The Zhili–Anhui War was a 1920 conflict in the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
between the
Zhili
Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and rena ...
and
Anhui clique
The Anhui clique () was a military and political organization, one of several mutually hostile cliques or factions that split from the Beiyang clique in the Republic of China's Warlord Era. It was named after Anhui province because several of its ...
s for control of the
Beiyang government
The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking (Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...
.
Prelude
Tensions between the two factions developed during the
Constitutional Protection War of 1917.
Duan Qirui, leader of the Anhui clique, favored aggressive action against the South, and after becoming premier of the state department (Guwu Zongli, 国务总理) advocated a military solution. His plan was to rid southern China of rival warlords, as well as unify the country. The Zhili clique favored compromise and negotiations, hoping to sway rival warlords to their side with financial and political support. Duan refused to acknowledge the Zhili's efforts and favored his own officers and politicians over others. After building a ''de facto'' private army using the
Nishihara Loans
The were a series of loans made by the Japanese government under the administration of Prime Minister Terauchi Masatake to the Anhui clique warlord Duan Qirui from January 1917 to September 1918 to persuade him to favor Japanese interests in China ...
, he used it to
occupy Outer Mongolia. Feeling threatened,
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
's
Fengtian clique allied with the Zhili clique and began courting those warlords in southwestern China who had previously been threatened by Duan's Anhui armies. Obtaining British and American backing, the Zhili and Fengtian cliques had President
Xu Shichang
Xu Shichang (Hsu Shih-chang; ; courtesy name: Juren (Chu-jen; 菊人); October 20, 1855 – June 5, 1939) was the President of the Republic of China, in Beijing, from 10 October 1918 to 2 June 1922. The only permanent president of the Beiyang ...
dismiss Gen.
Xu Shuzheng, the leader of the Mongolia expedition. Having publicly lost face and been undermined by a less powerful but still dangerous pair of ex-allies and hangers-on, Gen. Xu and Duan denounced the actions and prepared for war.
In November 1919 Zhili clique leader Gen.
Wu Peifu met with representatives of
Tang Jiyao and
Lu Rongting at
Hengyang, where they signed a treaty entitled "Rough Draft of the National Salvation Allied Army" (救国同盟军草约). This formed the basis of a true anti-Anhui clique alliance. In April 1920, while visiting a memorial service at
Baoding for soldiers who died in
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...
, one-time presidential-candidate
Cao Kun added more warlords to the anti-Anhui clique alliance, including the rulers of
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...
,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...
,
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmo ...
,
Jilin
Jilin (; Postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kirin or Chilin) is one of the three Provinces of China, provinces of Northeast China. Its capital and largest city is Changchun. Jilin borders North Korea (Rasŏn, North Hamgyong, R ...
,
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...
,
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
and
Zhili
Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and rena ...
. The conflict became public as both sides began deploying for the coming war.
Paoting-fu Telegram
Various Zhili and Fengtian generals—such as
Cao Kun,
Zhang Zuolin,
Wang Zhanyuan
Wang Zhanyuan () (February 20, 1861 – September 14, 1934) was a Chinese general of the Warlord Era of China's Republican period, whose power base was in Hubei province.
Biography
In October 1911, during the Xinhai Revolution, he was a ...
,
Li Shun,
Chen Guangyuan
Chen Guangyuan (1873–1939) Zhili clique warlord and military governor of Jiangxi from August 6, 1917, to June 15, 1922.
During the 1911 Xinhai Revolution he was part of the First Army, which fought against the revolutionaries of the Wuchang Upr ...
,
Zhao Ti
Zhao Ti () (1871–1933) was a Chinese general of the late Qing and early Republican period of China. In 1920, he was military governor of Henan.
References
1871 births
1933 deaths
Qing dynasty generals
Republic of China warlords from Hen ...
and
Ma Fuxiang—signed a denunciation of the Anhui clique and its political arm, the Anfu Club, which was led by Xu Shuzheng and Duan Qirui. This denunciation was circulated through a telegram called Paoting-fu on July 12, 1920.
Strategies
In early July 1920 the Anhui clique gathered five divisions and four combined brigades to form the so-called National Stabilization Army (定国军), with Duan Qirui as its commander-in-chief. The army was deployed in two fronts, the western covering the regions of
Zhuozhou, Laishui (涞水) and Gu'an (固安), while the eastern covered the regions of Liang (梁) Hamlet and Beijimiao (北极庙), just to the west of Yang(杨) Hamlet.
Zhili and allied forces gathered a division and nine combined brigades to form their own "Traitor Suppression Army" (讨逆军), with Wu Peifu as its front-line commander-in-chief. This, too, was deployed on two fronts, with an eastern zone in the region of Yang(杨) Hamlet and a western front in the region of Gaobei (高碑). Meanwhile, Zhang Zuolin ordered a detachment of his troops to enter
Shanhaiguan, taking up positions at Machang ( 马厂) and Junliangcheng (军粮城).
Battle
On July 14, 1920, the Anhui army attacked the Zhili army on both fronts. Zhili troops were forced to abandon Gaobei (高碑) and retreated. Two days later, with help from Japanese troops, the Anhui army also succeeded in taking Yang(杨) Hamlet, forcing Zhili forces to form a second line of defense in the region of Beicang(北仓). Here the Anhui army's advance was finally halted.
On July 17 Wu Peifu personally commanded the Zhili army's western front, performing a daring maneuver, outflanking the enemy and taking the western zone's Anhui headquarters. He captured the Anhui army's front-line commander-in-chief
Qu Tongfeng (曲同丰) and many of his officers, including the 1st Division commander. After taking the town of
Zhuozhou, Wu pursued the retreating enemy toward Beijing. With the exception of the 15th Division, the remainder of the Anhui army on the western front was annihilated. On the same day the Fengtian army attacked the Anhui eastern front. Upon learning of the collapse of the western zone, Anhui's eastern commander, chief of staff Gen.
Xu Shuzheng, fled
Langfang to Beijing, leaving his troops to surrender to the combined might of the Fengtian and Zhili cliques.
On July 19, 1920, Duan Qirui realized the fight was over and resigned from his post. On July 23 the combined Fengtian and Zhili cliques entered Nanyuan (南苑) for the takeover of Beijing, concluding with the defeat and surrender of the Anhui clique.
Conclusion
Slightly more than a week of fighting led to the unexpected defeat of the Anhui clique and the permanent breakup of the
Beiyang Army
The Beiyang Army (), named after the Beiyang region,Hong Zhang (2019)"Yuan Shikai and the Significance of his Troop Training at Xiaozhan, Tianjin, 1895–1899" ''The Chinese Historical Review'' 26(1) was a large, Western-style Imperial Chinese Ar ...
.
Wu Peifu was nationally credited as the strategist behind the Zhili clique's victory, while the Fengtian clique provided token support and were allowed to form a joint government, an arrangement which would last until the
First Zhili-Fengtian War
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
in 1922.
See also
*
List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
*
National Revolutionary Army
The National Revolutionary Army (NRA; ), sometimes shortened to Revolutionary Army () before 1928, and as National Army () after 1928, was the military arm of the Kuomintang (KMT, or the Chinese Nationalist Party) from 1925 until 1947 in China ...
*
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
*
Warlord Era
References
*Ke-Wen Wang
Modern China: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism.Taylor & Francis
Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...
, 1997. ; pp. 419–420
*Zhang, Tongxin ''History of Wars between Nationalist New Warlords'', 1st Edition, published by
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...
People's Publishing House in
Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest c ...
& distributed by New China Bookstore
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () Postal romanization, formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a Provinces of China, province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is th ...
branch, 1982.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhili-Anhui War
Conflicts in 1920
Wars involving the Republic of China
Warlord Era
1920 in China
Anhui clique