Wu Peifu (traditional Chinese: 吳佩孚; simplified Chinese: 吴佩孚; pinyin: Wú Pèifú; Wade–Giles: Wu2 P'ei4-fu2; 22 April 1874 – 4 December 1939) was a Chinese warlord and major figure in the Warlord Era in China from 1916 to 1927. He became a key figure of the Beiyang Army after Yuan Shikai's death in 1916. As a member of the Zhili clique he played a pivotal role in various military conflicts. Wu's military acumen earned him the nickname "Jade Marshal" and he was renowned for his strategic brilliance, however, his political alliances were often unstable. Wu's reputation was tarnished by his violent suppression of a workers' strike in 1923. By 1927, Wu was challenged by the National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition, and he eventually retreated from politics. In his later years, Wu refused to cooperate with the Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Early career Born in Shandong Province in eastern China, Wu initially received a traditional Chinese education. He later joined the Baoding Military Academy (保定軍校) in Beijing and embarked on a career as a professional soldier. His talents as an officer were recognized by his superiors, and he rose quickly in the ranks. Wu joined the "New Army" (新軍) (renamed the Beiyang Army in 1902) created by modernizing Qing dynasty general Yuan Shikai. Following the fall of the Qing in 1911, and after Yuan's rise to President of the Republic of China and his subsequent disastrous attempt to proclaim himself emperor, political power in China quickly devolved into the hands of various regional military authorities, inaugurating the era of warlordism. In 1915 Wu became commander of the 6th Brigade.
Zhili Clique After Yuan's death in 1916, his Beiyang Army split into several mutually hostile factions that battled for supremacy over the following years. The major factions included Duan Qirui's Anhui clique, Zhang Zuolin's Fengtian clique, and Feng Guozhang's Zhili clique, of which Wu Peifu was a member. Duan Qirui's faction dominated politics in Beijing from 1916 to 1920 but was forced to maintain an uneasy relationship with Feng Guozhang's faction to maintain stability. The two clashed over methods of dealing with the restive south, with Duan pushing for military conquest and Feng preferring negotiation. Feng died in 1919 and the leadership of the Zhili Clique was secured by Cao Kun with the support of Wu Peifu and Sun Chuanfang. Cao and Wu began to agitate against Duan and the Anhui clique and issued circular telegrams denouncing his collaboration with Japan. When they successfully pressured the president to dismiss Duan's key subordinate Gen. Xu Shuzheng, Duan began to prepare for war against the Zhili Clique. At this juncture, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu began to organize a wide-reaching alliance including all opponents of the Anhui clique. In November 1919 Wu Peifu met with representatives of Tang Jiyao and Lu Rongting (warlords of Yunnan and Guangxi, respectively) at Hengyang and signed a treaty titled “Rough Draft of the National Salvation Allied Army” (救国同盟军草约), forming the base of the anti-Anhui clique alliance that also included Zhang Zuolin's powerful Fengtian clique.
Zhili-Anhui War
When hostilities finally broke out in July 1920, Wu Peifu took a prominent role as commander-in-chief of the anti-Anhui army. At first things did not go well for Zhili forces, as they were pushed back by Anhui troops across the front. However, Wu decided to execute a daring maneuver on the western end of the front by first outflanking enemy positions and then directly assaulting the enemy's headquarters position. The gambit paid off and Wu was rewarded with an astounding victory and the capture of many of the officers in the enemy command. The Anhui army crumbled within a week and Duan Qirui fled to the Japanese settlement at Tianjin. Wu Peifu was credited as the strategist behind the unexpectedly swift victory. In the aftermath of the conflict, the Zhili and Fengtian cliques agreed to a power-sharing coalition government. However, Zhang Zuolin, leader of the Fengtian clique, became increasingly uneasy with Wu Peifu's vehement anti-Japanese stance that threatened to upset the delicate arrangement Zhang had reached with the Japanese in his power base of Manchuria. Wu and Zhang also clashed over who would occupy the position of premier, replacing each other's choices with their own. Soon the coalition between Zhili and Fengtian broke down and hostilities were inevitable.
First Zhili–Fengtian War
In this war Wu Peifu was again placed in the position of commander-in-chief of Zhili forces. Fighting would take place on a broad front south of Beijing and Tianjin and lasted from April to June 1922. Initially, the Zhili army again suffered several setbacks against the well-equipped Fengtian army. Yet once again, Wu Peifu's leadership and planning turned the tide in favor of the Zhili clique. He executed several outflanking maneuvers that forced the western front of the Fengtian army back towards Beijing, then he lured it into a trap by feigning retreat. The result was the annihilation of the western wing of the Fengtian army, making its more successful eastern operations untenable. Zhang Zuolin was forced to order a general retreat towards Shanhaiguan, thereby ceding control of the capital to Wu and the Zhili clique. Victorious, Cao Kun and Wu Peifu's Zhili clique nevertheless took control of a government whose control over the provinces had greatly deteriorated. Manchuria was now de facto independent under Zhang Zuolin and the still formidable Fengtian clique, while the south was divided among myriad warlord armies, including remnants of the Anhui clique and Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang.
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