late '38: 6 '39: 6 '40: 8 '41: 8 '42+: 10 Entry of the USA into the war is perhaps The decisive event. However, an even earlier, perhaps more decisive event, is the US decision to seriously arm for the coming conflict. The fall of France was the precipitating event for the authorization by Congress to enormously expand US military power. If the fall of France (or Britain) is delayed, so would be the rearming of the US. Possibly Roosevelt would have been able to initiate such an armament program after his reelection (in late 1940) but probably at reduced scope. German defeat of the Soviet Union would be much less likely to bring on such a reaction. (This might be a reasonable basis for a German strategy of trying to defeat the USSR first, perhaps in alliance with Japan, especially if this can be done without bringing both Britain and France into the war.) In addition to the direct effect of the Fall of France on the U.S., the defenselessness of the French (and Dutch) colonies in the Far East, and the preoccupation of the British elsewhere, emboldened Japan. The U.S. Naval building program gave them an inducement to choose to fight sooner rather than later, especially when the US embargoed oil. U.S. movement toward the allies thus brings not just the initiation of rearmament, but also the likelihood of a war with Japan in the near future. Since this is an article about Europe, considerations of Japan are necessarily limited. A Japanese entry into the war could reasonably take one of three forms: Against the Soviet Union (in conjunction with a German attack), against Britain and allies, or (as was the case) an attack on the US as well. The German player should not be able the choose between or set the timing of either of the latter two options. If Japan enters the war against the Western allies, the US is very likely to enter at some point, even if not attacked right away, and in the interim will do things like occupy Iceland and Greenland, patrol the Western Atlantic, and such until an excuse for entering the war occurs. In the absence of a Pearl Harbor attack, what would cause US entry into the war? German success in invading Britain, German submarine warfare in the West Atlantic, German occupation of Iceland and/or Greenland, or perhaps German occupation of French Northwest Africa all might be enough for a declaration of war. A war with Japan would not necessarily bring the US into war with Germany, but it would provide at least a good chance for doing so. A German declaration of war on the US gives the Germans the opportunity to attack US shipping before the US Navy is better prepared, which might be worthwhile if US entry into the war is inevitable anyway, and the US rearmament is on a schedule independent of a declaration of war. Adding Politics to Your WWII Game A Model Introduction Poland Great Britain France, Belgium, Holland Italy USSR USA Spain and Portugal Hungary and Romainia Yugoslavia and Bulgaria Greece and Turkey Finland Norway, Sweden, and Denmark Political Event Table Treaties Back to Table of Contents -- Against the Odds vol. 1 no. 2 Back to Against the Odds List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by LPS. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com * Buy this back issue or subscribe to Against the Odds direct from LPS.