Northern Expedition

The Northern Expedition (北伐) was a military campaign led by Chiang Kai-Shek in 1927 intended to unify China under the rule of the Kuomintang and ending the rule of local warlords. It was largely successful at these objectives. During the Northern Expedition, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China were cooperating with each other. It should not be confused with the Northern Expeditions during the era of Three Kingdoms.

The Northern Expedition began from a base area in Guangdong province. Chiang was able to achieve victory over the warlords in large part because both the National Revolutionary Army and the Kuomintang were far better organized than the warlord armies which they faced. In addition, Chiang had the advantage of a chain reaction effect as victory over one warlord encouraged others to defect to Chiang which strengthened his position even more.

Today, the Northern Expedition is viewed positively both in Mainland China and on Taiwan because it ended a period of disorder and started the formation of an effective Chinese central government.

However, even before the objectives of the Northern Expedition had been achieved, Chiang Kai-shek turned on the communists, beginning the first of the periods of White Terror in China.

See also: Whampoa Military Academy, History of the Republic of China