| Republic of China Military Academy | |
| Former Names: | Whampoa Military Academy (1924–1926) Central Military Academy (1927–1949) Chinese Workers and Peasants Military Academy |
| Motto: | Fraternity, Devotion, Sincerity |
| Superintendent: | Maj. Gen. Chang Chieh (張捷) |
| City: | Fengshan District, Kaohsiung |
| Campus: | Suburban |
The Republic of China Military Academy, also known as the Chinese Military Academy (CMA), is the service academy for the army. It was founded by the Republic of China as the Whampoa Military Academy at Huangpu (Whampoa), Guangzhou in 1924. At the end of the Chinese Civil War the academy evacuated to the island of Taiwan and took its current name. Its graduates participated in the Northern Expedition, the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War.
By 1924, the Kuomintang (KMT) wanted to build a modern, and politically-reliable armed force. The KMT received money, materiel, and advisors from the Soviet Union; military advisors provided training and began reorganizing the KMT's forces along Soviet lines. As part of the reforms, political commissars were introduced for political and technical training and, in 1924, the KMT's 1st National Congress approved the creation of the Whampoa Military Academy to train junior officers for the what would become the National Revolutionary Army (NRA). The academy was established in May 1924 on Changzhou Island in Huangpu, Guangzhou with Chiang Kai-shek as superintendent. Liao Zhongkai, the KMT treasury secretary, was the party's representative to the academy. Sun Yat-sen took the ceremonial position of the academy's premier.
The Chinese faculty included graduates from the Baoding Military Academy, the Yunnan Military Academy, and the Imperial Japanese Army Academy. There were also a small number of Soviet instructors trained at the Frunze Military Academy; they were the academy's primary instructors.[1] Members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were admitted as faculty and students as part of the First United Front. The political instructors were mostly Communists, as was the their director, Zhou Enlai. The later People's Liberation Army also recruited Whampoa graduates.
The academy's provided a 6-12 month military-political program incorporating Western pedagogical methods and practical exercises. Military training was primarily infantry-focused, but also included classes for artillery, engineers, logistics, and heavy weapons. Political training was based on Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, KMT history, and Western politics and economics. The program was inferior to those provided by contemporary professional armies, but it gave the NRA an advantage over the less professional Chinese armies of the Warlord Era. The first class of 490 graduated in November.The academy formed the first "model" regiment in October 1924, which suppressed a insurrection of angry merchants and their private militia forces late that month. The Whampoa force operated successfully during the Guangdong–Guangxi War and the Yunnan–Guangxi War before becoming the foundation of the NRA.
By the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 the majority of Chinese divisions were commanded by Whampoa graduates.
The original academy operated until 1926. In 1928, following the Northern Expedition, it was relocated to Nanjing, the new capital, and renamed as the Central Military Academy. The CMA evacuated to Chengdu in 1938 during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
At the end of the Chinese Civil War, the CMA evacuated to Kaohsiung on Taiwan and was renamed to the Republic of China Military Academy.
The site of the Whampoa Military Academy is now a museum.
In June 2024, President Lai Ching-te visited the ROC Military Academy on the occasion of its 100th anniversary celebration.[2]
Note: "class year" refers to the alumnus's class year, which usually is the same year they graduated. However, in times of war, classes often graduate early.
A "—" in the class year column indicates a superintendent who is not an alumnus of the Academy.
| Start | End | Name | Photo | Class year | Notability | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2 May 1924 | October 1947 | Chiang Kai-shek | — | Generalissimo | |
| 2. | October 1947 | September 1949 | Lt. Gen. Guan Linzheng (關麟徵) | — | General
| |
| 3. | September 1949 | December 1949 | Lt. Gen. Chang Yao-ming (張耀明) | 1924 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 4. | October 1950 | 31 October 1954 | Lt. Gen. Lo Yu-lun (羅友倫) | 1929 | General
| |
| 5. | 1 September 1954 | 31 March 1957 | Lt. Gen. Hsieh Chao-chih (謝肇齊) | 1929 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 6. | 1 April 1957 | 31 December 1960 | Lt. Gen. Hsu Ju-cheng (徐汝誠) | 1929 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 7. | 1 January 1961 | March 1965 | Lt. Gen. Ai Ai (艾靉) | 1926 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 8. | March 1965 | 31 March 1970 | Lt. Gen. Chang Li-fu (張立夫) | 1929 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 9. | 1 April 1970 | February 1973 | Lt. Gen. Lin Chu-yao (林初耀) | 1933 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 10. | February 1973 | 31 March 1976 | Lt. Gen. Chin Tsu-hsi (秦祖熙) | 1937 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 11. | 1 April 1976 | December 1977 | Lt. Gen. Yen Pai-chien (言百謙) | 1941 | General
| |
| 12. | December 1977 | December 1979 | Lt. Gen. Hsu Li-nung (許歷農) | 1939 | General
| |
| 13. | December 1979 | 30 June 1981 | Lt. Gen. Chu Chih-yuan (朱致遠) | 1939 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 14. | 1 July 1981 | 30 June 1983 | Lt. Gen. Lu Kuang-yi (盧光義) | 1949 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 15. | 1 July 1983 | 30 June 1985 | Lt. Gen. Huang Hsing-chiang (黃幸強) | 1949 | General
| |
| 16. | 1 July 1985 | December 1986 | Lt. Gen. Huang Yao-yu (黃耀羽) | 1952 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 17. | December 1986 | 30 June 1989 | Lt. Gen. Tang Yuan-pu (湯元普) | 1960 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 18. | 1 July 1989 | 60 June 1991 | Lt. Gen. Hu Chia-chi (胡家麒) | 1961 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 19. | 1 July 1991 | September 1993 | Lt. Gen. Yang Te-chih (楊德智) | 1964 | General
| |
| 20. | September 1993 | July 1996 | Lt. Gen. Ma Teng-ho (馬登鶴) | 1960 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 21. | July 1996 | July 1997 | Lt. Gen. Tung Chao-yang (童兆陽) | 1965 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 22. | July 1997 | January 1998 | Lt. Gen. Ting Yu-chou (丁渝洲) | 1966 | General
| |
| 23. | January 1998 | 28 February 2002 | Lt. Gen. Chang Yueh-heng (張岳衡) | 1965 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 24. | 1 March 2002 | 30 June 2005 | Lt. Gen. Yang Kuo-chiang (楊國強) | 1972 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 25. | 1 July 2005 | 30 June 2006 | Lt. Gen. Wang Ken-lin (王根林) | 1971 | Lieutenant general
| |
| acting | 1 July 2006 | 31 July 2006 | Lt. Gen. Chia Fu-yi (賈輔義) | 1970 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 26. | 1 October 2006 | July 2010 | Maj. Gen. Chen Liang-pei (陳良沛) | 1979 | Major general
| |
| 27. | July 2010 | 30 June 2012 | Maj. Gen. Chuan Tzu-jui (全子瑞) | 1981 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 28. | 1 July 2012 | February 2015 | Maj. Gen. Liu Te-king (劉得金) | 1983 | Lieutenant general
| |
| 29. | February 2015 | present | Maj. Gen. Chang Chieh (張捷) | 1985 | Major general
| |
See main article: category.
The academy is within walking distance south of Dadong Station of the Kaohsiung MRT.