The wider war may begin in the Soviet-Japanese Far East

A stronger Soviet Pacific Fleet gives the 1939 border fighting with Japan a naval dimension. An attack on a Soviet harbor, or on a visiting Western ship caught there, could widen the conflict before Hitler begins a European war. Britain and the United States would both risk their Far Eastern credibility if only one entered the fighting. France would probably follow, and Mussolini might send ships to join the larger coalition. Germany could then face diplomatic isolation strong enough to deter the historical attack on Poland. The initial attack need not come from the Japanese Navy: an Army action could draw the Navy into a war it had not chosen.