to Russia immediately. On 8 July, the Comintern requested that all communists withdraw from KMT. On 12 July, Chen Duxiu's was dismissed as CCP general secretary, and a leaders' group constituting Zhou Enlai, Li Lisan, Li Weihan, Zhang Tailei and Zhang Guotao was formed (Qu Qiubai later joined them). Researcher Zhang Yufa speculates that the Comintern's intention was for an armed insurrection to seize leadership of revolutionary movements from the KMT. On 13 July, CCP issued a declaration that it would officially withdraw from the KMT, and reproached Wang as "openly sponsoring counter-revolutionaries". Break with CCP and dissolution Continuous unrest by trade unionists and communist-aligned peasant movements, along with Soviet interference in Wuhan's affairs, placed constant pressure on the Wuhan government, which subsequently moved to purge communists from its ranks on 15 July 1927, in what is known as the "715 Incident". In response to the purge, the Chinese Communist Party initiated the Nanchang uprising against the Wuhan government on 1 August 1927, after which Wuhan agreed to reunify with the Nanjing nationalist government. In return for his cooperation, Wang Jingwei demanded that Chiang resign from his post of commander-in-chief, and relinquish all political titles. Chiang accordingly resigned from his post on 12 August. On 21 September, the Wuhan Political Council made an official statement to the effect that they would relocate to Nanjing, ending the Wuhan government. Military forces Though most of the NRA was loyal to Chiang Kai-shek or various warlords who joined the KMT before or during the Northern Expedition, the Wuhan government commanded its own military force. The so-called "Wuhan Army" was less strong and well-armed than the rest of the NRA, and suffered from the defection of right-leaning commanders and their troops to Chiang's side. Commanded by Tang Shengzhi, the Wuhan army was too weak in numbers and equipment to truly rival Chiang's followers or to defeat the northern warlords. Nevertheless, a 70,000-strong army loyal to the Wuhan government launched its own "Northern Expedition" in April 1927, aiming to conquer Henan from the northern warlords. Though lacking in arms, this force was joined by deserters from Wu Peifu's forces and managed to push back the warlord Zhang Xueliang, but suffered 14,000 casualties while doing so, and was forced to return to Wuhan. Unable to sufficiently replenish its numbers, the Wuhan army was eventually defeated by Chiang-loyal NRA forces. References Citations Bibliography - See profile at