Only a fool could have imagined the Japanese would be in a position to help with Russia once they had triggered war with the mightiest economy on earth. Besides, the Russians were able to work out in winter 1941 that the Japs had no plans to attack Russia (allowing them to transfer huge numbers of troops from Siberia to the Moscow front and throw the Germans back), so how come their allies the Germans weren't privy to the same information?
And sure, war between Germany and the US was inevitable in the long run, but to trigger it when he didn't have to was still remarkably hubristic. Not least because it ensured the supply of massive, war-winning amounts of food and materiel to the Russians by the US that might otherwise not have happened so early.
As far as Russia was concerned, I think invading at all with the notion of conquering the whole bloody place was the real mistake. The Russians fighting on home soil can always trade space and lives for time and still be able to come back at you. Germany catastrophically underestimated the Russian capacity to resist - particularly in what was in effect a war of annihilation. Germany never had the resources to fight such a war to a successful conclusion.
Not really. He isn't a serious global threat in the sense that the USSR was. He's simply a posturing strong man type who needs to be made to wind his fvcking neck in.
Never forget when talking about Russia and its capabilities that - for all its geographical size - Russia's economy is less than half the size of the UK's. Russia's economic capacity for doing anything much more than posturing in military terms is virtually zero.
Quite simply, he didnt have the numbers to hold gains in the East and defend the Western front against what was undoubtedly coming at some point. Alliance with the Soviet Union was the only plausible route to victory here but ideologygotin the way of that. In no way could he have justified that in he long term. THe entire premise demanded a mass of territorial gains in the East, and not just Poland and their ilk.
In effect, he had to attack Russia and you are right, it had to be a war of annihilation which was never, ever going to happen. He massively underestimated the resolve of the russian soldier.
His view of how Japan could help is an odd one. Aside from assistance to the east of Russia they could help in two ways- distract/cripple the US navy to delay or prevent the opening of a western front, and something similar towards the British in the East, further crippling our resource and resolve. They tried both, with some success, but only to delay. THat kind of assistance required totalvictoryin Russia which never came. To be fair, they got closer than most.
Which, of course, is an endorsement of the idea of pushing back against Putin as Trump is doing and as Obama singularly failed to do.
It's certainly a description of the foreign policy of expansionist powers. There aren't many such powers left, however - at least in the West. Russia has always been that sort of power because it perceives itself as having a sphere of influence and control far beyond its borders that includes nebulous ethnic (ie Slavic) and religious (ie Orthodox) components. In addition, being where it is, Russia has always had a massive chip on its shoulder because it is seen (justifiably) as backward and uncivilised by its western European neighbours. This inferiority complex has made it aggressive in its dealings with those neighbours and its relationships with them uncomfortable.
Oh, never invade Russia with the intention of defeating it utterly. That is madness. However, it's perfectly possible to fight local wars with limited objectives with Russia (Crimea, Russo-Japanese War, etc, etc) and win. Plus, of course, the Russian home record is pretty decent (if Pyrrhic), but their away record is absolutely shocking.