Considered the most significant conflict of China's Warlord era, it triggered the Beijing coup and indirectly enabled the Nationalist Northern Expedition.
Key Facts
- Year
- 1924
- Major battle location
- Near Tianjin, October 1924
- Key coup leader
- Feng Yuxiang (Christian warlord)
- Post-war figurehead PM
- Duan Qirui
- Foreign backers (Fengtian)
- Japan
- Foreign backers (Zhili)
- Anglo-American business interests
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Rivalry between two major Chinese warlord factions intensified after the First Zhili–Fengtian War. The Fengtian clique, backed by Japan and based in Manchuria, sought to wrest control of Beijing from the Zhili clique, which held the capital and enjoyed Anglo-American commercial support. Competing ambitions for national dominance made renewed armed conflict inevitable.
In September–October 1924, the Fengtian and Zhili cliques clashed in a series of skirmishes, sieges, and one large battle near Tianjin. The war's decisive turn came when Zhili general Feng Yuxiang staged the Beijing coup, defecting and overthrowing the Zhili-controlled government, leading to the clique's overall defeat.
Following the Zhili defeat, Feng Yuxiang and Fengtian leader Zhang Zuolin jointly installed Duan Qirui as a figurehead prime minister. Protests erupted across central and southern China. Crucially, the northern warlords' preoccupation with the conflict left the Soviet-backed Nationalist forces in Guangdong free to prepare the Northern Expedition (1926–1928), which ultimately unified China under Chiang Kai-shek.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang, Duan Qirui (post-war figurehead).
Side B
1 belligerent