Chiang is not responsible for Japanese actions, the Japanese are responsible for Japanese actions. Don't push off responsibility for Japanese atrocities onto the Chinese.
Oh, so Chiang didn't need to try defend China from Mukden? From Marco Polo Bridge? Because that was several precious years wasted where Chiang could have shown to Japan that they are a tough opponent, and he missed the opportunity.
At most you are talking political incompetence not moral culpability. The Communists were just as eager to go after the Nationalists as the Nationalists were to go after them.
Did I deny any of that since the beginning?
we can't know how serious he was contemplating making peace with Japan, we only know he didn't.
Well, he did employ ex-IJA/IJN officers in post-WWII campaigns, and use Japanese soldiers against Chinese Communist ones. Furthermore considering Chiang was trained in a Japanese military academy and had personal connections with a number of IJA officers it's not hard to imagine the above being the case.
In any case I am not arguing Chiang was a moral giant, as he wasn't, just that he was better than Mao.
The fact that Chiang intentionally leaving millions of Chinese to die in the hands of the Japanese is somehow BETTER than Mao leaving millions to die in GLF and CR is what's exasperating me most. Furthermore never have I even mentioned Chiang would be close to what you call a "moral giant".
You don't know that, the Japanese were massively outnumbered and were totally frustrated in China because of both Nationalist and Communist forces. Remember they weren't kicked out by Mao either but by Soviet armored divisions.
I don't recall ever mentioning that the Operation August Storm was conducted by Mao; what I meant was that Mao's active guerrilla campaign in the countryside was what was bogging the Japanese down and not allowing them to quickly take Chungking, at least until the US supplies began massively flowing in.
Because you, yourself conceded the point. Since you admitted that they took the brunt of the war, I accepted it. If even the person most strenuously arguing for Mao admits he did less actual fighting then I admit I was probably wrong and overestimated the Communist commitment to destroying Japan over the Nationalists.
?? I don't recall making a point as such; furthermore I don't recall being a bloody Mao advocate, I'm just not finding sense in anyone viewing Chiang morally superior or more capable in comparison to Mao.
Mao era China was after the Japanese were gone. If Japan was still there Mao would have done even worse.
Eh, do you remember that time when I talked about how Mao-era military was more competent than Chiang's?? How they defended against the Soviets, beat the Americans and Indians?? Yeah, Wrong comparison just now. Mao-era China proved itself highly capable of self-defence, while Chiang-era China wasn't.
Again Mao bears some of the responsibility for the difficulty of the Chinese-Japanese War.If he would have given up the idea of revolution until the Japanese were kicked out,
Yeahh, Mao would definitely be happy to have faith in Chiang after his comrades were brutally tortured and executed in Shanghai. Yeah, Mao should've been subordinate to Chiang!! Long live Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek!!
That would have made it harder for him. of course. But if kicking out the Japanese were truly much more important to him than taking over China that is what he would have done.
And that's what happened in OTL: Mao, with the little strength his army had in comparison to the Nationalists after the Long March, managed to help beat back Japan, beat Chiang, and then even the Americans. Sure, I don't deny that it probably was for personal gain, but he sure as hell defended his country in the process.