Did the Japanese ever have any hope of winning the Sino-Japanese War? Much like Hitler's plan for German dominance over Europe, the Japanese attempt to subjugate China seems far too ambitious given their resources and capabilities. Even if the US never entered into the war directly and kept aid to China at a minimum, the Chinese theater still remains a quagmire with no clear path towards a lasting, stable Pax japonica in the region. What's the best possible outcome they could've achieved? Status quo ante bellum by keeping Manchukuo, Taiwan and Korea for the time being and giving up on the rest?
>>18456942Not the OP, but adding to the question, if not full conquest, would a more limited victory be possible? It certainly seems like that is more what they were initially aiming for but the Chinese just kept fighting. I'm not sure if there was at any point a concrete plan from the Japanese besides just sort of killing Chinese people until the government gave them some land to make them fuck off.
>>18456942the kuomintang was never in manchuria
japan was still winning against china in 1945, in a 1vs1 scenario with no usa or urss invading japan, china loses
>>18456942Invading China was basically the sole decision of the Kwantung Army's general. The Japanese higher ups didn't even authorize it. He basically just decided to invade with the troops under his command for the glory.This was quite common in Japan at the time. Military leaders saw themselves as feudal lords, and basically acted on their own for personal gain, while demanding absolute obedience from everyone under their command. That gives you an idea of how Japan operated.Even if Japan did have the ability to take all of China, they would have self-sabotaged by their inability to get their whole military working together on the same page.
