Tripartite Pact
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The Tripartite Pact, also called the Three-Power Pact, was signed in Berlin on September 27 1940 by representatives of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and the Empire of Japan. The agreement formalized the Axis Powers' partnership, and can be read as a warning to the United States to remain neutral in World War II — or become involved in a war on two fronts.
In the pact the three nations agreed that for the next ten years they would
- "stand by and co-operate with one another in... their prime purpose to establish and maintain a new order of things... to promote the mutual prosperity and welfare of the peoples concerned".
They recognized each other's spheres of interest and undertook
- "to assist one another with all political, economic and military means when one of the three contracting powers is attacked" by a country not already involved in the war, excluding the Soviet Union.
The pact supplemented the previous German-Japanese Agreement and the Anti-Comintern Pact, both of 1936 and helped overcome the rift that had developed between Japan and Germany following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed by Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939.
The Tripartite Pact was subsequently joined by Hungary (November 20, 1940) and Romania (November 23, 1940). Bulgaria joined on March 1, 1941, prior to the arrival of German troops.
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Kingdom of Yugoslavia
On March 25 1941 in Vienna, Prince Paul (Pavle), Regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, signed the Tripartite Pact. It was not easy for Hitler to gain Yugoslavia's cooperation. There were strong anti-German feelings in the country, especially among the dominant Serbian population. On March 27, the regime was overthrown by a military coup d'état with British support, and the 18-year-old King Peter II of Yugoslavia seized power.
Although the new rulers opposed Nazi Germany, they also feared that if Hitler attacked Yugoslavia, Britain was not in any real position to help. For the safety of the country, they declared that Yugoslavia would adhere to the Tripartite Pact.
Postponing Operation Barbarossa, the Germans simultaneously attacked Yugoslavia and Greece. From April 6, Luftwaffe bombed Belgrade for three days and three nights. German ground troops moved in, and Yugoslavia capitulated on April 17.
German declaration of war
On December 7, Japan attacked the United States' naval bases at Pearl Harbor. According to the stipulation of the Tripartite Pact, Nazi-Germany was required to come to the defense of her allies only if they were attacked. Since Japan had made the first move and attacked, Germany was not obliged to aid her. On December 11, Hitler entered the Reichstag to formally declare war on the United States.
This declaration of war against the United States was arguably the greatest mistake made by the Third Reich — it played directly into the desires of the U.S. President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to become engaged in the defense of Britain, largely to preserve a staging base for the strategic air bombardment of German industrial capacity and for the eventual defeat of German domination of Western Europe by an invasion of the continent. However, Hitler was aware of such plans and skeptical of American neutrality. Based on the information at his disposal, the Germans were well aware of Rainbow Five and the proposed American military buildup that was issued at the start of the war.
As a result, the Germans expected war with the United States no later than 1943. As was the case in 1917, American war industries were already fully engaged keeping Britain afloat. Although shipbuilding had been in progress since the 30's, mass recruitment begun only at the beginning of 1941 and Germany expected Russia to crumble shortly. Germany's technological and scientific capabilities were generally considered to be up to a decade ahead of the United States. In Germany, projects were underway or would begin shortly on long range bombers, intercontinental ballistic missile, super battleships with 24 inch (60 cm) guns, and even the atomic bomb.
Still, the declaration of war was at a time when Germany was significantly ahead in military capacity only in the limited areas of submarines, tactical ground attack aircraft and fast land-based armor (tanks) — the latter two committed for use against the USSR on the Eastern Front in Operation Barbarossa. Cruise missiles (in the form of the V-1 flying bomb) and ballistic rockets (the V-2 rocket) were in active development and would soon be in quantity production and use against England. In other matters of military technology, the Third Reich enjoyed no special advantage largely due to the United States' superior industrial capacity, oceanic isolation, and the rich resources of the Americas.
German and Japanese cooperation
Germany's declaration of war further solidified German-Japanese relations and encouraged Japanese cooperation against Britain. Both envisioned a partnered linkage running across the Indian subcontinent that would allow for the transfer of weaponry as well as other possibilities. The failed Indian revolt against British rule and a deteriorating Axis position forced exchanges to be made across the high seas. While it is likely that the Germans expected little reciprocation in the Soviet Far East, eyes were focused directly on India, the Middle East and the Mediterranean region, all vital to the British war effort.
End of the Pact
Italy joined the Western Allies in 1943, marking the beginning of the end for the Tripartite Pact. Later, Bulgaria and Romania joined the Eastern Allies (Russia and China) , following the constant pressure by Soviet troops. Hungary was the last little member of the pact aside from the big two (Germany and Japan), but eventually, it too was overrun. While technically still in operation until the Japanese surrender, the quelling of Germany brought an end to any effective meaning of the treaty, though some hold that it collapsed when Hungary capitulated, as Germany and Japan were in effect running two separate wars.
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de:Dreimächtepakt fr:Traité tripartite it:Patto tripartito hu:Háromhatalmi Egyezmény ja:日独伊三国軍事同盟 pl:Pakt trzech sv:Tremaktspakten