Greetings,
A small historical issue I’d like to address. Many people have been saying that China should not be grouped in with the Soviets, based on the fact that the Soviet Union was a communist state and was backing their communist Chinese comrades. In fact, when the war between Japan and China broke out in 1937, the Soviets were the first ones to offer direct aid the the Nationlists. It was called operation Zet, and provided material aid in the form of guns, tanks, rifles, machine guns, and other general infantry equipment. This led to the creation of the first ever Chinese mechanized unit, the 200th division in 1938. Also, the Soviet Union sent a number of fighter aircraft, and Soviet pilots to fly them, to aid the Nationalists.
Stalin saw Chiang Kai-Sheks Nationalist regime as his best bet to tie down the Japanese and keep them from attacking him in siberia. Stalin didnt trust the Chinese communists, who had turned away from his form of communism. He once called Mao and his followers “cream of wheat” marxists. Stalin put more importance on the Soviet Unions relationship with Nationalist Chinese then he did on supporting his fellow communists, sacraficing their needs time and again, to better his relations with Chiang. Earlier in the 30’s, Stalin had the Chinese communist party banned from the comintern (international communist orginazation of the day) for adopting Maoist ideals.
Stalin also sent a number of officers to advise the Nationalists in field operations and set up training schools for officers and for new recruits. Most notable was the man who later became the famed defender of Stalingrad general Vasily Chuikov, who was still in China when the Germans invaded.