The Soviet Union might still win its land fighting against Japan while losing at sea, changing the balance inside Japan and the order of later conflicts. Britain and the United States could not comfortably allow the other to humble Japan alone and dominate the Far East, so either one's intervention would push the other toward a shared campaign. That would be a major military commitment before a possible European war. A later conflict could involve Germany and Italy together or either power acting alone, leaving the sequence uncertain.
Notable Point · 1:32:16-1:33:24
A Far Eastern war could force Anglo-American partnership
A Soviet land victory and naval defeat against Japan could draw Britain and the United States into a joint Far Eastern campaign before a European war.