Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945

by Rana Mitter

On June 5, 1926, Chiang was officially placed in charge of the National Revolutionary Army (NRA), the military force that served the Nationalist Party. In an ironic echo of the way in which Sun Yat-sen’s own power and prestige had been rendered null by the greater military power of Yuan Shikai in 1912, Chiang’s ability to command force now brought him victory over Sun’s supposed heir. That military power was important, for there was a great deal for the NRA to do. Over the next two years the Nationalist army fought or coerced its way to control over most of China’s central and eastern provinces, a campaign termed the Northern Expedition. In fact, it was a drive to complete the national unification that had been lost in the wake of the 1911 revolution.