ABSTRACT
Chiang was born on October 31, 1887, at Chicow, a village in the mountains of China's central coast. Between 1924 and 1928, Chiang used the army to assert an uneasy Kuomintang authority over China by destroying many of the warlords who had taken over the country since 1911. Chiang faced a new threat, however, from Japan, which in 1931 conquered the northeastern province of Manchuria and by 1937 advanced further into Chinese territory. Throughout World War II, Chiang received military aid from the Allies and slowly retook land conquered by Japan. At various times, Chiang also successfully rallied his potential enemies, such as the Soviet Union, the United States, and the Chinese communists, behind his vision of a modern, independent, industrial China.
