2007-10-26 03:16:12 · 14 answers · asked by Scooter_loves_his_dad 7 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
I'd have to say yes, but the better question may be, if Pearl Harbor never happened, would America have entered World War 2 early enough to make a difference?
As it was, it took them nearly a year after Pearl to get mobilized in any way, shape or form to be an offensive power and invade North Africa - industrially and in manpower (in 1941, the size and equipment of the US army was a fraction in quantity and quality of the other major powers. most of her armor, ships, guns, planes, etc were all outdated to fight WW I, not WW II)
If the entrance of America was delayed a few more years, could Rommel have gotten to the oil reserves in the Middle East? At the time of Pearl, Germany was a stone's throw away from marching into Moscow. If they were able to focus more on the Eastern Front, would they have been able to knock out Russia before the US entered the war? If so, Overlord and D-Day would have been seriously compromised, and if anything, Sealion may have been revitalized to invade the UK. If that were successful, the US would no longer have a base of operations in the European theater.
In the Far East, the Japanese wouldn't have had to be worrying about losing the Battle of Midway and defending their islands from the Marines, but instead solidifying their hold on the Asian mainland and increasing their supply of natural resources. Better yet, if the US entered later without Pearl Harbor, the US Navy may well have been eliminated easily. (The lesson of Pearl was that WWII was going to be one fought in the air. Many in the US Navy were still enamored with their battleships. . . which incidentially were incredibly deficient in AA guns. Most of the battleships sunk at Pearl were repaired and refitted with better AA protection - easy to do in Hawaii in dry dock, harder to do in the Pacific Ocean while the Japanese are dropping bombs and torpedos on you. Additionally, the number of actual battles in WW II where surface ships saw each other could probably be counted on one hand.)
There's was a editorial cartoon at one point were someone was in a concentration camp. I can't remember exactly, but the gist was that he said, "When the Germans came for the gypsies, no one tried to stand up and help. When they came for the Poles, no one tried to stand up and help. When they came for the Jews, no one tried to stand up and help. When they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me."
2007-10-26 04:31:19 · answer #1 · answered by Gina S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I believe they were already involved in the war before Pearl Harbor happened.
2007-10-26 10:28:07 · answer #2 · answered by xine 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The answer is 'YES'. FDR was going to involve the US in WWII by any means necessary but he didn't want to fight the Japanese. FDR called for Congress to declared war on Japan but not Germany or Italy because the the People and Congress wouldn't have supported it. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall of the White House during those hours while they waited and wondered what the hell they were going to do if Germany and Italy DIDN'T declare war on us.....
2007-10-26 10:34:16 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
That's a good question. I think yes, because the U.S. was neutral in Dec of '41, but was sending ships loaded with food and arms to Great Britain. Germany was trying to isolate G.B. at that time. German submarine captains were already complaining to superiors that all they could do was watch as U.S. ships sailed in to G.B. ports with supplies. The subs couldn't attack neutral ships. The Germans were well aware that we were supplying the Brits, and I believe that Germany would have declared war on us with in a point in 1941 to be able to sink U.S. supply ships.
2007-10-26 10:43:41 · answer #4 · answered by Derail 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yeah. We were already involved in World War II even before Pearl Harbor.
Look up "Lend-Lease" and "Flying Tigers".
2007-10-26 10:21:22 · answer #5 · answered by BDZot 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes, sooner or later America would have gotten involved. There was more going on under the covers than we realize.
2007-10-26 10:24:32 · answer #6 · answered by time_wounds_all_heelz 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes, either the Germans would have provoked us or the Japs would have. Or, we would have gone in to help our friends but that would have been a harder fight on Capital Hill as well as with the public.
2007-10-26 11:14:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes . . . to protect trade with Europe and to maintain the balance of international power.
2007-10-26 10:23:06 · answer #8 · answered by CHARITY G 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Unlikely. Until then the USA was trading with both sides and at that time one third of americans had german origins.
2007-10-26 12:24:39 · answer #9 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes.
2007-10-26 10:20:13 · answer #10 · answered by MEL T 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋