No Chiang

What is your opinion regarding Chiang?
When I first started investigating about modern Chinese history, I regarded him like a tragic figure. A patriot that did his best to modernize China, and fight Japan only to be expelled to Taiwan never to return to the mainland.
Latter I learn about the shanghai massacre (which alienate the Soviet union which was helping to modernize China, launch the disastrous civil war)
His refusal to defend Manchuria even when the invasion was unpopular in Japan at the time. His appeasement of Japan was so big that he had to be literally kidnapped to agree to fight Japan.
So what you think would China have been better with any other leader?
 
What is your opinion regarding Chiang?
When I first started investigating about modern Chinese history, I regarded him like a tragic figure. A patriot that did his best to modernize China, and fight Japan only to be expelled to Taiwan never to return to the mainland.
Tragic figure, but very complicated due to the history being complicated.
Latter I learn about the shanghai massacre (which alienate the Soviet union which was helping to modernize China, launch the disastrous civil war)
Without the Shanghai Massacre, the communists would have gotten increasingly influential in the KMT and drawn China uncomfortably close to the Soviet Union. The tyrannical nature of communism aside, the Soviet Union was not a healthy strategic or political partner for China based on its imperialist ambitions. Also, these were pretty brutal times. Not that Chiang was right, but he knew he was fighting an armed struggle, as were the other Chinese factions at the time.
His refusal to defend Manchuria even when the invasion was unpopular in Japan at the time. His appeasement of Japan was so big that he had to be literally kidnapped to agree to fight Japan.
China had an extremely backward army at the time of the invasion of Manchuria. It was a collection of warlords that Chiang had somehow managed to get under the same banner, not a professional military. By 1936, when Chiang was kidnapped by Zhang Xueliang (at the encouragement of the CCP) and forced to form an anti-Japanese alliance, he was already taking many steps to rectify this situation. Several divisions had been trained and equipped by the Germans. Dozens more divisions were being taught and reorganized in a similar manner. China's economy and industrial base were making good progress between 1928 and 1937. The Japanese already had a hard time fighting the Chinese in Shanghai IOTL. With even a couple more years of modernization and political consolidation among the KMT armies, it's possible the Japanese could have been beaten back at Shanghai.
So what you think would China have been better with any other leader?
Warlord Era China means that the leader of China needs to sort out the problems with the warlords first. IOTL Chiang Kai-shek knew this and focused his efforts on eliminating military threats to his authority as well as the most serious political threat, the communists. If there is no rise of Chiang and the KMT becomes a left-leaning or outright communistic party, then China faces the same problems. They need to convince the warlords, or more likely, beat them into total submission in order to solve these problems. Then they need to industrialize. The Soviets can provide some help but it will be a long and probably not very efficient process. Add to this the fact that this earlier communist China will have associated purges, red terror, economic fantasies like collectivization. To replace the fallen warlords probably they will have a bunch of political commissars heading the troops which is sure to have a bad effect on actual fighting ability. By 1937 China may not even be as strong as it was in OTL.
 
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... Several divisions had been trained and equipped by the Germans. Dozens more divisions were being taught and reorganized in a similar manner. China's economy and industrial base were making good progress between 1928 and 1937. ...

A Communist influenced KMT leads to to the Germans withdrawing support far sooner. It also hinders US support. May even waive away the China Lobby as we know it, and at the extreme end cause the US to support Japans invasion of China if it is couched in anti Bolshevik terms. That waives away the Pacific War & a lot else...
 
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