On Tue, 09 Dec 2003 09:20:39 +0100, Martin Hotze
wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote:

Had the U.S. not been attacked by Japan, it's unlikely that we would have
declared war on Germany alone.

I don't have the details handy, but AFAIR: USA declared war on Japan and as
Japan and Germany where allies, Germany then declared war on the USA.

Am I wrong?

Actually this isn't exactly correct. While it's true that Hitler
declared war on America after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was not
obigated by treaty to do so.

The specifics of the treaty required him to declare war on America IF
America attacked Japan, not the other way around.

It isn't clear why Hitler decided to declare war on the U.S. It is
possible he, like Japan, underestimated the ability of America to
effectively wage war.

Corky Scott