re: 73 Years ago today: Battle of Stalingrad ends with the surrender of 6th Army

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Russia was able to ship troops from the Far East because their intell indicated the Japanese were not going to attack Russia.

Germany and Japan had a screwy alliance. Japan never declared war on Russia and did not threaten Russia, but as soon as Japan attacked the US Hitler jumped in and declared war on the US three days later.

If Germany stayed out of the Japanese war with the US how would history have changed? How long could Germany have gone against Russia without D-Day, Italy, African campaign involving the US, etc?

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I've always wondered why Hitler would do something as stupid as declaring war on the U.S. Yes, he had a treaty with Japan. But that treaty only stated one would come to the aid of the other if that country had been attacked. That's why the Japanese never felt compelled to go to war with the Soviet Union. Germany invaded the Soviet Union unprovoked. Thus Japan had no obligation to go to war with the Soviets. Being that Japan attacked the U.S., Hitler did not have to declare war against the U.S. either. But he did. I'd love to be able to go back and ask him what the hell made him think that was a good idea.

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Russia was able to ship troops from the Far East because their intell indicated the Japanese were not going to attack Russia.

Germany and Japan had a screwy alliance. Japan never declared war on Russia and did not threaten Russia, but as soon as Japan attacked the US Hitler jumped in and declared war on the US three days later.

If Germany stayed out of the Japanese war with the US how would history have changed? How long could Germany have gone against Russia without D-Day, Italy, African campaign involving the US, etc?

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I read this book called "The Prize" about the history of drilling for oil and in it they alluded to this. Germany wanted Japan to attack Russia from the east, but Japan wanted the oil rich lands of the Philippines. Japan f*cked up majorly attacking Pearl Harbor, but they did so only to ensure that the U.S. Would not flank them while holding onto these islands. If Japan attacks Russia instead of the U.S. It would have affected the outcome of the war and history as we know it.