Role Reversal

Abstract

In autumn 1927, Chiang Kai-shek, who had left power, went to Japan, where he met not only his future mother-in-law but also, privately, the Prime Minister, Tanaka. He appealed to Tanaka for Japan’s understanding and assistance for the Northern Expedition. Since the Kuomintang could not work in harmony without Chiang’s co-ordinating influence at its centre, Chiang returned to power in late January 1928, and officially resumed control over the National Revolutionary Army. On 7 April, he renewed the attack on the northern warlords clustered around Chang Tso-lin. The incorporation of several warlords such as Feng Yü-hsiang and their forces into the National Revolutionary Army had made its size far larger than before, so that Japan regarded the situation as more serious than it was in 1927.