Reddit reviews Dirty Little Secrets of World War II: Military Information No One Told You...

World War I might have been the reason some might have believed America to be soft. You have to remember that despite what American textbooks might have you believe, American involvement in that war was minimal compared to the suffering other countries endured. More Canadians died in World War I than Americans, as just one example. Furthermore the Great Depression was much worse elsewhere in the world than in America. Read up on hyperinflation if you doubt that.

Undoubtedly there were many other contributing factors to a belief that America was soft, however it wasn't a view everyone held. In fact I might argue that the most insightful leaders from all countries understood that America was not a force to be trifled with lightly.

My favorite example is from General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Japanese officer tasked with fortifying Iwo Jima (one of the main characters in the movie Letters From Iwo Jima), had a very deep understanding of America's power, based on his experience touring the country while a military attache in Washington D.C.:

"I was in the United States for three years when I was a captain. I was taught how to drive by some American officers, and I bought a car. I went around the States, and I knew the close connections between the military and industry. I saw the plant area of Detroit, too. By one button push, all the industries will be mobilized for military business."

During the tensions leading up to Pearl Harbor, he repeatedly told his family:

"America is the last country in the world Japan should fight."

Admiral Yamamoto was another leader who understood that war with America would not be a light undertaking:

"Should hostilities once break out between Japan and the United States, it would not be enough that we take Guam and the Philippines, nor even Hawaii and San Francisco. To make victory certain, we would have to march into Washington and dictate the terms of peace in the White House. I wonder if our politicians (who speak so lightly of a Japanese-American war) have confidence as to the final outcome and are prepared to make the necessary sacrifices."

Since you seem interested in the subject of reactions to the news of Pearl Harbor, I remember reading in this book that Hitler was ecstatic upon hearing the news of Pearl Harbor... however his excitement turned to anger when he realized not one of his advisors could locate Pearl Harbor on a map.

Still, there might be a grain of truth to the idea that Americans were soft. At the very least they took luxury to war with them. During the liberation of France and the final drive on Germany, the daily allocation of toilet paper for an American soldier was 16 sheets. For a British soldier, it was 3. :)

Source:Dirty Little Secrets of World War II: Military Information No One Told you About the greatest, most terrible war in history

so a large number of tanks were sent from the US and UK, no denying that. hell there's a joke i found while digging up your answer that tanks made in the USA would have 'USA' and other notes on them, which Slovaks took to a stab at 'translating' as Ubiyat Sukensyna Adolfa - Kill that Son of a bitch Adolf.

Another note, the largest single source of allied tanks lost was in shipping them to the soviet union, with 5,000 tanks, 7,000 aircraft and 200,000 tons of other goods.

apologies, i may have misremember the passage. After the war a number of russian generals revealed that while all of the 100 billion+ (1994 dollars) of aid they receieved, the most useful items were 100 octane fuel, Trucks, Waterproof telephone wire and radios.