Whampoa Military Academy
|
The Chinese Military Academy emblem includes its motto, which was first proclaimed by Sun Yat-sen at the Whampoa Academy's opening in 1924. It translates into "Fraternity, Dexterity, Sincerity." |
The
Nationalist Party of China Army Officer Academy (), commonly known as the
Whampoa Military Academy (), was a
military academy in
China that produced many prestigious commanders who fought in the
Northern Expedition,
Second Sino-Japanese War,
Chinese Civil War and
Taiwan Strait Crisis.
The military academy was officially opened on
June 16,
1924 under the
Kuomintang but first lessons began on May 1, 1924. The inauguration was on Chengzhou Island offshore from the
Whampoa dock in
Guangzhou, thus earning its common name. During the inaugural ceremonies,
Sun Yat-sen delivered a speech that was later to become of the lyrics of the
national anthem of the Republic of China.
After the death of
Yuan Shikai, China fragmented into numerous fiefdoms ruled by warlords.
Sun Yat-sen attempted in
1917 and
1920 to set up a base in his native
Guangdong to launch a
northern campaign to unite China under his
Three Principles of the People. However, his rival governments remained militarily weaker than local warlords. Calls by Sun for arms and money were ignored by the western powers. Then in 1921 the representative of
Comintern,
Henk Sneevliet (using the name Maring), met with Sun in
Guangxi. He proposed to set up a military academy and train the revolutionary army, which confirmed Sun's ideas and he accepted that with no hesitation. The
Communist Party of China sent
Li Dazhao and
Lin Boqu (林伯渠) to discuss with Sun and his party on how to set up this academy. In 1924 in the 1st National Congress of
Kuomintang, the policy of alliance with the
Soviet Union and CPC was passed as guidance for KMT. As a result, the final decision of establishment of a military academy was made and preparatory committee was set up accordingly. The money necessary for the construction and support of the Academy in 1924-1925 were provided by the Soviet side.
In the beginning, the Academy had only one department which provided soldiers with basic training. While the main Academy goal was preparation of infantry units, it also provided special classes for artillery, engineering, communication, logistical and machine gun units. A special department for preparation of political agitators was established later.
The academy concentrated the revolutionary military talents at the time. Sun took the job of Premier of this academy in person although it was just a honorary title. Sun's favorite and rising star
Chiang Kai-shek was appointed the first principal of the academy. Liao Zhongkai (廖仲愷), the famous leftist of
Kuomintang and Sun's treasure secretary was appointed as representative of KMT to the academy.
Zhou Enlai,
Hu Han-min, and
Wang Ching-wei were among the instructors in the political department.
He Yingqin and
Ye Jianying were once military instructors.
The serious lack of expert teachers was the biggest problem for the Academy. That is why lectures delivered by Soviet officers were extremely popular among students: A.S. Bubnov, G.I. Gilev, M.I. Dratvin, S.N. Naumov prepared lectures which explained the development of military thought throughout human history and the division between western and Soviet schools of military thought.
Also ex-officers of the Russian
White Army, who switched to the Soviet side after 1917, taught different military subjects in the Academy using their broad experience gained during the
Russian Civil War. Among them were I. Vasilevich (Janovsky), N. Korneev, M. Nefedov, F. Kotov (Katyushin), P. Lunev, V. Akimov. Galina Kolchugina (wife of
Vasily Blyukher who was Commander-in-Chief of all Soviet "volunteer" forces sent to China) read a course of lectures on political agitation.
First two groups of students prepared by the Academy became the core for formation of the first two National Revolutionary Army regiments (V.A. Stepanov was an advisor provided by the Soviet Union to help in this matter). The first two prepared groups of students included 500 officers, the third one had 800 officers and the fourth one already had 2000.
Legendary graduates included Communist commanders
Lin Biao,
Xu Xiangqian, Zuo Quan (左權)，Chen Geng（陳賡)，and Nationalist commanders
Chen Cheng,
Du Yuming, and Hu Zongnan. These young students first showed their training and courage in the war against local warlord and dissident of Sun, Chen Jiongming (陳炯明)，and later the unification of Guangdong province. Then they made greater contributions in the
Northern Expedition.
The Whampoa Military Academy plays an important role in Chinese history. Although it is primarily a military academy aiming to train military elites like the American
West Point Military Academy, it has more influence on Chinese history than West Point does on
20th and
21st century American history. It not only supplied many military commanders for both the KMT and CPC, but also its graduates have much more influence on both parties' policies and governance. Especially for Chiang and KMT, the Whampoa Clique was pivotal for his governance. It competed with other cliques of KMT such as
Guangxi Clique led by
Li Zongren and
Bai Chongxi, CC Clique led by
Chen Lifu and
Chen Guofu, Politics Research Group led by
Yang Yongtai (楊永泰) and
Zhang Qun (張群). At the same time, when the CPC built its first
Red Army after the
Nanchang Uprising in 1927 most of its commanders were from Whampoa, and in the following two decades, the CPC trained its army in the Whampoa way.
The motto of the academy "Camraderie" (親愛精誠, literally 'Fraternity, Dexterity, Sincerity') was proclaimed by Sun Yat-sen at the opening ceremonies. The irony is that during the
Chinese Civil War both the commanders from KMT and CPC were trained and educated in Whampoa. They had to fight for different beliefs and ideals although they used to live and study together like brothers in arms, much as was the case among
Confederate and
Union officers in the
U.S. Civil War.
The academy also had significant influence over the 20th century history of other Asian countries. The fourth term of the Academy saw students not only from all parts of China, but also from different parts of Asia enroll. For example, there were 30 koreans among them. Some of them were brought up in China, others were active participants during the national liberation movement of Korea in 1917-1926 and emigrated to China later only to take up arms for struggle for freedom of their country once again after the education was over.
Also A big group of students was originally from Vietnam. This group was led by an exiled to-be leader of the
Communist Party of Vietnam and vietnamese struggle for independence
Ho Chi Minh.
 |
The gate of Whampoa Military Academy |
The original Whampoa Military Academy existed from 1924 to 1926, over 6 terms it enrolled more than 7000. However, after Chiang Kai-shek's break with the
Communist Party of China (CPC) during the
Northern Expedition the academy was moved to the newly established capital in
Nanjing after the defeat of the warlords in
1928. The academy moved again to
Chengdu during the Japanese invasion.
In
1950, after the Communist victory on
mainland China and the establishment of the
People's Republic of China, the academy was re-established in
Fengshan,
Kaohsiung County,
Taiwan Province as the
Chinese Military Academy (陸軍官校).
*
National Revolutionary Army*
Military of the Republic of China*
Sino-German cooperation*
Kuomintang*
Chiang Kai-shek*
History of the Republic of China*
The Chinese Military Academy Official Website*
Audio file: RTHK broadcast in Cantonese*
Article: "China to Turn Site of KMT Military Academy into Tourist Spot" on the
People's Daily website
