Tripartite Pact

The Tripartite Pact was an agreement signed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Japan on 27 September 1940 in Berlin, Germany that formed a defensive military alliance known as the "Axis Powers". Hungary joined the pact on 20 November 1940, followed by Romania on 23 November 1940, Slovakia on 24 November 1940, Bulgaria on 1 March 1941, Yugoslavia on 25 March 1941, and Croatia on 15 June 1941. The pact stated that none of the countries could make a separate peace with the Allied Powers during the war, and that all of the belligerents would fight until the end. It targeted the United States, which would have to deal with Germany and Italy if they decided to go to war with Japan due to its aggressive campaign in China. The pact not only led to the USA's eventual involvement in World War II, but also immediately to the German invasion of Yugoslavia, which backed out of the pact after a military coup in March 1941.