Kuomintang

The **Republic of China**, otherwise known as **China** or the **Kuomintang** in the Chinese Civil War, is a country in Asia. A belligerent in the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang established the Republic under a new military nationalist government, with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek at its centre as the Chairman of the Military Affairs Commission. After the position was established, Chiang appointed Lin Sen as the Chairman of the National Government as his successor, while Chiang focused on the war.

The Kuomintang has been largely at war against the Communist Party of China, to reunify China after the 1925 split. With the Communists holding more power due to exterior influence of the German Socialist Republic and the Soviet Union, and the Council of Allies focusing more on the development of Japanese China in Manchukuo, the Nationalist government stands rather solitary, with odds of winning close to nil in comparison to the powerful CPC and the rising Manchurian monarchic revival.

## History

### Losing Manchuria

Following the Great War, the Empire of Japan flourished free of the restraints of the United States that we know in our timeline. Furthermore, with the United Kingdom and France in particular investing strong relationships with Japan, the Empire was quick to bolster its position as the bulwark of Asia, and felt free to expand its influence into China, something it had sought out from the very start.

It was no secret that the Republic of China was unstable. Its governments bickered, and the relationship between the Kuomintang nationalists and the Communist Party of China were growing more and more apparent throughout the decade. The final straw came with the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, which resulted in a clear understanding that the Chinese government was simply not strong and responsive enough to face the Japanese. It became a symbol of national emergency, and the new lead player of the republic, Chiang Kai-shek, blamed the Communists.

Communist massacres leading up until 1925 was the main cause of the Chinese Civil War, but the losing of Manchuria heavily undermined the Kuomintang's influence even more. Worse, the Council of Allies that China was beginning to consider membership of, favoured Japan's strategy to China, leaving the Nationalists largely isolated.

### Civil War

The Civil War sparked in 1925, with the KMT and the CPC splitting for good. A series of battles were conducted, but for the most part, it seemed as though the Nationalists were being sandwiched between a far superior Japan in the North East, and a vast growing Communist threat in the North and West. Chiang Kai-shek implemented a state of martial law and declared himself the Generalissimo of the new regime. Battles conducted by the Kuomintang resulted in the likes of Zhang Zuolin and Zhang Xueliang to flee to Manchuria, with the former eventually forming a deal with the Japanese and becoming the regions Prime Minister.

As the war raged on, the Kuomintang was beginning to equalise the fighting, but for the most part they remained strongly battered and pressed in the South and South East, without much advancement. Furthermore, with the establishment of Manchukuo as a state and with the Council of Allies favouring the Japanese solution, Chiang Kai-shek began to fear that the Japanese may soon intervene in China.

## Way Forward

There are some ways the Nationalist Government can be played, but in terms of national leadership, there's three major ways to go:

### Chiang Kai-shek Holds Strong!

The Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek maintains power, leading the Nationalists to battle against the CPC and the Japanese.

### The Ultimate Merger

Chiang Kai-shek realises that he cannot take on the likes of Japan and the CPC alone. If he wants support from the Council of Allies, he may have to do the unthinkable and concede to Japanese rule. A merger between the Nationalists and the Manchurians may be what is necessary to form a stable China against the CPC.

### Li Zongren Takes Over

Chiang Kai-shek is out of his mind in this war, and his potential to side with the Japanese, our greatest enemy, simply cannot happen. Li Zongren conducts a coup against the government, to oust Chiang from power, and push the Nationalists into a state of militaristic fanaticism against the enemies.