BLUF
Hitler seized Pearl Harbor as the moment to formalise a long-planned clash with the United States. Japan’s entry promised naval weight and distraction—so Berlin rushed to declare war first and widen the conflict fast.Learning Outcomes
• Explain how ideology and timing can drive escalation more than battlefield reality.
• Identify how maritime power, basing, and industrial lead times shape grand strategy.
• Apply lessons on alliance management, signalling, and second-order effects in planning.
