[ QUOTE ]
I am curious as to what was going through the heads of the military brass when they declared war on the U.S. They must have thought that it bought them something - even if it didnt.
[/ QUOTE ]As every witness (in uniform* or not, at the time) subsequently confirmed, the German generals were NOT deciding NOR were they having any significant say against which country Germany would declare war. As far as they were informed, their Supreme Commander could declare war against Paraguay. World War II was
Hitler's war.
So, did the German generals want a war against the United States? They did not. Did they want a war against the Soviets? They did not, aside from a few fanatical Nazis among them. What did the General Staff and the officer corps do when Hitler declared war against the USSR first and then the USA? Nothing. They went about their duty which was trying to win the war.
--Cyrus
* E.g. in Basil Liddell Hart's
The German Generals Talk, 1st ed. 1948.