Yah also agree while no CCP split, Chang still distrusts the CCP so they are given divisional command at most, maybe put one up as a corps command as a show to appease the CCP.
If the CCP never endeavoured to have their own military force, Chiang might just be a tad more trusting of them - he was able to work with them IOTL in the Whampoa days, so it's possible.
I'd say Zhu De and Peng Dehuai gets an army each at the most, and some of the other guys get division- and corps-level commands.
True Tang En Po not so good however he is very loyal to Chiang and part of his Central Army faction. So not surprised if he gets a higher post. Same with Chen Cheng.
Like I said, Tang Enbo was okay in the early days of the war IOTL, but while garrisoning in Henan, his forces were almost like bandits (not that I can blame them too much - food and other supplies was always a problem for the NRA during the war IOTL). So either a garrison command somewhere or a field army at most.
the best KMT generals seem to be the ones of other opposing KMT factions like Xue Yue, Sun Li Jen etc.
Xue Yue once opposed Chiang, but the two later reconciled and he was given important commands in the Encirclement Campaigns, Long March, and later the Second Sino-Japanese War. Sun was too junior to be of any impact during the war, and Chiang Ching-kuo didn't start giving him trouble until the ROC government relocated to Taiwan, so they weren't opposing Chiang, at least not during the war.
Also, both Xue and Sun could be counted as part of the Central Forces clique, only without the Whampoa background. Xue Yue came over from the Canton Army after Chiang ousted Xu Chongzhi, I think; Sun went to VMI (as we know) and later joined the Tax Police brigade (which, while not officially part of the NRA,
was counted among the OTL German-equipped divisions in the 30s).
Wonder what happened to Yan Xi Shan of the Shanxi faction, in OTL he was one of the strongest KMT leaders controlling his own set of provinces in Central China right even during the war.
IOTL he ran Shanxi as his personal fiefdom and was content at that. I don't think he ever tried for supreme power after the Central Plains War.
Do the Chinese have German, Soviet and American advisers and or German and Soviet personel fighting alongside them vs. the Entente in China?
I would assume there'd be a lot more German advisers in the NRA ITTL, given the closer relationship between Germany and China, and definitely a lot more German-trained AND equipped divisions than the five OTL (36th, 87th, 88th, and Training Divisions, as well as Tax Police Brigade)
In OTL, the Soviets sent thousands of "volunteers" to fight for China as well as a lot of weapons and equpment. The Germans had thousands of advisders before they were withdrawn in early 1938.
Ideologically, without the violent KMT-CCP split it'd be easier for both parties to stomach a Sino-Soviet pact of sorts, given that Stalin needed China to distract Japan so that Russian Far East would be secure
I would reckon the Germans have a bigger presence in China in this timeline and General Falkenhausen and other German generals are probably advising Chang on strategy and probalby German volunteer airmen in China.
Same for the Soviets, Soviets in OTL had Chuikov and even Zhukov as military advisers to Chang. Not surprised if the Soviets sent these guys as advisers to probably spy on the Germans and Chinese capabilities. Also not surprised the Soviets are sending lots of military aid to the Chinese.
German volunteers are unlikely once fighting started in the Western Front. They'll need every man available to breach the Anglo-French lines there. The Soviets, on the other hand, could "lend-lease" some of the surplus equipment to China. You might see several corps armed solely with Russian weapons.
Marc A
