July 15 Incident
The July 15 Incident (), known by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the July 15 counter-revolutionary coup (), and as the Wuhan–Communist split () by the Kuomintang (KMT), occurred on 15 July 1927. Following growing strains in the coalition between the KMT government in Wuhan and the CCP, and under pressure from the rival nationalist government led by Chiang Kai-shek in Nanjing, Wuhan leader Wang Jingwei ordered a purge of communists from his government in July 1927. Background During the Northern Expedition (1926–1928) to reunify a fragmented China, Kuomintang policy was one of "allying with Russia and tolerating the communists" () under the First United Front between the KMT and CCP. However, after the anti-communist faction of the KMT led by Chiang Kai-shek organized a massacre of communists and leftists in April 1927, the nationalist government in Wuhan, led by Wang Jingwei, denounced Chiang, who established his own government in Nanjing, marking the start of the Nanjing–Wuhan split. The Wuhan government initially maintained the alliance with the CCP but later, tension escalated between them. Warlords such as Feng Yuxiang, who commanded large military forces, also called for severing of ties with the Communist Party. KMT leftist–CCP relations remained close after the "Shanghai massacre" purge of communists by Chiang Kai-shek on 12 April, and joint KMT–CCP conferences continued to be held frequently. Workers and farmers' movements continued to grow, but some KMT generals and soldiers, especially those from landowning or merchant families, were disturbed by an increase in class warfare killings. Xu Kexiang, the KMT regimental commander of the 33rd regiment, 35th army launched an operation to disarm the communists on 21 May (), and before long, Xia Douyin, the commander of the 14th Independent Division, also led an anti-communist mutiny. Although the Wuhan government had ordered their suppression, under the protection of warlord He Jian and other officials, they succeeded in defecting to the Nanjing government, which led to Wuhan losing control of parts of Hubei and most of Hunan. On 29 June, Wuhan garrison commander Li Pinxian and He Jian openly declared their support for the anti-communist cause, and dispersed the Hankou strikers and their militant forces. As disruption and discord continued at Wuhan, the Communist International (Comintern) issued a series of orders known as the "May Instructions" on 1 June, which Wang thought would destroy the KMT. Under increasing pressure, Wang decided to break with the communists and the Soviet Union. Events of 15 July On 15 July, Wang Jingwei held a meeting within KMT, during which he formally publicised the content of the "May Instructions" and condemned CCP's decisions, though he maintained the position that non-violent methods should be used to remove the communists from Wuhan. This proposal met with approval from most members; the only one who protested and walked out was Soong Ching-ling's representative Eugene Chen. In the end, the meeting passed the "Policy of Uniting the Party", a statement that was directed against CCP's declaration, requesting that all the communists within the KMT