What role did Chiang Kai-shek have at the Whampoa Military Academy?

Chiang Kai-shek served as the first commandant of the Whampoa Military Academy, which was established in 1924 near Guangzhou by Sun Yat-sen.123

Following a visit to the Soviet Union in 1923 to study their military institutions, Chiang was selected by Sun to lead the academy, which was modeled on the Soviet system. The primary purpose of the institution was to train a corps of young officers who would remain loyal to the Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and serve as commanders in a new national revolutionary army.13

Chiang’s position as commandant was pivotal to his rise to power, as it provided him with a loyal military base that he later used to consolidate his influence within the Nationalist movement following Sun's death in 1925.1