First Zhili–Fengtian War
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| War | |||||||
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| Part of Warlord era | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Zhili Clique |
.png){kind=small} Fengtian clique |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| Wu Peifu |
Zhang Zuolin |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 100,000 | 120,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Low | 20,000 killed, 10,000 deserted, 40,000 surrendered | ||||||
The First Zhili–Fengtian War (Chinese: 第一次直奉戰爭; pinyin: Dìyīcì Zhífèng Zhànzhēng) was a 1922 conflict in the Republic of China's Warlord Era between the Zhili and Fengtian cliques for control of Beijing. The war led to the defeat of the Fengtian clique and the fall of its leader, Zhang Zuolin, from the coalition Zhili-Fengtian government in Beijing. Wu Peifu was credited as the strategist behind Zhili's victory.
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[edit] Prelude
The immediate cause was Fengtian's replacement of Premier Jin Yunpeng with Liang Shiyi without prior consent of the Zhili clique. However, tension was already building between the two cliques in the uneasy coalition government in Beijing before the incident. After defeating their common enemy, the Anhui clique, the conflicts between Fengtian clique and Zhili clique became acute and obvious. While Zhili clique had the backing of British and American, Fengtian clique had the backing of Japanese, who once supported their enemy, Anhui clique. On December 25, 1921, a cabinet under Liang Shiyi’s leadership was formed with the strong support of Zhang Zuolin, and the new cabinet immediately granted amnesty to six former cabinet members of Anhui clique, under the strong opposition of Zhili clique.
The conflict further intensified as the new cabinet refused to give the three million dollars military budgets previously promised to Zhili clique, and as result, Wu Peifu and other Zhili clique members forced Liang Shiyi to resign on January 25, 1922. With the pro-Fengtian clique cabinet collapsed merely a month after its formation due to the Zhili response of removal of Liang, Zhang Zuolin threatened to resolve the conflict by force and formally begun to deploy his troops on April 10, 1922 and war was thus inevitable as Zhili clique immediately responded by deploying its own force, although Wu Peifu and his Zhili clique did not formally denounce their opponent until April 25, 1922.
[edit] Order of battle
Zhili army deployed around 100,000 troops while Fengtian army deployed around 120,000 troops.
[edit] Order of battle for Zhili army
- Commander-in-chief (& commander of the western front): Wu Peifu
- Commander-in-chief of the central front: Wang Chengbin (王承斌)
- Commander-in-chief of the eastern front: Zhang Guorong (张国熔)
- Deputy commander-in-chief of the eastern front: Zhang Fulai (张富来)
[edit] Order of battle for Fengtian army
- Commander-in-chief (& commander of the eastern front): Zhang Zuolin
- Deputy commander-in-chief (& deputy commander of the eastern front): Sun Liechen (孙烈臣)
- commander of the western front: Zhang Jinghui
- 1st Echelon: Bao Deshan (鲍德山)
- 2nd Echelon: Zhang Xueliang
- 3rd Echelon: Li Jinglin (李景林)
[edit] Strategies
Fengtian army was to attack Zhili army in two fronts, east and west. The general headquarter of Fengtian army was at Military Grains City (Junliangcheng, 军粮城), and this site was also the Fengitan army headquarter of the eastern front. The commander-in-chief of the Fengtian army, Zhang Zuolin was also in charge of the eastern front, and on April 29, 1922, Zhang Zuolin reached his general headquarter and immediately ordered the attack on Zhili army. Zhang Jinghui was named as the commander-in-chief of the Fengtian army’s western front, which was divided into three echelons. The headquarter of Fengtian army’s western front was in Changxindian (长辛店), and the Fengtian army in the west was tasked to directly attack Zhili army headquarter in Baoding.
Zhili army was deployed in three fronts, Wu Peifu’s force headed by the 3rd Division in the west was headquartered in the region of Glazed Glass River (Liulihe, 琉璃河), and Wang Chengbin (王承斌)’s force headed by 23rd Division in the center stationed at Gu’an (固安). Zhang Guorong (张国熔)’s force headed by the 26th Division in the east was stationed in Great City (Dacheng, 大城), later was reinforced by Zhang Fulai (张富来)’s force headed by the 24th Division. Wu Peifu was the commander-in-chief of all of Zhili forces.
[edit] Western front
Fengtian army begun its deployment on April 10, 1922. After the war broke out on April 29, 1922, under the strong offensive launched by the Fengtian army, Zhili army on the eastern front was driven back to the regions of Renqiu and Hejian (河间), while Zhili army on the western front did not make any progress under heavy shelling of Fengtian army. Wu Peifu decided to concentrate on the western front first, and then taking care the eastern front. On April 30, 1922, Wu Peifu personally went to the frontline to command by ordering heavy shelling on the Fengtian army in the front, while the main force outflanked the Fengtian army to its rear. As Zhili army suddenly launched its surprise attack on the Fengtian army, the 16th Division of Fengtian army which was formally Feng Guozhang’s Zhili force defected to Wu Peifu on May 4, 1922. The Temporarily Organized 1st Division of Fengtian army was forced to retreat from Fengtai as a result, and the defense of Fengtian army collapsed on the western front. It was only when the 1st Division of the Fengtian army was deployed to the counterattack was the Zhili advance checked and Changxindian (长辛店) was retaken by the Fengtian army.
The successful counteroffensive of Fengtian army, however, was short lived. Wu Peifu changed his tactic by faking a retreat to lure the advancing Fengtian army into his ambush. As the unsuspecting Fengtian army advanced eagerly in an attempt to drive back the enemy, it overstretched itself and exposed its flank. Seizing the opportunity, Wu Peifu once again deployed the tactic of outflanking the enemy he deployed earlier, and achieved victory once again. This time, Zhili victory was complete as the remaining Fengtian army on the western front was completely annihilated when it was ambushed. The Fengtian army on the western front completely collapsed and the Zhili army turned its attention eastward.
[edit] Eastern front
Fengtian army on the eastern front was initially winning, but as the news of their comrades-in-arms’ complete defeat on the western front reached the east, the commander of the 1st echelon of Fengtian army in the eastern front, brigade commander Bao Deshan (鲍德山) refused to take orders to continue the attack on the enemy, thus leaving the flank of the Fengtian army on the eastern front dangerously exposed to the enemy, and the Fengtian army was in danger of being cutting off. Zhang Zuolin was forced to order a general retreat to avoid total annihilation. The 2nd echelon of Fengtian army in the eastern front under the command of Zhang Xueliang was the cream of the crop of the Fengtian army, and it became the main target of the Zhili army. As Zhili army achieved completely victory in the western front, Wu Peifu redeployed his crack troops of the Zhili 3rd and 26th Division to the eastern front, and personally directed the attack on The 2nd echelon of Fengtian army on the eastern front under the command of Zhang Xueliang. Although Zhang Xueliang led his troops successfully repulsed the enemy’s attack, they could not turn the tide of the war as the defeat of Fengtian clique was becoming obvious and Zhang Xueliang was eventually forced to lead an organized retreat, abandoning grounds they had previously controlled.
The 3rd echelon of Fengtian army on the eastern front under the command of Li Jinglin (李景林) was initially successful in beating back the attack of Zhili army at Yaoma crossing (Yaomadu, 姚马渡), capturing over a thousand enemy troops, but as the news of Fengtian amry’s complete defeat on the western front reached the eastern front, the morale of Fengtian army collapsed, and could no check the renewed enemy attack. Taking advantage of the situation, Zhili army succeeded in their renewed attack on the headquarter of the 3rd echelon of Fengtian army in Horse Factory (Machang, 马厂), succeeding in annihilating over seven thousand Fengtian troops, forcing the latter to give up the region of Poplar Willow Green (Yangliuqing, 杨柳青), and retreated to Northern Warehouse (Beicang, 北仓). As the Fengtian army was preparing to organize a defense at Military Grain City (Junliangcheng, 军粮城), they run into the twenty thousand strong Zhili reinforcement arrived by train and was subsequently defeated. As a result of continuous military failure, the surviving Fengtian army was forced to withdraw to Luanzhou (滦州).
By this time, it was obvious that Fengtian clique had lost as its forces were soundly defeated in both fronts, and on May 5, 1922, the 23rd Division of Zhili army under the command of Wang Chengbin (王承斌) entered Tianjin. Fengtian army suffered over twenty thousand fatalities, over ten thousand desertions, and over forty thousands surrendered to Zhili army.
[edit] Conclusion
By this time, British missionaries in Zhili convinced the British consul at Luanzhou (滦州) to broker a peace treaty that terminated the hostility. British consul suggested the general outline of Fengtian army withdrawing from the region inside Shanhaiguan and Zhili forces stopping giving a chase. On June 18, 1922, representatives from both sides signed the peace treaty onboard British warship anchored off coast of Qinghuangdao, and agreed the general guideline suggested by the British consul. Shanhaiguan then became border of two cliques and First Zhili–Fengtian War ended with Zhili victory. The Fengtian clique, led by warlord Zhang Zuolin being defeated at Shanhaiguan, and was forced to retreated back to Manchuria, while the Zhili armies, led by Wu Peifu, took control of the central government in Beijing. For the next two years, Zhili ruled the Beiyang government alone until the 1924 Beijing coup.
[edit] See also
- List of battles of the Chinese Civil War
- National Revolutionary Army
- Chinese Civil War
- Warlord era
- Second Zhili-Fengtian War
- Zhang Zuolin
- Wu Peifu
[edit] References
- Zhang, Tongxin History of Wars between Nationalist New Warlords, 1st Edition, published by Heilongjiang People’s Publishing House in Harbin & distributed by New China Bookstore Heilongjiang branch, 1982.
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