The Fractured Landscape of 1927 China

By mid-1927, China stood at a crossroads. The Northern Expedition, launched the previous year by the Kuomintang (KMT) to unify the country, had achieved remarkable success but now faced internal fractures. The revolutionary camp had split into competing factions – the Nanjing government under Chiang Kai-shek and the Wuhan government led by Wang Jingwei. This division created a power vacuum that the Fengtian warlord clique, led by the formidable Zhang Zuolin, sought to exploit.

The Fengtian faction, controlling Manchuria and parts of North China, represented the last major obstacle to national unification. Zhang Zuolin, known as the “Old Marshal,” had built his power base in Shenyang (then called Fengtian) with Japanese support. His “Ankuochun” (National Pacification Army) dominated the northeast, but now faced existential threats from the advancing National Revolutionary Army.

Strategic Maneuvering Amidst Civil War

As the Nanjing and Wuhan governments turned their guns on each other in the summer of 1927, Zhang Zuolin saw an opportunity. His forces had suffered defeats along both the Tianjin-Pukou and Beijing-Hankou railways, and worrying news arrived from Shanxi where warlord Yan Xishan was showing signs of defecting to the KMT. The Fengtian leadership split between generations – younger commanders like Zhang Xueliang (the “Young Marshal”) advocated aligning with Chiang Kai-shek and Yan Xishan under an anti-communist banner, while older generals like Zhang Zuoxiang clung to traditional warlord politics.

The June 9, 1927 meeting at Beijing’s Shuncheng Palace revealed the Fengtian clique’s desperate gambit. They proposed:
– Adopting a modified “Four Principles of the People” (adding “People’s Virtue” to Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles)
– Conditional ceasefire agreements
– Power-sharing between northern and southern governments
– Opposition to one-party rule
– Willingness to accept a committee governance system

This proposal, while paying lip service to nationalist ideals, aimed to preserve Fengtian autonomy north of the Yellow River. Chiang Kai-shek, equally pragmatic, demanded Fengtian forces adopt the KMT’s Three Principles and rename as National Revolutionary Army units.

The Ill-Fated Ankuochun Government

As negotiations stalled, hardliners like Sun Chuanfang and Zhang Zongchang pushed for more aggressive measures. On June 16, 1927, Fengtian leaders made their fateful decision – Zhang Zuolin would proclaim himself Generalissimo of a new “Ankuochun Government.” Two days later, in a ceremony at the Hall of Embracing Benevolence, Zhang became China’s last warlord head of state, establishing a government structure with Pan Fu as Premier and various warlords assuming ministerial roles.

The Ankuochun Government’s June 25 declaration attempted ideological justification, claiming to uphold Sun Yat-sen’s true principles against communist distortions. Yet this facade couldn’t mask its warlord nature. Diplomatic overtures to Yan Xishan failed when the Shanxi warlord, sensing the shifting winds, refused to meet Fengtian envoys unless they abandoned their separate banner.

Military Collapse and Fatal Miscalculations

The Fengtian clique’s military position deteriorated rapidly. The disastrous Longtan Campaign (August 25-31, 1927) saw Sun Chuanfang’s ambitious Yangtze crossing end in catastrophe, with nearly 10,000 troops lost. By October, Yan Xishan had openly turned against Zhang, launching attacks along the Beijing-Hankou and Beijing-Suiyuan railways. Feng Yuxiang’s Guominjun forces simultaneously pressured Zhang Zongchang’s Zhili-Shandong联军 in Henan.

Despite temporary victories at places like Lanfeng (November 1927), where Feng’s forces captured 30,000 enemy troops, the strategic situation became untenable. The final death knell came when Chiang Kai-shek, having temporarily stepped down, returned to lead a reunified KMT offensive in early 1928.

The Northern Expedition’s Final Phase

The KMT’s reorganization into four group armies (totaling one million men) under Chiang, Feng Yuxiang, Yan Xishan, and Li Zongren created an unstoppable force. The April 1928 offensive quickly overwhelmed Fengtian defenses. The Jinan Incident (May 3), where Japanese troops massacred Chinese civilians and diplomats, briefly stalled Chiang’s advance but couldn’t prevent the inevitable.

As KMT forces approached Beijing, Zhang Zuolin made his fatal decision to retreat to Manchuria. On June 4, 1928, his train was bombed by Japanese officers at Huanggutun – a shocking end for the warlord who had long relied on Japanese support. His death marked the symbolic end of warlord rule, though remnants like Zhang Zongchang would linger in Shandong until 1929.

Legacy of China’s Warlord Era

The Fengtian clique’s collapse represented more than just military defeat – it signaled the end of an era where regional strongmen could divide China with foreign backing. Yet the KMT’s “unification” proved fragile, as the very warlord politics it defeated would resurface in new forms during the Nanjing Decade.

The 1927-28 struggles also revealed enduring patterns in modern Chinese politics: the tension between centralization and regional autonomy, the role of foreign powers in domestic conflicts, and the challenges of creating stable governance after revolution. Zhang Zuolin’s tragic fate particularly demonstrated how warlords who rose through foreign patronage could become victims of those same relationships when their usefulness expired.

Ultimately, the Fengtian clique’s demise completed the Northern Expedition’s military objectives, but failed to establish lasting national unity. The stage was set for new conflicts – between the KMT and Communists, between China and Japan – that would dominate the 1930s and beyond.