Chiang Kai-shek then turned to Germany, historically a great military power, for the reorganisation and modernisation of the NRA.
Chiang initially requested famous generals such as Ludendorff and von Mackensen as advisors - the Weimar Republic turned him down, fearing that they were too famous, would invite the ire of the Allies, and would result in the loss of national prestige for such renowned figures to work, essentially, as mercenaries.
In 1934 General Hans von Seeckt, acting as advisor to President Chiang, proposed a "80 Division Plan" for reforming the entire Chinese army into 80 divisions of highly trained, well-equipped troops organised along German lines.
The plan was never fully realised, as the vying warlords could not agree upon the reorganised division organization and the disbanding of the others.
Another 12 divisions equipped with Chinese arms on the reorganized model with German advisors had some training by the time the Second Sino-Japanese War started in July 1937.