Ernest King faces a British-led naval war

Admiral Ernest J. King's preferred division of responsibility gives the Pacific to the United States and leaves the Atlantic to Britain, while also avoiding American subordination to British commanders. That arrangement becomes harder to sustain if Britain has already defeated Japan and the United States enters only for the European war. A battle-experienced Royal Navy returning from the Far East would have a much stronger claim to leadership. Entry order and prior victories, at least temporarily, can shape alliance command as much as fleet size.