Japan Joins Central Powers

Delta Force

Banned
What if Japan had ignored the British request for aid in the Pacific and joined the Central Powers, or signed a separate peace and switched sides in 1915? With the balance of dreadnoughts between the British and German fleets so close, would the British dispatch any ships to try to hold off Japanese activities in the Pacific or would they be forced to let Japan run rampant in the Pacific? Does it change the ground situation for the Allies, who will at the very least be unable to justify moving soldiers out of their Pacific territories and to Europe while they are directly threatened? Also, how likely is such a move to inspire a US declaration of war, seeing as the US has historically only done so in instances of direct attack?
 
That would be Japan signing their own death warrant.
By obeying their treaty with Britain they got a few bits of land and some big diplomatic kudos.
By turning around and joining Germany...they put themselves in the position they don't want to be in. At war with both Russia and Britain. Just madness.
You'd need some major changes to get this to happen.
Assuming ASBs- Britain already has a pretty significant pacific fleet, as does France, though yes, some forces would be dispatched.
 
As with Italy and Greece, Japan will stay neutral or join the British side.

Fighting against Britain is only an option if Germany is about to win the war, Russia is already falling, and Britain has not enough means to face the Japanese in East Asia. But even then the question arises why to spoil so much diplomatic capital - after all, who will trust the Japanese if they betray Britain?
 

GarethC

Donor
The important thing to remember is that no matter what the choice of alliance and belligerence is, the Imperial Japanese Army's main enemy is neither the Central Powers, nor the Entente, but the Imperial Japanese Navy.
 
American involvement

Japan HAS done some very spectacuarly foolish moves for some time. (And causes for war can always be drummed up, or someone can do something spectacularly stupid, causing things to snowball.) There's also MUCH nicer bits of land in British and French hands than in German...

If Japan does join the Central Powers, I'd guess that the chances of American involvement just went way up. Japan, even then, was seen as a natural rival for the Pacific, and if they're grabbing choice bits, there's some more cause for concern.

If Jutland had been a battle of mutual anhiliation (perhaps coming a year or two earlier, so the fleets are more evenly matched) then the Royal Navy is less of a threat, also. Easier to get into the war...

Also, Russia and Japan are not what you'd call friends...I could see tensions between them ramping up in 1914, leading to a seperate war starting at about the same time, or a bit earlier. Then it gets COMPILCATED...

If Russia is at war with Germany and Japan--well, Rusia's a more valuable ally than Japan. complicated--and if I had more time, I might try to write it.
 
Also, Russia and Japan are not what you'd call friends...I could see tensions between them ramping up in 1914, leading to a seperate war starting at about the same time, or a bit earlier. Then it gets COMPILCATED...

If Russia is at war with Germany and Japan--well, Rusia's a more valuable ally than Japan. complicated--and if I had more time, I might try to write it.

They were not friends, they were strategic partners.
You have to explain why Japan should completely reverse its successful rapprochement with Imperial Russia.
 
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