Rationale: As in OTL, CKS is loath to cooperate with Stilwell or allow him to dilute his own lines of authority to Chinese military forces. He is also loath to commit too much to the Burma campaign, to keep up strength within China. He does not want to give up control, make openings for the Communists and overtax his core forces and internal alliances with warlords.
The added twist is he does not see focusing on a US bombing campaign from China as the easy alternative, as he did in OTL.
The rationale is that he anticipates that if China is the unique platform for bombing Japan, it will stimulate Japanese attacks on Chinese forces and territory. Therefore, while verbally expressing plans and intentions to invigorate the war with Japan, and while seeking both massive military equipment and defensive air support from the US (fighters more than bombers), Chiang puts off development of the long-range air campaign until the USN has fought across the Pacific to the Marianas and Philippines and gained better, more secure air bases, and incidentally is in a position to support China with amphibious force via the Pacific.
Associated poll:
a) Japan would not do Ichigo without the US China-based bombing campaign
b) Japan would do Ichigo anyway without the bombing campaign.
The added twist is he does not see focusing on a US bombing campaign from China as the easy alternative, as he did in OTL.
The rationale is that he anticipates that if China is the unique platform for bombing Japan, it will stimulate Japanese attacks on Chinese forces and territory. Therefore, while verbally expressing plans and intentions to invigorate the war with Japan, and while seeking both massive military equipment and defensive air support from the US (fighters more than bombers), Chiang puts off development of the long-range air campaign until the USN has fought across the Pacific to the Marianas and Philippines and gained better, more secure air bases, and incidentally is in a position to support China with amphibious force via the Pacific.
Associated poll:
a) Japan would not do Ichigo without the US China-based bombing campaign
b) Japan would do Ichigo anyway without the bombing campaign.