Page "Chiang Kai-shek" Paragraph 13

Sun Yat-sen died on March 12, 1925, creating a power vacuum in the Kuomintang.

A contest ensued between Chiang, who stood at the right wing of the KMT, and Sun Yat-sen's close comrade-in-arms Wang Jingwei, who leaned towards the left.

Although Wang succeeded Sun as Chairman of the National Government, Chiang's relatively low position in the party's internal hierarchy was bolstered by his military backing and adept political maneuvering following the Zhongshan Warship Incident.

On June 5, 1926, Chiang became Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army ( NRA ), and on July 27 he launched a military campaign known as the Northern Expedition in order to defeat the warlords controlling northern China and to unify the country under the KMT.