How a brief 1920 power struggle shattered the Beiyang government and redefined Chinese warlordism.
In July 1920, the Zhili and Anhui cliques clashed in a short, decisive conflict that permanently fractured the Beiyang Army. What began as a disagreement over how to unify China escalated into a rapid military collapse, leaving a power vacuum that reshaped the nation's political landscape for years to come.
The Zhili–Anhui War emerged from deep-seated ideological divisions regarding the unification of the Republic of China. Duan Qirui, leader of the Anhui clique and premier of the state department, advocated for aggressive military action against southern rivals. Conversely, the Zhili clique, led by figures like Wu Peifu and Cao Kun, favored a strategy of political negotiation and financial maneuvering. Tensions simmered following the 1917 Constitutional Protection War, exacerbated by Duan’s use of Nishihara Loans to build a private army and his subsequent occupation of Outer Mongolia.
By 1919, the Zhili clique began building a formidable anti-Anhui coalition, securing support from the Fengtian clique and various regional warlords. The conflict turned public in July 1920 as both sides mobilized their forces. The Anhui clique formed the National Stabilization Army, while the Zhili and their allies organized the Traitor Suppression Army. On July 14, 1920, hostilities commenced with an Anhui offensive that initially pushed back Zhili lines. However, the tide turned on July 17 when Wu Peifu executed a daring outflanking maneuver, capturing the Anhui western headquarters and commander Qu Tongfeng.
The collapse was swift. Following the defeat of the western front and a simultaneous assault by Fengtian forces on the eastern front, the Anhui army disintegrated. By July 19, 1920, Duan Qirui resigned, and on July 23, the victors entered Beijing. The war lasted little more than a week, resulting in the unexpected downfall of the Anhui clique and the permanent fragmentation of the Beiyang Army. This victory established a fragile joint government between the Zhili and Fengtian cliques, an uneasy alliance that would hold only until the outbreak of the First Zhili-Fengtian War in 1922.
The war serves as a critical case study in the volatility of the warlord era. It demonstrated how quickly military alliances could shift and how the failure of a central government to maintain consensus led to decentralized, localized control. The reliance on foreign backing—such as British, American, and Japanese interests—further complicated the internal struggle, turning a domestic power dispute into a complex geopolitical event.
Source: Zhili–Anhui War
