Well I don't doubt at all the US would've entered the war in the long run. After all, if the entire world cept the US was taken, why not move on the US with the world's resources?
I don't doubt that at all. The only people who ever thought war with the US was inevitable was the military of Japan. Unfortunately for them, the military also ran Japan. However, their assumptions were wrong. The short run goal was a crippled US fleet for 6 months. The real goal however was to force the US to follow Japan's demands or remove the embargo or to sue for peace for without a fleet, the US would've been crippled against the Japanese.
You have to realize the gamble was close tho. Had the carriers gone down and had the Japanese targetted the submarines AND the oil depots @ pearl harbor, the US would have had literally no chips to play in the Pacific. The forces in the Atlantic would have to be split up and a lot of it would be needed to merely fight hte U-Boats. The Japanese navy also would have dominated the Americans if the US Navy had no flattops.
It was close but the result was the least valuable goal achieved.
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