The First United Front, formed in 1923, brought together the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party to combat warlordism and unify China. This alliance, supported by Soviet advisors, reshaped China's political landscape and strengthened the nationalist movement.

The United Front's impact was significant but short-lived. While it helped defeat warlords and expand communist influence, tensions between the KMT and CCP led to its collapse in 1927. This breakdown set the stage for decades of conflict between the two parties.

The Formation and Impact of the First United Front

Formation of First United Front

• Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) formed an alliance in 1923 known as the First United Front with the shared goal of ending warlordism and unifying China
• KMT, led by Sun Yat-sen, needed support to defeat the warlords and establish a republican government based on his Three Principles of the People (nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood) aimed at modernizing and unifying China
• CCP, founded in 1921, was still a relatively small and weak party that saw an alliance with the KMT as an opportunity to expand its influence and pursue its revolutionary goals
• Soviet Union, under Lenin's leadership, encouraged cooperation between the KMT and CCP believing a united front could further the cause of revolution in China and weaken Western imperialism (Britain, France, Japan)

Soviet advisors in KMT-CCP alliance

• Soviet advisors, such as Mikhail Borodin, a Comintern agent who served as a political advisor to Sun Yat-sen and the KMT, played a crucial role in the formation of the First United Front by helping reorganize the KMT along Leninist lines, emphasizing party discipline and mass mobilization
• Soviets provided military aid and training to the KMT, helping establish the Whampoa Military Academy in 1924 which trained KMT and CCP officers like Chiang Kai-shek who later became the leader of the KMT and served as the academy's commandant
• Soviets encouraged CCP members to join the KMT as individuals, forming a "bloc within" to influence the party from within as a strategy to strengthen the CCP's position and promote cooperation between the two parties
• Soviet support and advice helped legitimize the CCP and bolster its position in the alliance with the KMT

Impact of First United Front

• First United Front significantly altered the balance of power in China during the 1920s by strengthening the Nationalist movement and weakening the warlords
  1. KMT-CCP forces launched the Northern Expedition (1926-1928) to defeat the warlords and unify China
  2. Expedition successfully brought much of central and northern China under KMT control
• First United Front allowed the CCP to expand its influence and membership
  • CCP membership grew from around 300 in 1922 to over 30,000 by 1927
  • CCP's increased presence within the KMT and its mass organizations helped spread communist ideas
• Tensions within the First United Front eventually led to its collapse
  • KMT's right wing, led by Chiang Kai-shek, grew increasingly wary of the CCP's growing influence
  • In April 1927, Chiang purged communists from the KMT and launched a campaign of repression against the CCP
• Breakdown of the First United Front marked the beginning of the long-standing conflict between the KMT and CCP that would shape the balance of power in China for the next two decades, culminating in the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949) and the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949