The Republic of China Army originated from Chinese National Revolutionary Army, which was founded by Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang (KMT) in 1924, when the Whampoa Military Academy was established with Soviet military assistance. Whampoa Military Academy, which was presided by Chiang Kai-shek, was tasked with the objective of training a professional Chinese revolutionary army () to unify China during the Warlord Era . It participated in the Northern Expedition, the Second Sino-Japanese War (during World War II) and the Chinese Civil War before withdrawing with the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949.