Anti–Fengtian War

The Anti-Fengtian War (Fan Feng Zhan Zheng, 反奉战争) was the last major civil war within the Republic of China's northern Beiyang government prior to the Northern Expedition. It lasted from November 1925 to April 1926 and was waged by the Guominjun against the Fengtian clique and their Zhili clique allies. The war ended with the defeat of the Guominjun and the end of the provisional executive government. The war is also known as either Guominjun-Fengtian War (Guo Feng Zhan Zheng, 国奉战争), or the Third Zhili-Fengtian War (Di San Ci Zhi Feng Zhan Zheng, 第三次直奉战争).

The end result of the Second Zhili-Fengtian War had led to the creation of a provisional executive government in Beijing in November 1924, where an informal triumvirate formed by Fengtian's Zhang Zuolin, the Guominjun's Feng Yuxiang, and the Anhui clique's Duan Qirui had ruled. Duan's position as head of state was merely as a figurehead, however, as his clique had been almost destroyed. His small army of bodyguards operated solely within the capital he now figuratively ruled.

Zhang was the strongest of the three leaders and controlled the wealthy northeastern provinces. Feng's smaller army controlled the poorer northwest. As such, the power sharing arrangement between the two was destined to fail: Zhang was a monarchist backed by Japan, whereas Feng dabbled with radical politics, Christianity and revolutionary idealism all with Soviet support. Duan, lacking a power base of his own, played the two against each other in order to retain some control.

Throughout the summer of 1925 both Zhang and Feng began soliciting help from their former Zhili enemy, Wu Peifu. Seething at Feng's earlier betrayal during the Beijing coup, Wu sealed an alliance with Zhang in November. This alliance would last until the defeat of both cliques under the Northern Expedition in 1928.

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