If Hitler had allied with Chiang Kai-shek instead of Japan, could he have won the war? Was victory even possible in his position?
>>1428380
Why ally with china when japan onviously was stronger? Also, the chinese were incompetant and relied on foreign powers for military supplies. Japan already had its sights set on China, so its the only viable alliance
>>1428380
>siding with a government that is fighting not only an external force (the more powerful Japanese) but also an interior force (the CCP)
You would have to be retarded.
>>1428380
It would only have meant that Chiang Kai Shek would have had a more miserable existence than OTL.
>>1428380
>If Hitler had allied with Chiang Kai-shek instead of Japan, could he have won the war?
No.
>Was victory even possible in his position?
No.
Don't forget, that while Hitler declared war on America following Pearl Harbor, the U.S. was hardly uninvolved up to that point. There was an undeclared naval war going on. There was a shit-ton of Lend-Lease going out: People talk about how much it saved the Russia's bacon, and whether or not that's true, don't forget that the Brits got almost 3 times as much aid.
If the Germans are allied with the Nationalist Chinese, then you see less of an Americna involvement in the Pacific, and probably a year or so of rapidly raising escalation before official war is declared by the U.S. and that's about it. You wouldn't have large-scale differences in the ETO.
>>1428380
Most German business interests in Asia were appalled by Hitler's Tokyo pivot. It immediately destroyed decades of German investment, and Japan was a notoriously unfavorable business climate. Even during the height of the alliance, German bussinessmen were routinely denied entry into markets, if they could get there in the first place. A Japanese alliance meant essentially zero Asian trade.
Germany had a long standing alliance and trade relationships with China. Japan has barely any natural resources. They must import everything, which forced their hand strategically.
With enough investment China could have been as strong an ally as the Soviet Union, except not communist. And until Japan takes Hong Kong and the southern ports, there is a stable line of trade and supply. Siding with China would place Germany on the right side of international consensus, the Russians also wanted revenge against the Japs, the USA had interests in ending the war, the Brits and French felt the danger to their colonies, everyone could have been gotten on board with this.
Most of the advisers in the Nationalist army were German. Hitler sold out his countrymen for peanuts. Japan did jack shit for Germany.
>>1429602
>With enough investment China could have been as strong an ally as the Soviet Union, except not communist.
Extremely unlikely as long as the KMT is in charge and their incompetent "We're still really warlords demanding tribute at heart" system of governance.
Agree with you about the rest of it.
>>1429611
They lost their capitol and a large number of their elite forces early in the war. They would have needed a massive aid program. Barely any supplies reached the government "Over the Hump." They had finite material and no hope to replenish it. Turtling was the only valid move. Or would you want them to pull a Molotov and seek peace at any price, in order to have a free hand to pacify the country?
>>1429902
What the hell?
The KMT"s problems went way, way beyond the beating they took in the war with Japan. Even in the late 20s and early 30s, they didn't actually administrate large parts of China. Instead, they set up semi-independent warlords and demanded periodic tribute of men and monies.
The reason those "elite troops" that fought at Shanghai hung on so long is because they were the KMT's own people, not roughly 3/4 of their forces whose first loyalty was to this, that, or the other warlord based out of some city.
Go look up the bandit pacification campaigns, the ones that kicked Mao out of the south. Even after they finally succeed, you don't see the KMT running places like Canton. It's again, this tributary model, rather than in their bases like Wuhan and Chongqoing. (or however you spell it)
They got their asses kicked by Japan BECAUSE they had enormous, endemic problems, not the other way around. Greater German pre-war investment wasn't likely to solve this, which means that China under Chiang is likely to remain extremely weak.
> Or would you want them to pull a Molotov and seek peace at any price, in order to have a free hand to pacify the country?
They couldn't pacify the country when they did have a free hand. What makes you think that they could have done so after the Japanese gave them a wringing for several years?
