In 1941, on December 11, the fourth day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler officially declared war on behalf of Germany to the United States, and as a result, everyone knew that the United States had shown its great strength in the east and west battlefields, so did Hitler not know the horror of the United States, an opponent with great war potential? Of course he knew, and at this time the German army was deeply trapped in the Soviet Union, why did he bring himself a more powerful enemy at this time? Many people may say when they see the title of this video, of course, because of the "Three-Nation Axis Agreement", Japan fired the first shot, which is equivalent to dragging Germany into the water, in fact, the reason is definitely not just because of a "Three-Nation Axis Agreement" so simple, if Hitler wants, then this agreement can be a piece of waste paper, there are many complicated reasons.
After Hitler officially declared the beginning of the war with the United States, both soldiers and generals in Germany had some doubts about his decision at that time, although everyone knew that war with the United States was only a matter of time, and some soldiers wrote in their diaries after hearing the news that "the war will last for the time of our generation" and "this decision may lead to the indefinite prolongation of the war" This voice spread among the people, so what is the opinion of hitler's decision within the army? When von Bello, the German Air Force aide-de-camp, heard the news, he expressed deep shock at Hitler's ignorance of the powerful economic and military potential of the United States, and General Walter Wallimont (General Jodl's deputy) also said that Hitler's decision was not discussed with the War Department at all, this decision is not only amateur, but also strategically unreasonable, originally Germany's goal was to concentrate military forces on solving the Soviet Union after the european continent was basically stable, and then concentrate on solving the problem between Britain and the United States. Now this decision has allowed Germany to face opponents whose comprehensive strength is far greater than its own in the east and west; of course, there are also high-level officials who doubt the correctness of this decision, but still express optimistic views, such as Hilter's propaganda minister and his most trusted subordinate - Goebbels, who said that this is not bad, because the war between Japan and the United States has forced the United States to divert the supplies originally shipped to Britain to the Pacific Theater, which reduces the pressure on Germany on the Western Front;
So what are the most direct consequences of declaring war on the United States? At this time, Germany's pressure on time is even greater, originally before the United States did not tear their faces, they can slowly accumulate energy, at least when attacking the Soviet Union, the worries will be smaller, at this time in the Soviet battlefield is very unfavorable, but also to face the western front battlefield above the enemy may launch an attack at any time, Germany at this time only has one choice, in a very short period of time to solve the war in the European battlefield, quickly accumulate energy, at least have enough economic and military strength to defeat or not be defeated by the United States, But this was almost impossible at the time; let us say that without going to war with the United States, it would have been impossible for Britain alone to complete the Normandy landings, and then Hitler would have had plenty of time to strengthen himself and make strategic choices, all on the premise that Hitler thought he could solve the Soviet Union;
Well, since going to war with the United States has brought so much pressure to himself, and not going to war will make his situation a little better, choose more, why Hitler is still determined to declare war with the United States, let's analyze it one by one.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > is the Tri-Nations Axis Agreement really that important? </h1>
On September 27, 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Triple Axis Agreement in Berlin, Germany. The treaty provides for assistance by all political, economic and military means if one of the three countries is attacked by a country that is not currently involved in a European war or a Sino-Japanese conflict. This is also what most people think, Hitler has no choice, since he signed this agreement, if he does not abide by it, he cannot say that he is too unjust, and there is no so-called war without righteousness, only interests, at least it will make Japan, an ally, lose confidence in itself;
In fact, Germany has long been aware of a loophole in this agreement, which reads that in the case of aggression by third-party military forces against the signatory countries, the signatory countries have the obligation to carry out joint operations, and the blunt meaning of the Pearl Harbor incident is that if the United States takes the initiative to launch an invasion against Japan, then Germany and Italy have the obligation to jointly act against the United States, but the situation at this time is that Japan moves first, and the United States is passively counterattacking, and this part is not explicitly involved in this treaty. So even under this agreement, Germany could not declare war on the United States;
Then some people will say again, using such a little loophole in the agreement to make a fuss, is not the work of a gentleman, yes, this is a war, is a matter of national life and death, even a little favorable factor for themselves must be firmly grasped; then Japan does not know the loophole in this treaty, after signing this agreement, Japan also found this loophole, and at this time Japan is fiercely debated, whether to tear the face with the United States, of course, they will be aware of this loophole, so Japan's Foreign Minister Matsuoka Yoshinori, In his meeting with Hitler, he mentioned that in the event of a conflict between Japan and the United States, Germany would give Japan support, and then in November, a month before Pearl Harbor, Germany and Japan had a closer exchange on this issue, and Kiyofumi Okamoto, who was in charge of foreign military liaison in the Japanese Army, wanted Germany to formally guarantee that even if Japan took the initiative to provoke a war with the United States, Germany would provide support to Japan, and until the end of November, the German side said that it would advance and retreat with Japan. But it was not until December 4 that Hitler hurried back from the Soviet Union and drafted a new German-Italian-Japanese Triple Alliance Treaty that night, which promised that if any country and the United States broke out at war, they would enter the war, and promised that they could only reach an armistice or peace with the United States or Britain with mutual agreement; but this treaty was not officially signed until December 6, because both countries wanted to make some detailed adjustments. In the case of the new treaty not being officially signed, on December 7, European time, pearl harbor broke out, so at this time, Hitler had no obligation to do anything, whether according to the Triple Axis Agreement or any other treaty, and Hitler had also obtained the result he wanted, that is, Japan and the United States openly tore their faces. Why did Hitler want Japan and the United States to go to war? This begins with some contradictions between the United States and Germany during World War II;
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > Germany's jealousy and conflict with the United States</h1>
Both Hitler and other people in Germany generally believe that it is only a matter of time before the United States is at war, and since there must be a final decisive battle with the United States, it must be defeated before the United States can give full play to its economic strength, at least to be able to contain the United States, and not only Hitler thinks so, Roosevelt has always listed Germany, Italy and Japan as a threat to the free world, Roosevelt himself has always insisted that only by getting rid of Hitler can the future freedom and security of the United States be guaranteed. The Jewish patrons behind Roosevelt have also been worried that once Germany wins the war, they will suffer huge losses, so the most important decision-makers of the two countries have maintained a strong vigilance against each other, even before the public declaration of war, the small actions between the two countries have not been broken;
Jealousy
Hitler always believed that the United States could not enter the war prematurely, but in order to prevent accidents, before the attack on the Soviet Union, Hitler had always stressed that no action should be taken to stimulate the United States, for example, he ordered the media to be very careful when reporting on American affairs, ordered the Navy to avoid conflict with the United States at sea, and in early March 1940, he even publicly ordered that the Navy should not intercept, capture or sink any American ship wherever it was. Therefore, it can be seen that in 1940, the European battlefield was not basically stable, Hitler was still very jealous of the United States; but with the development of the war, Germany quickly took most of the territory of the European continent, so that Britain and the United States felt great pressure, at this time the United States has openly and secretly stood against Germany, in September 1940, Roosevelt and Churchill reached a deal on destroyers, which has already shown the United States' support for Britain's identification;
At this time, Hitler, who was full of self-confidence, also ordered the lifting of the ban on anti-American propaganda in the country, and also began to criticize Roosevelt's behavior in public, in March 1941, the United States allowed Britain to repair the injured warships in the American dockyard, confiscated all Axis ships anchored in American ports, and reached an agreement with Greenland on where to establish a US military base.
In such a tense moment, a misfire could well have led directly to the official entry of the United States into the battlefield, but at this moment Hitler set his sights on the Balkans, as well as on operation Barbarossa in the Soviet Union, so in the first half of 1941, Hitler calmed down again, and he once again warned the German Admiral, Marshal Raeder, to avoid any time above the Atlantic that could be regarded as provocative, Reddell said in his meeting report with Hitler, the Fuehrer tirelessly repeated, He does not want any conflict with the United States until Operation Barbarossa is fully operational;
The failure of Operation Barbarossa
Although Hitler hoped to be cautious about the United States before successfully occupying the Soviet Union, at this time, Hitler found that his original plan to occupy Moscow before the arrival of winter was becoming more and more hopeless, the German attack schedule had been completely disrupted, the stubborn resistance of the Soviet army and the huge war potential were far from what he had not expected, or it could be said that his self-confidence in taking the Soviet Union was a little overblown, and although the Soviet army was at a disadvantage in the early stages, But after the Soviet Union developed its war potential, Hitler even felt that why the Soviet army would fight more and more, the grand strategy behind the Barbarossa plan was already on the verge of total collapse at this time, but at this time the threat from the United States could not be reduced, the United States was rapidly reorganizing its armaments, and Hitler also believed in his heart that Roosevelt would definitely start a formal war with the United States under the impetus of Jewish militants;
So at this moment The pressure facing Germany is very huge, on the Soviet battlefield, the morale of the German army is becoming more and more depressed with the glue of the war, Hitler at this moment very much hopes to have an opportunity to lift the morale of the army, and then like the invincible Germany in 1940, he took the Soviet Union with a single blow, at the same time, he also hoped that the United States could focus on Germany, at least give Germany a breathing space, so that he could rest assured that he could focus on the Soviet battlefield with peace of mind;
So at this time, Japan and the United States to go to war is a good time; the outbreak of pearl harbor incident, immediately turned the attention of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which is undoubtedly a great good news for Germany, and Japan's attack on Southeast Asia singapore, of course, for the United Kingdom is also a great blow, on the European battlefield, the pressure from Britain will be reduced by a few points, this event is a good news for the German army, look, our allies have already given the United States a heavy blow on the Pacific battlefield, So after Hitler heard of Pearl Harbor, Goebbels wrote in his diary that "for the Fuehrer and the entire base camp, the present state of affairs brings only excitement and joy, at least for the time being, an imminent threat to us is gone."
So Hitler's declaration of war on the United States is a matter of no suspense, Hitler did not hesitate from the moment he heard the news of pearl harbor, and according to the meeting of Wolfgang Bullock, another young officer who was working at the Führer's headquarters at the time, Hitler's first reaction when he heard the news of the Pearl Harbor incident was that he could finally declare war on the United States now; because he understood that only the declaration of war could stabilize Japan and reassure Japan that they had German support behind them. They can fight with the United States with all their might, and only by declaring war can they better encourage the soldiers in the Soviet battlefield at this moment, so that the soldiers understand that the United States is not afraid, Japan has given the United States a heavy blow, and all they have to do is to take Moscow with a single blow; and at this moment Hitler should know in his heart that even if Germany declares war on the United States at this moment, the attention of the United States will be more focused on Japan, and his declaration of war will not have much impact on Germany in a short period of time, but all this is just Hitler's wishful thinking;
The results of World War II are clear to everyone, as in the First World War, the participation of the United States in the war changed the balance of the war balance, the Offensive of the Anglo-American Coalition forces on the Western Front was coordinating with the counterattack of the Soviet Army in the East, so that Germany once again fell into a two-front battle, and was eventually crushed by the ruthless offensive, Hitler also underestimated the development of american military power, and the emergence of new weapons and nuclear weapons made the Axis countries completely desperate;