerate this action and prepared for war, while Feng was bribed with offers of large amounts of territory in Shandong for his neutrality. Other Northern Chinese leaders were also bribed for their neutrality so Chiang could focus entirely on the Wuhan armies. Following the demilitarization conference in 1929, Li Zongren , Bai Chongxi and Huang Shaohong of
2975-408: The NRA is as follows: (Note that a unit is not necessarily subordinate to one immediately above it; several army regiments can be found under an army group, for example.) The commander-in-chief of the NRA from 1925 to 1947 was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Military Affairs Commission The NRA used multiple divisional organisations as different threats emerged as well as other factors necessitated
3060-485: The Nanjing government, as Zhang Xueliang declared the allegiance of his Northeast Army to the Nationalist government in Nanjing, following the assassination of his father Zhang Zuolin by the Japanese Kwantung Army . While Chiang emerged as the paramount leader of the Republic of China , the reunification soon ran into issues as different factions in the Kuomintang disagreed over demilitarization at
3145-551: The National Revolutionary Army, trained in China (not by Westerners) and led by Ma Clique Muslim generals, frightened the European observers with their appearance and fighting skills in battle. Europeans like Sven Hedin and Georg Vasel were in awe of the appearance Chinese Muslim NRA divisions made and their ferocious combat abilities. They were trained in harsh, brutal conditions. The 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) , trained entirely in China without any European help,
3230-690: The Northeast Army abandoned their neutrality and declared their support for Chiang. Several days later the Northeast Army entered the North China Plain through Shanhai Pass and captured Peking two days later. The Shanxi Army withdrew to the north of the Yellow River, while the Northwest Army collapsed as the morale of the anti-Chiang coalition no longer existed. On 4 November both Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang announced their resignations from all of their positions, which effectively ended
3315-524: The Northern Expedition, the National Revolutionary Army was bloated and required downsizing and demobilisation: Chiang himself stating that soldiers are like water, capable of both carrying the state, and sinking it. This was reflected in the enormous troop figures with 1,502,000 men under arms, of which only 224,000 came under Chiang's direct control; these, however, were the official figures as Chiang stated later he possessed over 500,000 and Feng Yuxiang who officially possessed 269,000 in reality had 600,000 thus
3400-463: The Northwest Army and march from Henan to Shandong , attacking Xuzhou while also applying pressure on Wuhan. Yan Xishan would lead the Shanxi Army and coordinate with the Northwest Army to strike Xuzhou together, and march toward Nanjing after Xuzhou is captured by the coalition. In response to the preparations, the Nationalists assigned Han Fuqu to set up defense in the southern bank of
3485-686: The Salween offensive each division was allotted 36 bazookas though actual numbers ran below requirements and rockets were in short supply. en route The Chinese army due to sustained combat was grossly under-strength and whilst Chiang promised over 110,000 additional reinforcements. Further reinforcements after this were not forthcoming due to ongoing combat. Nonetheless, Y-Force grew to over 300,000 men with rifles, mortars and machine guns in abundance. Chinese famine of 1928%E2%80%931930 The Chinese famine of 1928–1930 occurred as widespread drought hit Northwestern and Northern China, most notably in
Central Plains War - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-757: The US, reported that many US military officers saw US monopoly on Far Eastern trade as a rightful reward for fighting the Pacific war, a sentiment echoed by US elected officials. After the drafting and implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947, the National Revolutionary Army was transformed into the ground service branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces – the Republic of China Army (ROCA). The NRA throughout its lifespan recruited approximately 4,300,000 regulars, in 370 Standard Divisions (正式師), 46 New Divisions (新編師), 12 Cavalry Divisions (騎兵師), eight New Cavalry Divisions (新編騎兵師), 66 Temporary Divisions (暫編師), and 13 Reserve Divisions (預備師), for
3655-563: The War Ministry, the military regions, air and naval forces, air defence and garrison commanders, and support services Around 14 Million were conscripted from 1937 to 1945. Also, New Divisions were created to replace Standard Divisions lost early in the war and were issued the old division's number. Therefore, the number of divisions in active service at any given time is much smaller than this. The average NRA division had 5,000–6,000 troops; an average army division had 10,000–15,000 troops,
3740-406: The anti-Chiang coalition was the beginning of the tide turning for the Nanjing government. In the southern battlefields the Guangxi Army led by Li Zongren and Bai Chongxi marched northwards and captured Yueyang , but Chiang's forces managed to cut them off from behind, eventually forcing them to withdraw to their home province. In Shandong the Shanxi Army captured Jinan on 25 June. After defeating
3825-522: The anti-Chiang coalition. The Nanjing government responded by expelling Wang Jingwei from the party for his participation in the anti-Chiang coalition. The coalition created a new KMT government in Beijing to show their defiance of the Nanjing government. In February 1930, Yan Xishan of the Shanxi clique demanded the resignation of Chiang from the KMT, which was refused. Later in the same month, Yan assumed
3910-459: The appointment of loyal commanders. A new division table was also organised: the 27th Year (1938) division, which created the field army as a fixed unit, abolished divisional artillery (often a paper force due to the chronic shortage of field artillery) and coordinated artillery support at the army level; although the division remained at roughly 11,000 men strong this template was not followed with few divisions being re-organised on this pattern due to
3995-547: The bulk of its forces forming the Republic of China Army , which retreated to the island of Taiwan in 1949. The NRA was founded by the KMT in 1925 as the military force destined to unite China in the Northern Expedition . Organized with the help of the Comintern and guided under the doctrine of the Three Principles of the People , the distinction among party, state and army was often blurred. A large number of
4080-400: The conflict was financially costly which had a negative influence on the subsequent Encirclement Campaigns over the Chinese Communist Party . After the entrance of the Northeast Army into central China, the defense of Manchuria was significantly weakened, which indirectly led to Japanese aggression in the Mukden Incident . While Chiang emerged from the war having consolidated his power as
4165-408: The constant campaigning of the Central Army and the refusal of the warlords to adopt the new organisation. Nonetheless, the division still proved too large and they were reformed into triangular divisions (a division with a divisional HQ and 3 infantry regiments rather than the previous square division with 2 brigades each with 2 regiments); this 1938 organisation remained the most common formation until
4250-403: The dissolution of the First United Front between the Nationalists and the Communists, the ruling KMT purged its leftist members and largely eliminated Soviet influence from its ranks. Chiang Kai-shek then turned to Germany , historically a great military power, for the reorganization and modernization of the National Revolutionary Army. The Weimar Republic sent advisers to China, but because of
4335-453: The end of the war although it was modified with 16 divisions receiving Anti-tank companies and 20 receiving anti-aircraft companies. Artillery remained in a chronic shortage only partially remedied by the production of 82mm mortars, but these mortars were far from universal even by the end of the war. Further changes were made in the 1942 re-organisation with the 1938 division losing all of its non-combat formations. These formations were moved to
SECTION 50
#17327657520594420-420: The end of the war, US influence over the political, economic, and military affairs of China were greater than any foreign power in the last century, with American personnel appointed in every field, such as the Chief of Staff of the Chinese military, management of the Chinese War Production Board and Board of Transport, trainers of the secret police, and Chiang's personal advisor. Sir George Sansom, British envoy to
4505-545: The equivalent of a Japanese division. Not even the German-trained divisions were on par in terms of manpower with a German or Japanese division, having only 10,000 men. The United States Army's campaign brochure on the China Defensive campaign of 1942–45 said: The NRA only had small number of armoured vehicles and mechanised troops. At the beginning of the war in 1937 the armour were organized in three Armoured Battalions, equipped with tanks and armoured cars from various countries. After these battalions were mostly destroyed in
4590-406: The fall of Burma. This plan was adopted concurrently with Y-Force which was the Chinese army in Burma. The divisions of Y-Force were similar to the 1942 divisions’ organisation. With the addition of extra staff especially in communications as well as an anti-tank rifle squad with 2 anti-tank rifles, radios were issued as were bren guns with the number of mortars raised form 36 to 54 to accommodate
4675-417: The field army level, and with the universal adoption of the triangular division formation the 1942 division had a strength of 6,794 officers and enlisted 60% of the strength of the 1938 division. This gave a total of 8,251 men per division it is important to note the complete absence of any Anti-air, Anti-tank or artillery at a divisional level a sign of the dire state of equipment shortage in China. During
4760-505: The governor of Hunan who switched sides and joined Chiang, the Guangxi forces invaded Hunan, however Chiang bribed elements of the army in Wuhan to defect and within 2 months the Guangxi clique was routed, in March the party expelled Bai Chongxi, Li Jishen and Li Zongren and promoted their juniors who sided with Chiang in order to sow dissent within the clique, they later re-grouped and attempted to retake Hunan and Guangdong but were repelled in both provinces. Also in May Feng Yuxiang entered
4845-410: The hostilities and brought an end to regional challenges against the Nanjing government. The Central Plains War was the largest armed conflict in China since the Northern Expedition ended in 1928. The conflicts spread across multiple provinces in China, involving different regional commanders with combined forces of more than one million. While the Nationalist government in Nanjing came out victorious,
4930-406: The lack of heavy artillery. The demands of the Chinese Military Affairs Commission to add additional support staff and divisional artillery were all rejected by the Americans and the idea of a centralised Y-force with the 30 divisions being grouped together was never realised. General Chen Cheng commanded the largest contingent of 15 divisions, Long Yun commanded 5 and 9 under Chiang himself. Prior to
5015-413: The leaders of many of the warlord and provincial armies joined with the KMT and were appointed as officers and generals, their troops joined the NRA. These armies were renamed as NRA divisions. The entire Ma Clique armies were absorbed into the NRA. When the Muslim Ma Clique General Ma Qi joined the KMT, the Ninghai Army was renamed the National Revolutionary Army 26th Division. The unit organisation of
5100-429: The leadership of the party, forcing Wang into exile overseas. In 1926, Chiang was ceremonially chosen as the commander of the newly formed National Revolutionary Army and launched the Northern Expedition. In the course of the expedition, Chiang had managed to form an alliance with warlord armies of Feng Yuxiang , Yan Xishan and Li Zongren . The Northern Expedition ended with the reunification of China in 1928 under
5185-484: The leadership position in the anti-Chiang coalition, with the assistance of Feng and Li while Zhang Xueliang chose to remain "loyal" to Chiang. The Nanjing government enjoyed support from the Chinese Muslims of the Gansu province in Northwest China . While the region was originally under the sphere of influence of the Northwest Army, influential Muslim leaders including Ma Tingrang , Ma Zhongying and Ma Fuxiang broke off relations with Feng Yuxiang in 1928. Forces of
SECTION 60
#17327657520595270-415: The many horses. 10 divisions were organised in 1935 on the new model but equipment was lacking. A further 20 were reorganised by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident but equipment was again lacking meaning these divisions were not to be the modern equivalent of Western style or Japanese divisions. For a total of 10,012 men and 3,219 horses with the field artillery regiment. With the Mountain artillery regiment
5355-452: The people who robbed were called "brigands" by the government. Some of them were poor farmers who robbed food from rich landlords; some were beggars; the rest were local armies, and they had guns. Besides these factors, the Central Plains War was perhaps another reason that caused death. Many people also died because of the plague, or because of suicide or starvation, and their dead bodies had not been buried. All dead bodies were thrown into
5440-407: The provinces of Henan , Shaanxi and Gansu . Mortality is estimated to be within 6 million, which already included deaths from famine-led diseases. The inefficiency of relief has been pointed out as a factor which aggravated the famine. From 1928 to 1930, China was under the control of Chiang's Nanjing Nationalist government . The Nanjing Nationalist government was established in April 1927,
5525-477: The provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi and Henan. His partial control of Shandong provided him with large amounts of revenue needed for his military; however this was greatly affected by the fact that there was a famine and rebellion in Gansu. Feng asked Chiang for this territory. Hunan was controlled by the Guangxi clique (in addition to their other lands); this made the clique a threat to Chiang, who proceeded to appointed his own protege into power in Hunan. This angered
5610-421: The reduction of the army to 65 divisions and gathered political support to begin actively reducing troops counts and centralising the army as well as abolishing the branch councils, this threatened the regional leaders and Li Zongren noted that it was intentionally designed to force the regional leaders into action so Chiang could eliminate them. The Guangxi clique rebelled in February 1929 when it fired Lu Diping
5695-471: The restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles they could not serve in military capacities. Chiang initially requested famous generals such as Ludendorff and von Mackensen as advisers; the Weimar Republic government turned him down, however, fearing that they were too famous, would invite the ire of the Allies and that it would result in the loss of national prestige for such renowned figures to work, essentially, as mercenaries . Immediately following
5780-416: The strongest in the anti-Chiang coalition, crushed the Central Army led by Chen Cheng in Gansu by the end of May, with Chiang having escaped from near capture. The Northwest Army could not capitalize on its victory, however, as the Shanxi Army was unable to arrive on time to deliver further damage to the Central Army. With the allies of Chiang in Gansu province, the Northwest Army turned to defense following
5865-458: The supreme leader and established himself as an accomplished military commander, the regional factions in the Kuomintang and their rivalries remained unsolved, which led to various problems later in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War . National Revolutionary Army The National Revolutionary Army ( NRA ; 國民革命軍 ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army ( 革命軍 ) before 1928, and as National Army ( 國軍 ) after 1928,
5950-410: The total is 10,632 men and 3,237 horses However, as the war progressed and masses of equipment was lost the 60 division plan was abandoned as were larger divisions in general as the Military Affairs Commission switched to a smaller more mobile division suited to the reality of the situation. This was after an initial reorganisation in 1937 which incorporated the type 89 grenade launcher which impressed
6035-402: The true figure would likely reach 2,000,000. During the Northern expedition the KMT formed also formed branch political councils: in theory, subordinate political organs that were under the Central Political councils in Nanjing; in reality these were autonomous political bodies with their own military forces. Feng Yuxiang controlled the Kaifeng council; Yan Xishan the Taiyuan council; whilst
6120-735: The units were under strength and generally untrained. Overall, the Nationalist Army impressed most Western military observers as more reminiscent of a 19th- than a 20th-century army. Late in the Burma Campaign the NRA Army there had an armoured battalion equipped with Sherman tanks. Despite the poor reviews given by European observers to the European-trained Divisions, the Muslim Divisions of
6205-514: The verge of victory refused. Chiang had utilised the lull in action to gather strength and begin counteroffensives along the railways north aided by the closure of fighting in Bengbu by September Chiang was again closing in on Luoyang and this along with bribes spurred Zhang Xueliang to side with Chiang ending the war. When Adolf Hitler became Germany's chancellor in 1933 and disavowed the Treaty,
6290-449: The victory. In Kaifeng the Northwest Army repelled attacks by Chiang's forces, inflicting heavy casualties. The combined forces of Shanxi Army and the Northwest Army later engaged in the largest conflict of the war in their attack on Xuzhou, with both sides sustaining combined casualties exceeding 200,000. The Shanxi Army retreated from Jinan and took further losses while crossing the Yellow River. The lack of coordination between forces of
6375-432: The war he was too expelled from the party, once again Chiang bribed his enemy's allies and subordinates Han Fuju and Shi Yousan. Feng's armies were defeated and he fled to Shanxi and announced his retirement from politics, by July Chiang's forces had occupied Luoyang. Having defeated two of his largest enemies Chiang pushed further for demobilisation and announced it would be done by March 1930. This move spurred Feng, Yan and
6460-428: The way, sometimes less than 50 percent reaching camp alive. Then recruit camp was no better, with hospitals resembling Nazi concentration camps like Buchenwald. The rank insignia of commissioned officers . The rank insignia of non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel . T.V. Soong at the behest of Chiang negotiated US sponsorship of 30 Chinese divisions which were to be designated assault divisions due to
6545-557: Was Kaolinite , also called Guanyin Mud in Chinese (Chinese: 观音土 ). This kind of mud can give the body a false appearance of being full, yet it cannot be absorbed or digested. After the false appearance of fullness faded, people continued to eat the mud again until eventually, they would die from the inability to excrete the mud from their bodies. At the preliminary stage of the famine, the price of crops began to increase. Some food theft occurred. In 1927, some robbing events had been reported and
6630-586: Was almost the equivalent of western style divisions with the notable difference being the absence of radios in the Chinese division. Planning began in December 1934 and in January 1935 a classified meeting of over 80 of the highest NRA officers was called with a timetable published: This new army being significantly better armed and trained than the warlord armies would give Chiang a large advantage over his domestic opponents as well as being personally answerable to
6715-562: Was composed of Chinese Muslims and fought and severely mauled an invading Soviet Russian army during the Soviet Invasion of Xinjiang . The division was lacking in technology and manpower, but badly damaged the superior Russian force. The Muslim divisions of the army controlled by Muslim Gen. Ma Hongkui were reported by Western observers to be tough and disciplined. Despite having diabetes Ma Hongkui personally drilled with his troops and engaged in sword fencing during training. When
6800-560: Was formed through bloody and inhumane conscription campaigns. These are described by Rudolph Rummel as: This was a deadly affair in which men were kidnapped for the army, rounded up indiscriminately by press-gangs or army units among those on the roads or in the towns and villages, or otherwise gathered together. Many men, some the very young and old, were killed resisting or trying to escape. Once collected, they would be roped or chained together and marched, with little food or water, long distances to camp. They often died or were killed along
6885-672: Was led by Yan Xishan of the Shanxi clique , while the Fourth Army Group were led by Li Zongren of the New Guangxi clique . On 1 January 1929, in Nanjing, the National Demilitarization Conference began. The leading figures including Chiang, Yan, Li and Feng gathered to discuss demobilization. Chiang was appointed as chairman, and though the conference did see some successes, it was overall
6970-456: Was never fully realised, as the eternally bickering warlords could not agree upon which divisions were to be merged and disbanded. Furthermore, since embezzlement and fraud were commonplace, especially in understrength divisions (the state of most of the divisions), reforming the military structure would threaten divisional commanders' "take". Therefore, by July 1937 only eight infantry divisions had completed reorganization and training. These were
7055-602: Was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China during the Republican era . It also became the regular army during the KMT's period of party rule beginning in 1928. It was renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces after the 1947 Constitution , which instituted civilian control of the military . Originally organized with Soviet aid as
7140-483: Was to eradicate warlordism and regionalism Chiang chose to immediately centralise the branch councils under the guise of demobilisation systematically reducing the regional troop strength whilst centralising them and building up his own strength. This was done in July 1928 with financial conferences calling for demobilisation and military commanders and political officials echoing the call for demobilisation. Chiang called for
7225-474: Was used during the Battle of Shanghai , where a Chinese suicide bomber stopped a Japanese tank column by exploding himself beneath the lead tank, and at the Battle of Taierzhuang where dynamite and grenades were strapped on by Chinese troops who rushed at Japanese tanks and blew themselves up. In one incident at Taierzhuang, Chinese suicide bombers obliterated four Japanese tanks with grenade bundles. During
#58941