The Northern Expedition reunified China under KMT authority, ending warlord fragmentation and inaugurating the Nanjing decade of Nationalist rule.
Key Facts
- Campaign launched
- 1926
- Commanding general
- Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
- Manchuria acceptance date
- December 1928
- Phase 2 start
- January 1928
- Key allied warlords
- Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang
- Opposition
- Beiyang government and regional warlords
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Following the 1911 Revolution, China fragmented under the Beiyang government and numerous regional warlords. The Kuomintang sought to reunify the country and launched the National Revolutionary Army northward in 1926, aiming to defeat these competing power centers and establish a centralized nationalist government.
The Northern Expedition proceeded in two phases. After a political split in 1927 between Chiang Kai-shek's Nanjing faction and Wang Jingwei's Wuhan faction—triggered by the Shanghai Massacre—Chiang resumed command in January 1928. Allied with warlords Yan Xishan and Feng Yuxiang, nationalist forces defeated the Beiyang Army and advanced on Beijing, forcing Fengtian clique leader Zhang Zuolin to flee.
Zhang Zuolin was assassinated by Japanese agents shortly after fleeing Beijing. His son Zhang Xueliang subsequently declared Manchuria's acceptance of Nanjing's authority in December 1928, completing China's nominal reunification under KMT rule and marking the start of the Nanjing decade of Nationalist governance.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Chiang Kai-shek, Yan Xishan, Feng Yuxiang.
Side B
2 belligerents
Zhang Zuolin.