It was 40+ nations that it took to stop Hitler. Mostly they lost the war because of their failed invasion of Russia in the worst winter they have seen in decades. and Hitler having to clean up Mussolini's mess in Greece. Modern day Vikings actually had little to do with it.
WWII was predicted by many the day the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
Germany won all the major battles of WWI and were winning the war when they surrendered.
If Poland had just given Danzig back to Germany, WWII would have been prevented. Danzig was rightfully Germany's and its citizens were Germans.
Germany was largely successful during World War One to a point, but it made no serious gains after the lines had been established in 1914. World War One was a war of attrition and all sides beat each other senseless without much to show for it either way - until 1917.
Once the United States entered the fight, the game was up. By 1918, the Allies were poised to enter Germany and
that is why Germany surrendered. That is also why Germans were so pissed off between the wars. They were never conquered, yet they were forced to shoulder the responsibility for the war. This opened the door for a bat-shit crazy little Corporal with a huge chip on his shoulder.
Germany lost World War Two because Hitler was
insane.
Chamberlain discovered too late that appeasement only
encourages an aggressor. Hitler said war could have been avoided if only Germany be allowed to annex Austria. That was fine until he used the same argument shortly thereafter on Czechoslovakia.
By this time, several senior members of the German military realized they had a
madman on their hands. Hitler was intent on seizing Europe and he would risk going to war to accomplish it. Two problems for these Germans: 1) Shortly after assuming power in Germany, Hitler required all military officers to swear an oath of allegiance to
him. 2) A coup had been in the works which would remove Hitler from power before he started a war, but Britain and France went along with Hitler's demands and war was averted for the time being.
By the time Hitler started making noises about Poland, it was too late. The Soviet Union and Germany had already determined who would get what once Poland capitulated. With or without
Danzig, Germany was going to Poland. Germans needed elbow room. The Poles resisted, Hitler invaded and France and Britain had no choice but to declare war on Germany.
The
Phony War began and France played while Britain got ready to fight. The fighting soon became real, but it was too late. When Germany arrived, the Allies were overwhelmed. And that is when Hitler made his
first mistake.
He allowed roughly 400,000 BEF and French troops to escape to England in 1940. He halted the German Army for thirty-six hours just when they were about to reach the Channel and finish the job. Hermann Goering convinced him that the Luftwaffe could do it easily. This gave the British and French enough time to establish a narrow escape corridor which could be defended until the evacuation was complete. By the time he realized his error, Belgium had capitulated and his Generals were now looking South towards Paris. The
Miracle at Dunkirk was made possible by Hitler.
France fell shortly thereafter and the Continent was his. On to England. Once again Goering convinced him that the Luftwaffe could soften up the British so that a land invasion would be a walk in the park. But Goering did not factor in the new British development, radar. And he severely underestimated British resolve. The Battle of Britain lost, Hitler would have to wait to enter England as a conquering hero.
At this point, what Hitler should have done was consolidate his gains on the Continent and allow his military to rest and refit, and figure out a way to cut England off from the West.
But Hitler was not a patient man. He had been convinced long ago of Arian superiority. The Continent was his, but he wanted it all and he wanted it right then. This impatience I speak of is why your
Danzig solution fails.
This brings us to Hitler's
second mistake;
Barbarossa. War between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany was inevitable. The Fascists and the Communists detested and distrusted one another. The Non-aggression Pact was working out nicely for both sides, but Hitler was impatient. He should have been exploiting his new territorial gains, and allowing his scientists to further develop rocket and jet technology
they invented.
But he didn't wait because he was insane and impatient. Had Hitler waited just a little while, England would have sued for peace and the U.S. would have gone along with whatever the British did if it meant avoiding a war with Germany.
Everybody knows about the V1 and V2 rockets employed by the Nazis, but many people don't realize that the Luftwaffe had several fighter jet squadrons by 1945, but because Germany was already beaten this new technology did not help them one bit. Had Germany a non-aggression pact with England, and once technological gains had been made, and his Armies refreshed; defeating the Soviets would have been easy.
Instead Hitler started a
two-front war.
Which leads us to Hitler's
third mistake. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the British holdings in the Pacific, America was looking to Tokyo for revenge. But in his arrogance and insanity, Hitler did something that baffles military scholars today.
Germany declared war on the United States. This gave Churchill exactly what he needed. He convinced Roosevelt, who did not need much convincing by this time, that Nazi Germany was a
bigger threat than the country who
actually attacked the U.S.
Throughout the war in the Pacific, the United States essentially fought the Japanese with one hand tied behind its back because Germany was the primary focus.
