>>17767121
Not racist, just a common assumption. But the Axis wasn’t like the Allies. It wasn’t even a centralized coalition. It was more like a patchwork of opportunistic powers with overlapping enemies but little coordination. Germany and Japan didn’t even share strategy, let alone command structures. The Tripartite Pact (1940) looked like Germany was the top dog because it came after France fell and Japan wanted to ride that momentum. But in reality:
>No mutual war planning. Japan never coordinated with Germany before attacking Pearl Harbor. Hitler actually found out after the fact.
>No shared goals. Japan’s war was about dominating the Pacific and securing resources. Germany’s was about Lebensraum and smashing Bolshevism. The USSR wasn’t Japan’s primary enemy: the U.S. and Britain were.
>Different theaters, different priorities: After the 1939 Soviet–Japanese border war at Khalkhin Gol (where Zhukov wrecked the Japanese), Tokyo made a strategic shift called the “Southern Expansion Doctrine.” That’s why they attacked the U.S. and British colonies in 1941 instead of going north into Siberia.
So even when Germany was begging Japan to hit the USSR in late '41–'42, Japan refused. They’d signed a Neutrality Pact with the Soviets in April 1941, and Stalin honored it, even when things were dire in the West. That let the Soviets redeploy Siberian divisions to defend Moscow.
Germany had no leverage to force Japan’s hand. They weren’t supplying Japan with anything vital (Japan had to go through the Soviet Union or blockade runners). There was ideological camaraderie, sure, but no command hierarchy. In short: Japan did its own thing.
