"The Black Monk" wrote in message
om...


Historians describe a conflict within the Japanese military about
whether to attack the USSR or the USA. The complete defeat att he
hands of the Soviets made that decision: Pearl Harbor happened because
the Japanese chose to attack the weaker foe.

Actually Pearl harbour happened because there was oil to the south and Japan
needed it nobody knew about the Siberian oil reserves at the time..

Without that oil the gains made in China would collapse, the attack south
was always meant to be a limited operation to secure resources, not to
defeat the US and C'wealth - once secured, it was intended that the focus
would move back to the main objective, China.