You are forgetting also Hitler declared war on the US in hopes Japan would join the war against the Soviet Union so the Russians would fight on two fronts but instead the Japanese signed a non aggression pact with Soviet Union and Hitler was furious.
That’s not true! Japan was axis power and never flipped side to Allies during ww2 and willing to fight until last man standing until 2 atomic bombs dropped and emperor had no choice. Never did Japan signed any non aggression pact. In fact one of the biggest mistake that Germany made was not communicating with Japan to launch attack on soviet eastern front.
@@koookeee The pact didn’t mean a damn to axis powers. Japan was focused on pacific Asian expansion as Germans were focused on Europe, North Africa and Middle East expansion. If I remember Germans also had non aggression pact with Stalin which was broken by hitler. My point is that startrioperz22 got few things wrong. His statement saying that Germany declared war on US hoping Japan would join war against Soviet was not right. Hitler joined the war after Japan already attacked Americans in Pearl Harbor and bearing straights in attu islands. If you study one of the biggest blunder of hitler is that he didn’t communicate with Japan to have them mow down Soviet from the eastern side.
If you pre-decided that you were going to have the war no matter what Hitler actually preceded very rationally. It was merely this blind decision to have a war whether or not it could be won that was the issue. Germany was never going to be the equal or near equal to the USA before the USA intervened no matter how well the war went. Even if Hitler was parading through London and Moscow as soon as the US forces landed partisans would spring up like a wildfire. These occupied territories were not loyal. He'd face open rebellion as soon as they thought they had US support.
Hitler also had the hope that showing his support for the Japanese would convince them to dedicate some land troops to the U.S.S.R. in the East reducing stress on his troops in Western Russia. Unfortunately for him, they were already overextended in other theatres.
@@johnscott353 I have a friend that's an anime voice actor and business is handled more circumspectly in general in Japan. A Western style simple yes or no was probably not their first choice, leaving Hitler to guess... I've read that the diplomats did approach the subject, but I don't remember the details.
@@douglasfels9789 That's a funny way to say "they were scared of USSR so they didn't try to provoke them". Red army won series of border battles against Japan's Imperial army in Manchuria before the 2ww started and Japan considered it humiliating enough to try and avoid any future conflict wit USSR. they to took it to the extend that ,every time a USA ship carried supplies for Soviets, Japan wouldn't attack it. Yah it's a response to a one year old comment
While acknowledging the 1928 quote about the power of the US, my own experience with writing is that you can easily forget what you have once written, even over shorter spans of time. That Hitler realized that the US could only be defeated with massive resources back in 1928 does not mean he remembered that 13 years later.
Also bear in mind that by 1941 Hitler did control the resources of the entire continent of Europe. And so, using his own logic, could be compared to US industrial power.
@@will2brown50 but those resources had to be used for the Russian invasion and other balkan countries. I'm pretty sure he meant that he needs all resources to defeat the US.
The bottom line is that the US was already effectively at war with Germany by the end of 1941 so the declaration of war simply allowed Germany to more directly engage the US in the Atlantic.
@@nutyyyy ehh I reject that. It would have been very difficult for Roosevelt to suggest putting millions of Americans in Europe against the Germans in what would have been an offensive war had Germany not declared war on them.
that is no answer at all. Japan didn´t declare war to Russia when Germany attacked Russia. Without the eastern troops Stalin would have lost Moscow in 1941 and probably the whole war. It would have been difficult for Roosevelt to declare war against Germay during the war aganinst Japan... So stupid Hitler helped Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin to defeat himself.
Say, wasn't there an answer from me in this thread, saying pretty much the same thing like barfuss2007? I am pretty sure I posted it. Is it still there and I can't see it, did somebody delete it or is this RU-vid fucking up?
barfuss2007 The loss of Moscow would’ve literally meant nothing because they already failed to stop the USSR from transporting its factories to the Urals. The outrage of Americans after Pearl Harbor immediately raised support for interventionism and the USA would’ve entered the war in 1942 anyways.
Your comment above seems to mislead in this direction. "Beginning of the end for the Germans was by November 19, when Paulus..." It looked like for me you meant 19th November, 1941
Actually Hitler was driven in the first place by his perception of the germans as the better race. Nothing he did was rational thinking. Declaring war made him feel glorius and powerful. Surely it helped him to forget the disaster at Stalingrad.
"allied" the Japanese didn't told the Germans nothing. Also the Japanese uphold their treaties with the Soviet Union... The Axis was basically a dysfunctional and separated family, where they called each other when they needed something.
To call the Axis members `Allies` is being generous. The Axis is more like a loose confederation of independent powers with similar goals who worked together when it was convenient but paid no consideration to the other powers in their own decision making.
They were "Allied" but not coordinating at the time (and they really never did much). Besides the AWESOME industrial might of the United States--that would be the strategic war--the day to day tactics of the Allies was fairly well coordinated, where as the Axis never combined their forces and expertise for effect very well. Germany and Japan mostly because of distance, Germany and Italy -- mostly because the two had nearly zero respect for one another. Yes, Germany put troops in Italy, but it never REALLY played as a team there.
It's possible that Hitler's megalomania had gotten so bad by the end of 1941 that he was incapable of perceiving the accuracy of his own writings of 15 years earlier.
Excellent work ! In fact at least since spring 1941 the USA was unilaterally at war in the Atlantic with Germany escorting British convoys, flying reconaissance and even attacking German U-boats. The highlight was Roosevelts official order in Sept. 9th 1941 to shoot at any German vessel. The declaration of war to the USA gave the German navy the choice to fight back to US aggressions.
When did Hitler worry abut diplomatic niceties?. While the Americans did not inflict any casualties the Germans sunk two American ships with hundreds of sailors dead.
Perhaps he hoped his DOW against the USA would encourage the Japanese to join his war against the USSR. A Japanese offensive in Siberia would tie down several Soviet divisions.
Finally someone who knows what they are talking about. Hitler needed a second front against the Russians in order to deliver a knockout punch and take Moscow. Seeing Japan bomb Pearl Harbor, he thought if he also declared war on the US, the Japanese would open a front in Russian Siberia.
Heath N well, the United States were fucking going in on the Japanese while we were also in Europe so they couldn’t rly do anything and right before we’d just won over Italy
@@nick56677 Japan was already dealing with the United States at the time, aswell as having an ongoing war in Asia, so I don't know if they would've been too up to task to put their soldiers through icey tundra whilst having to deal with 2 major other things at the same time.
@@Nicholaskgaming I know the history, I'm saying the Japanese could've used a smokescreen offensive in Siberia, if they had, Stalin wouldn't have moved his Siberian forces to East Europe, which in turn changed the war
That starts getting kind of meta. He's currently at war, sees a depiction of a universe where he's won the war but also has scenes of _another_ universe where the war ended in a loss for him...
hey idiot there was American companies that aided the Germans too .. America wasn't just giving materials to Germany's enemies I.G. Farben a German company who supplied 80% of the explosives for germany was partnered with Rockefeller's U.S. Standard Oil Co. the German air force could not operate without a fuel additive made by U.S. Standard Oil Co. ... so you keep on believing the bullshit with out doing any of the research .. moron
the US was still in trading relations with the UK so not sure why they thought being at war with the UK would stop trade from happening. And prior to the Declaration of war from Hitler the US was still free to trade from what I know with Germany. The only real undeclared war part is the US patrolling the Atlantic but even that is shaky as there was a time or two the US had spotted German ships and could've fired but didn't.
@@joesmith701 I mean "as long as you dont hurt me I wont hurt you" is a pretty good motto. It makes since that the us navy would protect u.s. interests but not engage when not necessisary
Seriously? This question has an obvious answer. Hitler depended on Japanese aid with their army threatening easter Russian holdings. The Japanese refused his offers, but he tried to make it work. Hitler failed and the Japanese signed a secret deal with the Soviets, which freed up Soviet divisions in the east, which they brought west and counter attacked in the Winter, stopping and pushing back German forces short of Moskow. That simple Hitler wanted Japanese help, and he badly misjudged them, simplifying US political problems in attacking Germany and aiding the allies; and gaining nothing for it. Bottom line, Hitler totally screwed up, making a decision which greatly aided his enemies, and gained himself little or nothing.
I absolutely love your videos. Have you ever done one dedicated to Guerrila Warfare? I would love to see the ins and outs of it because I find it so interesting.
leonidGorbachev Xd the Soviet Union supply them with oil before operation Barbarossa, Spain have volunteers to fight for the axis and supply them with tungsten, and Sweden allow them to use they railroads and supply them with iron.
Steven Nguyen, Soviet Union giving oil to the Germans in return for something else is called Trade. Members from the fascist paramilitary of Spain would join up with the Germans, Germans had enough people anyways and it was nothing compared to how the Americans were supporting the British and fighting Germans without declaring war. Sweden allowing Germans to taken Iron ore and heavy water was also called trade. Germans would use iron and heavy water to improve infrastructure more than create weapons, as they had no need for them because they had enough. Again, the support for the English from ALL of it’s colonies and secret allies and Allies was nothing compared to the 3 neutral countries you told me were “supplying” Germany
Not long after he declared war on the USA in early 1942 at a meeting Fritz Todt told Hitler with tears in his eyes that the war was inevitably lost as both Russia and the USA produced 5 or 6 times the amount of bombers as Germany. Todt left shortly after and Albert Speer was due to leave with him but Hitler persuaded Speer to stay and the plane Todt left on mysteriously blew up.
@James Henderson Because Stalin was willing to sacrifice every man women and child to put as big as a gap between him and the german Wehrmacht. not to mention the red army was literally starving and half of them didn't even have a weapon before the Americans had to aid them.
@@blackhole9961 US help to the Soviet union was only about 5% of the the USSR total war production. You are forgetting that in the most critical year of 1941 the soviets fought alone. The lend lease began in 1942 and didnt arrive in huge quantities till 1943. Sorry to break it to you but the soviets single handedly defeated the german war machine. It is quite sad that many people have been brainwashed by US films and tv shows that the US won the war while the red army killed 80% of the german soldiers.
He did not, FDR declared war on Germany Sept 11 when he issued a "shoot on sight" order for German submarines. That constitutes a declaration of war. Hitler also did not declare war on England or France.
He kind of did actualy declare war on France and Britain, though not litteraly since it was clearly established that they would go to war over poland, and he attacked them anyways
Jon Clarkson ....war was declared on them...so how does that make them the “bad” guys?....though they probably should have also annihilated Stalin while the chance was there....as Patton suggested...
James Henderson ...James..FDR gave the “shoot on sight” order specifically in targeting German submarines found unofficially in US territorial waters. Do you suggest that these acts by Germans were supposed to just be tolerated? If I, as a rancher, used to put up a sign stating that trespassers / rustlers would be shot on sight...is that a declaration of war? Does it not mean that if there is no trespassing, no hostilities will be undertaken? In other words, it’s easy not to be in a conflict by simply respecting a countries stated “defensive imperative.” I believe that this directive would be directed at virtually any country systematically entering US territorial waters...in an armed war implement such as a submarine. As it so happened, it was only Germany that was doing this consistently.
By the time of the Pearl Harbor attack, Germany was beginning to face a stalled campaign on the eastern front. It was also beginning to face a hard Russian winter. Surely, Hitler would have been aware of the power of the US, if only because he himself was a WWI veteran. Adding to this bigger equation, after Pearl Harbor, Hitler was heard to remark that Japan had never lost a war. A point you did not make was that Japan had already defeated Russia earlier in the 20th century. Japan was already on Russia's doorstep having occupied Manchuria. The major point you left out was, Hitler hoped his declaration of war against the US, opening two fronts for the US, would cause the Japanese to declare against Russia, opening a far eastern front for Russia, easing the German position in Russia. Respectfully, I think this was a bigger reason than any you cite.
Very rational and fact based analysis. There were two main strategic calculations...1) the US could not enter the European theater in force for at least a year, which was correct (north africa in Nov 42, italy in summer 43) by which time the war would be decided in the east. In the meantime Germany could at last legally interdict US Atlantic convoys 2) it was hoped Japan would reciprocate by declaring war on the USSR and attacking the Soviet far east - which they did not. Lastly Hitler's address declaring war is interesting reading, being a litany of US violations of neutrality and like his opponents, framing the war as a larger civilizational struggle.
One factor too often overlooked is that the US Navy had been attacking German vessels in international waters since late Spring of 1940. That was on Roosevelt's direct orders. Roosevelt needed a major war to undo the harm his economic policies had done to America, which had actually worsened the economic depression here.
@@highcouncil1302 You seem to have misread my comment. If you try reading it again, you may notice I said "In INTERNATIONAL waters", and that it was being done BEFORE December 7, 1941.
@@highcouncil1302 You're STILL refusing to address the situation of the unprovoked attacks in INTERNATIONAL waters. What is painfully obvious here is that you are just a sad little troll who has nothing better to do than show your glaring lack of knowledge of history. It's time to give the computer back to your mother, and go outside and play.
Uh no, The US did not join the war after Pearl Harbor. Before that, the US was declared a neutral country. Germany declared war after the retaliation from the US, after the attack in Pearl Harbor. The US only supplied The UK with artillery.
"He had to be revoted" What? Are you implying somehow that the US WANTED to go to war with Germany?The reason why even the UK got involved, was because Hitler had Invaded entirely Chzechoslovakia. The British own interests didn't conflict with the US. So it would be in both parties best interest to support each against a common enemy. Read the *Munich Agreement*. Hitler had a chance to settle with a diplomatic solution, yet he just went along with it because at that moment in time, his army wasn't strong enough to take on the UK-US.
What reading that Nazi propaganda website. No thanks, I rather not believe in fairytales and go by actual facts. Go read the the *Munich agreement* I'm pretty sure HItler kept his promise on that one. lol
Why did Hitler think that the US would declare war against Germany in 1942? Given that the US was already at war against Japan this would have been most unlikely.
@@christianhoffmann8607 That may be true. But I think that Hitler was more strategically aware than most of the German military and government. For instance I have read somewhere that the US entry into the war was not noted by any German generals in their diaries. And it seemed to have occurred without any acknowledgement within Germany as a whole.
Never forget that my country (USA) Roosevelt went on a long campaign of antagonism. whether it be embargoing the japanese or jailing of German civilians from merchant ships. Roosevelt was looking for any way to get into the war, the death of 2400 sailors was a great way for him, despite knowing we broke the japanese naval code prior to this. Also never forget that Roosevelt also recognized the Soviet Union (a country that considered the US an enemy) in 1933-4 the same years that the collectivization edict was in it's height in the Ukraine which killed millions of Ukrainians.
Darion Johnston FDR was a massive piece of shit. He tried to pack the Supreme Court, violated the gentleman's agreement only run two terms and push the country towards socialism. He was the worst. As always, getting the US into a war is always an alternative to fixing bad domestic policy. The crippled socialist wanted a war and the war we were going to have.
wait... so you'd be against the US embargoing Japan? Have you seen what Japan did to the Chinese, Koreans, and South East Asians? The US should embargo and put sanctions on any nation that does such atrocities (or go in to stop them by force if the world won't grow some back bone).
By that logic why didn't the USA embargo itself for invading and committing atrocities in Puerto Rico, Kingdom of Hawaii (who was their ally), China (during the Opium Wars) then later exclusion under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The USA was an Imperialist power just like Japan and Germany, yet tried to act like it wasn't.
FDR declared war on Japan and Germany the moment he signed the Lend Lease Act. With this act he made it possible for Britan to buys goods in the USA and pay them later.
@@rutabagasteu If a friend supported the guy who was going to duel with you in a boxing match wouldn't you be at least a little skeptical of that person?
If Germany had denounced Japan and offered to help the United States against Japan, it would've been almost impossible for the United States to declare war on Germany for at least a year and possibly longer. There were already many people in America that didn't think we should get involved in the war in Europe anyway. It was a blunder by Hitler to declare war and I think it was mostly an emotional reaction.
I'd like to add the fact that while the US Navy was first class in December 1941 the US Army and the USAAF were very poor and needed to be built up to become a useful instrument of war. So from the German perspective these branches of the American military weren't an immediate threat. This adds to your narritive, because the declaration of war allowed Germany to engage the Americans in the North Atlantic and to focus on bringing down the Soviet Union while at the same time there was no immediate danger of Allied landings in Europe or an American strategic aerial campaign against Germany. Those started not before spring/summer 1943 at which the war against the Soviet Union was lost anyway.
Another great video MHV and I thank you! You are the first person I have ever heard that believes the act was not that of a madman. In my humble opinion; 1. Your focus on the U-Boat Campaign was spot on as, in the winter of 1941/42, that campaign was firmly under Nazi control. 2. (In My Opinion) - Should Japan be able to force America into a negotiated peace within the next 6-9 months (which was Japan's objective) then Germany, as a declared ally, could ask that the end of lend lease be included into the negotiations. While it was a long shot, it was the only shot Germany had at putting the USA out of the war.
What if Hitler had negotiated with the US against the Japanese after the attack and gone against the agreement. Interesting hypothetical situation and one I’ve wondered about
James Henderson Yes but only with Japan initially. Hitler would have first had to have reached a peace agreement with Britain and restored diplomacy in some way. I don’t think the allies would have turned down the offer if Germany agreed to help in the war effort against Japan
Another great video MHV and I thank you! You are the first person I have ever heard that believes the act was not that of a madman. In my humble opinion; 1. Your focus on the U-Boat Campaign was spot on as, in the winter of 1941/42, that campaign was firmly under Nazi control. In fact, with the war declaration came Operation Drumbeat which was also called "The Second Happy Time" by German submariners. There was a strong belief that this serious disruption of lend-lease combined with a major summer offensive (Case Blau) would be enough to force Russia to at least force Russia into a negotiated peace. (Remember, they did not have the God's-gift of hindsight that we all possess now). 2. (In My Opinion) - Should Japan be able to force America into a negotiated peace within the next 6-9 months (which was Japan's objective & a totally realistic possibility in 12/41) then Germany, as a declared ally, could ask that the end of lend lease be included into the negotiations. While it was a long shot, it was the only shot Germany had at putting the USA out of the war. Every major country in the world knew of the U.S. industrial might by the 1930's because every major country traded with the US. What they didn't realize was the absolute lightning speed at which the US was not only able to shift their industry into a wartime footing (less than eight months) AND to create an delivery industry on an unheard of scale (Liberty Ship Building) that would allow all that wartime material to be delivered in a timely manner. (Because if you can't get to where it needs to go, then what good does all the guns, ammo, fuel and food do anyone?)
Hitler gained very little from his alliance with Japan. He would have been better advised to continue the Weimar Germany policy of backing nationalist China. Hitler wanted Japan because he mistakenly believed that Japan would be an ally in a war on the USSR.
Gerald Fallon-Griffin Germany and Japan were all ready doing a lot of dodgy shit well before the invasion of Poland. The operations within Germany alone were reason enough to see them as a threat
@@conors4430 yeah the way how Hitler dealt with opposition in Germany alone was pretty staggering. Then gives the finger to the WHOLE treaty of Versailles, and the allies didn't do shit about it till shit went down with Poland, but even THEN the allies didn't really do shit. Then about two weeks later and UP the germans are in Paris, welp I guess we'll pack up back home and call it a day, better get America on the phone, I doubt they'd want to miss this.
@@ilikewindows3455 the fact france signed a treaty with russia before the invasion of poland voided the other treaty. Plus Britain and france signed a aid agreement with poland then did nothing after. Plus russia invaded poland also yet france and britan sided with the soviets so it was all a set up by britan to force germany into a conflict
I will definitely cover some of that stuff, but nothing immediately planned. Although looked several times into Malta and Crete, although the later is not really naval war. Got "Sea Power" today, maybe Taranto... "the Pearl Harbor of the Mediterranean" ;)
Hitler traded a short term tactical advantage for a long term strategic disadvantage. One of the reasons Operation Drumbeat was so successful was the Pacific Fleet ships operating in the Atlantic had already transited back to the Pacific. Two fleet carriers were left in the Atlantic. USS Wasp made it's second delivery of Spitfires to Malta in May 1942 at the same time as the Battle of the Coral Sea and US forces in the Philippines surrendered. With the USA focused on Japan, the Neutrality Patrol and Lend Lease would have disappeared except for LL to Britain in Asia. Even the sale of weapons was doubtful as the US military was is competition with LL before December 1941.
It is actually amazing in a way that Germany lasted as long as it did during the war. Japan did nothing to assist in German operations. Italy was content on marching her poorly led and poorly armed troops through the deserts of Africa until the British stepped in and the Italians needed German assistance. Really, the only allies of any use to Germany was Romania and Hungary, as they had a common goal with Germany. You could also argue Finland, although they and Germany were more belligerents than allies to each other.
Grundy Malone They didn’t have the oil supplies to last much longer than they did. Sure, they’d save some by not invading the USSR, but the US/UK bombing campaign against the German oil production facilities was extremely successful, at least according to several Nazi leaders.
By 1943, the Germans were, essentially, on the defensive. Especially after Kursk. While fuel may be necessary to operate their vehicles, the other issue was manpower. But yes, its impressive how the Germans fought for 6 years straight against three major powers and industries, and still managed to force them into a bloody bludgeoning match that would see serious total war level operations. The only mistake the US and GB made was not going after the Soviet Union, knowing damn well they would be a threat because of their leader.
Good vid! I had always assumed that the Tripartate Pact was Hitler's motivation. How silly of me to think that he did anything because of a signature on a piece of paper!
No, there was no way of knowing if the U.S. would declare war on Germany. Many in the U.S. (including my father who joined the navy after Dec 7th) He thought most of our effort should be against Japan, who had directly attacked us for really no reason. But Hitler made the great mistake of taking the U.S. on. Yes Germany might have been able to keep the U.S. from declaring war. Hitler made the great blunder, and yes he did have a choice.
"Great mistake" Germany had already lost the war, usa only sped it up. Usa only really did an actual impact by supplying the allies, which they already did before they were at war with Germany.
@James Henderson Yes there was an embargo by the U.S. But the reason for this is that Japan had invaded Korea and raped that nation. Then Japan went into China and did the same. Not to mention that Japan was not honoring the the agreement with the U.S. to scrap navel ships. The U.S. did scrap theirs but Japan lied and did not. So what oh great wise blame the U.S. for NO REASON Jim should the U.S. had done? Do business with Japan selling them oil and vital metals and turn a blind eye to what Japan was doing? You would be even madder if the U.S. continued to supply Japan thus aiding them to rape the rest of Asia. And my mother lived through the hell of occupied Philippines by the Japanese. And when I say rape I mean rape.
Japan did not attack for no reason. It may have been a foolish plan in hindsight but they had many reasons for attacking Pearl Harbor and other US naval bases in the South Pacific. Mostly it was about oil and other resources that it needed to extend it's Empire. Their goal was not to defeat the US but to force the US into a negotiation. The US most certainly would have declared war on Germany as they were allies with Japan and the Nazis were attacking US ships in the Atlantic.
I also heard that due to the Soviet Winter offensive in late 1941 and uncertainty regarding Jaanese intentions in Siberia, he wanted to guarantee Japanese entry into the war against Russia. (As negotiations with Washington broke down, there was a debate between the army who favoured a "northern" strategy against Russia in Siberia like in 1918 and the navy who favoured a "southern" strategy in the East Indies and Pacific against the so called ABCD powers.) So he wanted to pressure the Japanese into declaring war on the Soviet union sensing that the Japanese might turn southwards away from the Soviet Union, and "in return" declared war on the USA. Hitler also had ideological as well as strategic reasons for getting the Japanese in the war against Russia instead of moving southwards--he feared that the destruction of the Euro-American colonial possessions in the Pacific would deal a great blow to white supremacy. Ironically, both Churchill and Hitler mourned the fall of Singapore to the Japanese (he forbade any German officials from celebrating it).
It's worth a look in my opinion, if only as an example of how not to run a procurement program. It reflects a lot of what was wrong with the way the Luftwaffe acquired its aircraft. Here's an interesting place to start: www.amazon.com/Luftwaffe-Over-America-Secret-United/dp/1848328427 (A fair bit of reading between the lines is advisable to get the most out of it.) Given the vids you've already done on the German aircraft industry and aircraft development (e.g. the Me262), I would really like to see you attempt this one at some stage.
Hitler fooled himself that Japan was serious about being an Axis partner. If Japan had attacked into Siberia then the Red Army Forces there would not have been available to be transported to fight the Germans at the outskirts of Moscow. Basically Hitler had wishful thinking about Japan.
I’ve often wondered about this in my 64 years, having talked with many WW2 veterans (some of who didn’t know Hitler declared war on the U.S. the day after Pearl Harbor). You cover the points very well into what must have been going on in Hitler’s mind in 1941 (this is before you can say he was making REALLY bad decisions under the influence of amphetamines-becoming a “speed freak”) . I think he over estimated what the Kriegsmarine’s submarine warfare capabilities were. The Kriegsmarine was totally caught by surprise and it took 3 weeks to get submarines off the U.S. Coast. I believe Hitler thought “Good” “America will know what it is like to fight a two front War”. But No, I don’t think he really understood what a colossal industrial power America was at the time. Had he not declared war on the U.S. Roosevelt would have been in a pickle. There was a not insignificant portion of the American public who wanted nothing to do with the European war. When the Japanese had actually attacked us, and killed thousands of Americans, public opinion would have required FDR to ignore the European war and concentrate on Japan. People like Charles Lindbergh would have been loudly proclaiming it. By declaring war on the United States, Hitler played right into Roosevelt’s hands and made his, and Germany’s defeat inevitable. Roosevelt turned America’s industrial power against Germany first.
I've always thought it more likely that he declared war on the US in order to encourage the Japanese to declare war on the Soviet Union. My understanding is that Stalin maintain troops in the far east in order to counter a potential Japanese invasion and it was only when he learned that no such invasion would take place that he was able to move the troops westward, in time to win the Battle of Moscow. Had the Japanese acted differently, Hitler would have taken Moscow and possibly won the war in the east.
Hitler though he had Japan's support if he went into the Soviet Union. Germany and Japan had an agreement that if one of their nations was attacked the other would declare war. Unfortunately It didn't say anything about declaring war on a nation you attacked. Not to mention the fact that the Japanese and Soviet Union had a treaty which Japan was not about to violate since they were getting their butts kicked by the Soviets earlier.
Hitler or Germany did never underestimated capabilities of US,they just honored their alliance with Japan and they thought Japan would attack on Soviet Union but they didn’t.
Is because Japan and tripartite which requires mutual declaration of war to any enemies of the pact Read this as a joke guys but if I'm right then ahaha
No the Pact only required coming to the aid of a signer by all means including military if another signer was attacked by a power not currently involved in the European or China/Japan wars. In other words if the USA or USSR attacked an Axis member the rest of the Axis had to help the fight. But the Pact did not require going to war if an Axis member was the attacker instead of the victim.
He may have underestimated the capability of the U.S. I know you addressed this in the video but I'm talking about the ability of the U.S to fight a multi front war on both sides of the planet. He may have thought the U.S would be tied up in the Pacific and would not move on Europe, at least not for a long time. The war declaration gave his military full legal rights to attack U.S assets in Europe and at sea.
Here's an idea. Could you make a video explaining the organization, functions and employment of various higher level commands in World War 2? Namely Corps, Armies and Army Groups. In other words, how the chain of command from High Command to division worked.
added to the good questions list, but may take a while. Got loads of books recently and I really need to start reading. Too often I start digging to find answers for good questions like yours, but more often than not this takes way too long.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_organization#Modern_hierarchy Just read the table there, it's accurate enough. Bigger units are made up of smaller units, the unit sizes are approximate and vary depending on the army in question, and some nations skipped certain size units.
I say its better he held his fire. Longer America was not on him the better. U can say 1942 at earliest Franklynn declared war on him would benefit Germany as more time.
OK fair enough but Germany didn't really have a way to hit the US in 1941, sure he could sink a lot of ships in the Atlantic but really he just had to sit back an wait for the bombs to start falling. He did underestimate the US Army Air Force.
You’re right! But again, he probably had to because Japan declared war on the US. Yes, Japan was allied with Germany, but Hitler did not want Japan too strong either. If Japan won over the US, they would dominate North America. Germany wanted a piece of that too.
@@karlvonboldt I can't prove this but i think by Dec 1941 Hitler might have known he would lose the war, and he just wanted to bring as much of the world down with him. Like i said i would never say for sure it's impossible to prove, what do you think.
I’ve heard that too from a movie called “The Last Days Of Hitler” where Sir Alec Guinness (Obi won Kenobi ) played Hitler. I believe he said in there he knew the War was lost back in April of ‘42. When the Russian were winning on the Eastern Front. But that’s Hollywood. Who knows? Spartans would fight a losing war because they would rather die fighting than to live on their knees.
@@karlvonboldt Like i said it never can be proved i just thought it might make sense based on Hitler saying later that the German people were not worthy of him and that they should pay the price. He said that in the bunker in May 1945. Not word for word but that idea.
@@Contagious93812 what? I think your grammar is wrong but America still would've gotten Japan even Germany without the Soviets you know the Chinese were still a thing right
What Hitler apparently failed to appreciate was that FDR would have had a hard time getting Congress to support a declaration of war against Germany without Hitler declaring war on America first. The American public was ready for a war against Japan even before December 7, 1941. A declaration against Germany was another matter. Hitler's declaration was an enormous political gift to FDR. Also Hitler was quite an undemanding ally. His declaration assured that the bulk of America's resources would be devoted to defeating him rather than Japan. Japan, on the other hand, made sure to stay in the good graces of Stalin and enabled him to transfer over 18 divisions, 1,700 tanks, and over 1,500 aircraft from Siberia and the Far East. These were the forces used in the very successful counter offensive referred to in the clip. No matter how you look at it, Hitler's declaration of war against the US was an enormous blunder.
5 лет назад
U.S.A in 1940 : we will not take part in the war. Also U.S.A : Sends millions of dollars of food,weapons and war materials. Biggest problem was dat they kept spying on the Germans and gave the british strategic info 😕
Japan used diplomacy and negotiations to lay American guards down, they already had the Philippines invasion plans layed out and approved, what was needed were concessions yet Yamamoto insisted on attacking Pearl Harbor if the U.S didn't give up the Pacific, which it clearly wouldn't.
I know, it is a question directed at M.H.V., but in case he doesn't answer, I'll throw in my 2 cents: The most important and probably decisive irrational mistake Hitler made, with other words, the mistake that probably lost him the war, was when he interrupted the Battle for Britain to start "The Blitz". The Royal Airforce was actually almost defeated by the German air attacks. The airfields were bombed out, the radar stations were largely destroyed and the pilots were exhausted. You can see in letters they wrote that they were demoralized and expected the UK to surrender every day. Then there was that first successful bombing raid against Berlin and Hitler went apeshit. He ordered the Luftwaffe to stop attacking military targets and attack useless civilian targets instead, in retaliation. They even strapped 250 kg bombs to the Bf 109 fighters, further decreasing their range and endurance. That gave the Royal Airforce the time they needed to recover, repair the airfields and radar stations and fight the Luftwaffe back. It is actually mostly British historians who admit that the UK didn't so much "win" the Battle for Britain, as rather "not lose" it and that it was a mistake by Hitler that caused the outcome. If the Germans would have kept attacking military targets, they would pretty much inevitably have won the Battle of Britain and that would have meant keeping air superiority over Europe and the ability to keep American/Canadian supplies away from the Russians. All the other mistakes Hitler made that get talked about so much, like halting the Wehrmacht and allowing the British Expeditionary Force to escape at Dunkerque or the decision to take Stalingrad, are rather insignificant in comparison. The current crop of historians doesn't like to admit that Germany ever had any chance to win the war, so they don't talk about that one giant mistake Hitler made that probably decided the war.
well, probably the one that was most unreasonable was the halt order at Dunkirk: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Q95__gXJ9l0.html But it depends if it was solely intended to show the High Command who is in charge then one could argue it wasn't so irrational at all. The thing is most "irrational" behavior can make quite a lot of sense if one knows all the circumstances of the person, but also doesn't know other stuff. So, probably the standfast order in Winter 1941 was the most irrational, because he assumed that the soldiers would stop "running". But I never gave it a thought.
I will assume that they didn't know the exact capabilities of the US. Though a 2 front war sounds bad there are several reasons that it is a huge mistake. The first point is 5000km oceans that are covering the US borders. The second point is the USA could have vastly outproduce both Japan and Germany without any problems whatsoever. And third resources. Neither Germany nor Japan had oil so they decided to attack the biggest oil producer in the world??? Later in the history we know that 2 front war is a bad idea because USA fought in the Pacific Ocean in th Atlantic Ocean later on the island of Japan and Africa and after that in Europe. All that in the same time. Matching the huge colonial powers which fought other European empires which fought on 3 continent in the same time. And what's more impressive is the fact that while USA was fighting on all of these fronts on land and sea they were manufacturing for their allies mainly the USSR. USA singlehandedly recreated the Soviet war effort and re-established the Soviet industry and vastly improved their tech for example the planes like bombers or radios and even trucks. Which ofc will play against USA in the cold war
"Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple ere the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes but few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory, and few calculations to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can foresee who is likely to win or lose." - Sun Tzu's _The Art of War_ The little man made a plan that was inflexible to the US entering the war earlier than 1942. This caused him to lose opportunities and was forced to reevaluate and react, losing any control he might have had of the war. In chess parlance, he was white, and had the advantage. But then he screwed up and lost his momentum to black, and eventually the game. *Then he ragequit.* 😹
According to Adam Tooze ("Wages of Destruction"), Hitler was concerned over the fact that he had nothing to counter the U.S. navy. The point made here was that the U.S. navy was already at war with the German navy in the Atlantic, west of Iceland. Even if the U.S. did not enter the war in 1942, which was not a given thing, it might have pushed its zone of policing in the Atlantic to the west coast of Ireland, effectively claiming the North Atlantic as an American lake. Under this scenario Germany would be facing the worlds two largest navy's with absolutely nothing to counter it with but Uboats. However, the Japanese did have a significantly large navy with which to counter or challenge the U.S. navy with in the Pacific. As a result, according to Tooze, Hitler was trying to convince the Japanese to attack the United States. Such salesmanship would fall on deaf ears without some skin in the game, and so Hitler promised the Japanese that if they declared war on the United States, Germany would too, as a kind of sweetner or encouragement. The Japanese did declare war on Japan. As a result, Hitler did as he had promised them. Had the Japanese won the battle of Midway, the U.S. would have been more tied down in the Pacific and so would have been less of a force in the Atlantic.
Can you do IF naval warfare was still focused at battleships,that battleships are still the key to naval warfare.That may lead to ships that was planned but wasn't built because they built aircraft carries instead of the ships planned,like the USS Montana.
A good summary. You may also wish to consider that Hitler didn't understand the United States political system (Division of Powers) and public opinion. If Germany had not declared war on the United States, Roosevelt could not have gone to the Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Germany just because of the Tripartite Pact. The Americans would have fought a separate war against Japan. Although US public opinion became more pro-British in 1941, the public still wanted to remain neutral while supplying Britain with Arms.
While Hitler did have some grasp on the potential power of the US he still underestimated it, as shown when he scoffed at his underlings' estimations of the US' industrial production capabilities (as it turns out even they had underestimated the industrial might of the US).
James Henderson he may have said the words but they mean nothing... they didn’t join the war until 3 months after... after the attack on ph. But if you want to mention that incident I think it’s only fair to say that the u boat fired first which is then declaring a war against the USA.... it’s about actions not words. Greer fired back.... but the Germans attacked first which is the act of war.
I totally agree with this video but you are forgetting one crucial aspect towards what Hitler knew. The communication of the German ambassador to Japan had informed Germany of Japan's intention of not attacking the Soviet Union which allowed Zhukov to move his troops from guarding the southeast border with China to Moscow to repel the Germans on the 25th of December. It can be assumed, if we are going with assumptions, that Germany most likely knew that Japan was planning an attack, but they probably didn't know exactly who they were going to attack, as the British would have been the safer assumption. So your assessment of the surprise about America is still a valid theory. Other than this, it was a very good video and very descriptive, thank you.
Misses the real reason. In December 1941 Lend-Lease supplies to the Soviet Union were ramping up. Hitler thought that in response to his declaration of war against the US the Japanese would shut down Lend-Lease shipments through the port of Vladivostok. Which might well have given Germany the advantage at Stalingrad. The Japanese double-crossed him.
Ultimately, despite every argument to the contrary, he thought he owed it to Japan since they attacked the British, the Australians, and the Free Dutch. They had signed an alliance agreement. The Japanese should have left us alone and attacked the USSR in the East. However, they had been badly beaten by the Soviets when they attacked the USSR in 1939, despite Hitler's warnings not to. Mussolini was even more stupid. Half his army had relatives in the United States and his soldiers were afraid they would be fighting their own cousins.
Well for him he did not Usa declared war on him when fdr signed atlantic charter in septembar of 1941 allowing us destroyers to depth charge u boats so he was already fighting usa long before he declared war on them when japan attacked usa he simply confirmed his decision because he thought that japan would attack ussr from east if he showed how much he cares about japan by declaring war on usa
