The Northern Expedition/March and The Shanghai Massacre

The Northern Expedition (1926-1928)

CAUSES

• Death of Sun Yat-sen

- After the death of Dr. Sun in 1925, Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the Kuomintang and was eager to destroy the warlords and reunite China.

• Whampoa Military Academy

- The Whampoa Military Academy in Canton produced a National Revolutionary Army (NRA).

- The NRA was superior to many warlords.

- The NRA was 100,000 strong and equipped with the latest Russian and German weapons.

- Chiang personally relied on the Russian Military advisor, Galen.

- The NRA was supported by the communist "Farmers' Movement Training Institute" in which Mao worked.

- Propaganda from this institute persuaded many peasants to serve as guides and labourers for the NRA against their warlords.

- They declared political objectives of the NRA were :

to protect the welfare of the people. We must overthrow all warlords and wipe out reactionary power so that we may implement the Three principles and complete the National Revolution.

EVENTS

• The Northern Expedition was a combined military operation by the United Front (Kuomintang & CCP) against the rule of the Warlord Beiyang Government in Beijing as well as local warlords.
• July 1926, targeted three most notorious and powerful warlords; Zhang Zhoulin (Manchuria), Wu Peifu (Central Plain region) and Sun Chuanfang (east coast).
• October 10, 1926, Wuhan was captured.
• The NRA had grown to 250,000.
• 1927, Nanjing and Shanghai had been captured.
• This was achieved by a combination of NRA military success, communist propaganda and bribing many warlords.
• The United Front ended on 12th April 1927.
• Chiang Kai-shek arranged the massacre of 5000 communists with the help of triad "Gang of Four" in Shanghai.
• The Kuomintang and NRA pressed on along and June 1928, Beijing had been captured.
• Chiang had set up a new capital of unified China in Nanjing.
• It was recognised by foreign powers

EFFECTS

• Formation of a Soviet.
  The Communists were left with little alternative to armed struggle against the Kuomintang. After the Shanghai massacre, they were forced to flee to Kiangsi province, setting up a Soviet which they were eventually forced to abandon in 1934.
• Warlord problem was still not fully resolved
  Many warlods simply formed an alliance with the Kuomintang to avoid being destroyed. They continued to fight amongst themselves and treated peasants badly. This resulted in continual resentment of Chiang's new Kuomintang government.
• Chiang Kai-Shek's position was strengthened.
  He ruled as a dictator, similar to Hitler in Germany as he always looks up to Hitler as a role model. He was the Chairman of the Military Committee and Commander in Chief, Prime Minister and head of Kuomintang Party.
• Chiang's new regime was supported by the army.
  The NRA enforced control through a secret police called the Military Bureau of Statistics. Most social support came from rich, commercial elites in the cities and richer peasants and gentry in the countryside.

The Shanghai Massacre (12th April 1927).

CAUSES

The CCP Problem

• In 1923, Sun Yat-sen concluded an alliance with the USSR. 
• KMT had financial and military support but in return, the KMT had to cooperate with the CCP.
• Sun agreed to let individual communists join the KMT as long as they remained loyal.
• Covert Communists activities soon attracted opposition amongst many right-wing KMT members.
  

The Kuomintang Split

• Since the death of Sun Yatsen in 1925, the KMT was divided between the NRA (National Revolutionary Army) & Chiang Kai-shek on the right. KMT leader Wang Jingwei, Communists & Soviet Agents on the left-wing.
• Chiang was concerned to protect the business interest of many KMT supporters.
  

Attacks on Foreign Concessions

• January to March 1927, the left-wing of the KMT and CCP forces began attacking western interests in Hankou and Nanjing.
• Chiang Kai-shek needed the support of western powers in order to take Shanghai. 
• By April, Chiang and the right-wing of the KMT became determined to purge the party of communist influence.
  

EVENTS

• The massacre occured on the 12th April 1927 and was the violent suppression of Communist Party organisations in Shanghai by the KMT.
• After capturing Shanghai, the CCP began inciting huge protests and strikes, demanding the return of international settlements. 
• Chiang immediately made arrangements with the representatives of the commercial classes and Shanghai underworld to purge the CCP.
• On the morning of 12th April, heavily armed members of Big-eared Du's Green Gang moved through the international settlement to attack the CCP union strongholds in the working-class districts.
• Du met with the leader of the big CCP workers union to persuade him to change sides but he refused and was beaten and buried alive. 
• Du's men aided by General Bai Chongxi's troops, rounded up Communists and beheaded/shot them.
• Some were thrown alive into the fires of locomotives at the South Railway Station.
• Police put the death toll at 400 although the American jounalist Edgar Snow estimated between 5,000-10,000 deaths.
• CCP leader, Zhou Enlai escaped.

EFFECTS

Power Struggle

• The KMT left wing government in Wuhan expelled Chiang from the Party on 17th April.
• However he simply declared a rival KMT government in Nanjing.
• His financial links with commercial intersts in Shnaghai enabled him to gain more influence, resulting in the Wuhan Nationalist government collapsing.
• Wang Jingwei fled to Europe.
   

End of USSR/KMT Cooperation

• Stalin recalled all Soviet advisors to the KMT included Galen and Borodin.
• Stalins switched his support to the CCP, inciting the Autumn Harvest Uprising in Nanchang in August 1927.
• Later in Canton, both were complete failures.
• Over 300,000 people dided in the ensuing anti-Communist suppresion.

CCP forced to Flee

• The CCP was forced to flee from the Urban areas of China, with many Communists like Mao setting up the soviets in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.
• This transformed the Communist Party's base of support from the urban proletariat to the rural peasantry.
• Old CCP leaers like Chen Duxiu were discredited and lost their leadership roles to Zhu De and Mao, both leaders of the biggest CCP army groups.