Adolf Hitler spent several years strengthening Germany and probing for Allied weaknesses. He remilitarized the Rhineland, annexed Austria, and conquered Czechoslovakia without firing a shot. The Allies did nothing to impede Hitler. On September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland. The Allies finally decided to act. Unfortunately, they waited too long and faced a modern, innovative military. The first two years of World War II went poorly for the Allied cause. The Nazi war machine conquered Europe. However, Hitler made several mistakes which allowed the Allies to survive and planted the seeds of his own defeat.
Prior to the war's start, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact. This Nazi-Soviet Pact set up "spheres of influence" in Poland, the Balkans, and Scandinavia. Both sides agreed to invade and carve up Poland. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked their neighbor. The Soviets invaded sixteen days later. Poland fell within the month. The Soviets then turned their attention to the Baltic states and Finland. Finnish resistance slowed the Soviets, but Finland eventually capitulated in March, 1940.
Following the invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The Allies finally understood Hitler and vowed to stop German aggression. However, they did not declare war on Stalin's Russia. Instead, they expelled the Soviets from the League of Nations. Undeterred, the Soviets occupied the Baltic states in June, 1940.
While the Nazis and Soviets conquered, the Allies took their time deploying. The British sent troops to the continent and the French manned their defenses, but neither felt motivated to attack until April 1940. People began calling it the "Sitzkreig" or Phony War. The British finally moved when Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. Denmark crumbled and British efforts to prop up Norway failed.
Norway's fall cost British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain his job. Chamberlain promised peace following the Munich Agreement and presided over the Phony War and fall of Denmark, Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, and Poland. His name is now synonymous with appeasement and failure. Winston Churchill replaced Chamberlain on May 10, 1940.
As Churchill assumed power, Hitler attacked the west. The German blitzkrieg overwhelmed Western Europe. The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg provided no resistance. Only the British and French armies remained. France planned for this eventuality. Following World War I's trench warfare, the French created a system of defensive fortifications to block Germany. The Nazis flanked the Maginot Line with a thrust through the heavily wooded Ardennes Forest. The French knew this line of attack possible, but failed to defend against it.
As France fell, the British bugged out. On May 27, the British began evacuating the continent. Over the course of a week, British forces left France for Britain on anything that floated. The British lay prostrate at Dunkirk, but Germany failed to capitalize. The Germans could have crushed the British army and the armada of merchant marine vessels and fishing boats. However, Hitler allowed their escape. At this point, Hitler's generals bickered with the Fuehrer over strategy. Hitler wanted to put his generals in their place and ordered a halt to the offensive. This mistake allowed thousands of soldiers to survive to return to liberate Europe.
The quick Nazi victory forced a change in strategy. The Nazis used submarines to strangle British trade. They also decided to pound England with air power. Hitler wanted to invade, but lacked landing craft to do so. He left the war to Hermann Goering's Luftwaffe. At first, they severely damaged Britain. However, an errant British bomb struck a civilian target in Germany. Irate, Hitler ordered a full scale assault on British civilians. The attacks united the British people and saved the Royal Air Force. Since the Nazis no longer targeted radar facilities or military installations, the R.A.F. survived to win the Battle of Britain.
As Hitler struggled with Britain, he strengthened his alliances. The Tripartite Pact of 1940 required Italy, Germany, and Japan to go to war with any country that attacked any Axis Power. Italy entered the war as France fell. Japan was at war in China and attacked Allied possessions. The agreement did not include mutual defense against the Soviet Union. This omission proved costly in 1941.
The Tripartite Pact expanded in November 1940 to include Hungary, Slovakia, and Romania. These countries bordered the Soviet Union. Hitler wanted to attack the communist regime at his earliest convenience. He did not wait to defeat Britain and planned an all out assault for May 1940.
Hitler's invasion was postponed a month to handle Greece and Yugoslavia. The Italians launched an invasion of Greece and became bogged down. Hitler felt the need to defend his underside and defeated the Greeks. An anti-Nazi coup in Yugoslavia infuriated Hitler personally and he cracked down. He also sent troops to Africa to combat Britain and help Italy. After the Greek and Yugoslavian excursions, he attacked Russia.
In June, 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa. Despite the six week delay, the invasion of Russia went well for Germany. Even though the British notified Stalin of Nazi movements, the attack took him by surprise. Stalin should have read Mein Kampf. In the book, Hitler advocated taking eastern lands, including the U.S.S.R., to set up German farms. The Nazis could have defeated the Soviets, but Hitler's racial policy doomed their chances.
The SS followed the German army and massacred civilians along the invasion route. At first, the people supported the Nazi invaders over Stalin. Had the Nazis acted as liberators, the Soviet Union might have fallen. Instead, the Soviet population turned on the Nazis. Instead of a Nazi supported insurrection, the Soviet people rallied to Stalin. This mistake did not become obvious until the invasion stalled.
At the invasion's height, the Nazis could see the Kremlin. The Russian winter struck and the German advance stalled. German planners did not provide winter clothing and Hitler refused to retreat. The Nazis experienced their first hardships of the war forcing Hitler to approach Japan for help. He wanted the Japanese to attack the Soviets. They refused and attacked America instead.
While the Nazis froze in Russia, the Japanese attacked Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, Japan hoped to knock America out of World War II with one strike. They attacked the U.S. fleet and killed 2500 men. Japan also struck American holdings in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and Alaska. The U.S. responded with a declaration of war on Japan, but not Germany. Hitler declared war on America hoping Japan would reciprocate with a declaration against Stalin. Japan never declared war on the Soviets and Hitler now faced three world powers on multiple fronts.
Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan enjoyed amazing success on the battlefield from 1939-1941. However, Hitler's mistakes allowed his enemies to survive. At Dunkirk, he allowed the British army to escape. During the Battle of Britain, he changed targets allowing the R.A.F. to achieve victory. He delayed Barbarossa to help Italy and got caught by the Russian winter. He murdered Soviet citizens turning them against Germany. He declared war on America. Despite these errors, Hitler conquered Europe and Japan conquered much of Asia by early 1942 and still had the opportunity for victory.
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