You can go way further than that. The US initially only declared war on Japan and not Germany, only to join the European Theatre later.
There are various interpretations of this, but it seems plain to me that they were hoping the Nazis would beat the Soviets and the US could decide what to do from there, but once the Soviets began to resist more effectively, the US needed to make sure that the Soviets wouldn't get control of the entirety of Germany's manufacturing capacity in the case that they won out*, so they joined in Europe to ensure the liberal coalition would control a portion of Germany.**
*Which most historians agree they would have, even without the US
This was also almost the only reason the US dropped both bombs on an already-surrendering Japan, to ensure control of the negotiations and that the Soviets got as little as possible.
Killing 200,000 civilians to get a leg up on the Russkies
You can go way further than that. The US initially only declared war on Japan and not Germany, only to join the European Theatre later.
There are various interpretations of this, but it seems plain to me that they were hoping the Nazis would beat the Soviets and the US could decide what to do from there, but once the Soviets began to resist more effectively, the US needed to make sure that the Soviets wouldn't get control of the entirety of Germany's manufacturing capacity in the case that they won out*, so they joined in Europe to ensure the liberal coalition would control a portion of Germany.**
*Which most historians agree they would have, even without the US
**Which is indeed what happened
This was also almost the only reason the US dropped both bombs on an already-surrendering Japan, to ensure control of the negotiations and that the Soviets got as little as possible.
Killing 200,000 civilians to get a leg up on the Russkies
this thread is legit blowing my mind