Hitler the victorious
Hitler launched another blitzkrieg against Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and France. France had build a defense system called the Maginot Line along its border with Germany. To invade France the German chose to attack France from its border with Belgium instead. This gave the Germans the advantage of dodging the defense system. The Germans were able to split the British and French armies, and trap them. Germany was able to conquer part of France and the free part of France called Vichy France led by Marshal Henri Pétain. Britain, however, remained undefeated. As for the United States the neutrality acts (passed in the 1930s) allowed the US to be isolated from conflicts in Europe, however the US continued to provide Britain with food, ships, planes, and weapons.
the battle of BRITAIN
Hitler came to a conclusion that invasion of Britain would require destroying the British Air force. In 1940, the German Air force starting bombing British military bases, factories, and communication centers. The British however didn't surrender, they used radars to prepare for German bombings before they happened. This allowed them to avoid being invaded but there were many losses. In September of that year, the British bombed Berlin. In return, Hitler started bombing major cities in Britian instead of military sites. This caused the British very casualties but it shifted the German's attention from the British air force to British cites. This allowed the British to strengthen their air force, and fight back. Ultimately, British won this battle and Hitler gave up invading Britain.
attack the soviets
Although he had no desire for a two-front war, Hitler became convinced that Britain was remaining in the war only because it expected Soviet support. If the Soviet Union were smashed, Britain’s last hope would be eliminated. Moreover, Hitler had convinced himself that the Soviet Union had a pitiful army and could be defeated quickly. Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was scheduled for the spring of 1941, but the attack was delayed because of problems in the Balkans. Hitler had already gained the political cooperation of Hungary, Bulgaria, and Romania. However, the failure of Mussolini’s invasion of Greece in 1940 had exposed Hitler’s southern flank to British air bases in Greece. To secure his Balkan flank, Hitler seized both Greece and Yugoslavia in April. Reassured, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941. He believed that the Russians could still be decisively defeated before the brutal winter weather set in. The massive attack stretched out along a front some 1,800 miles (about 2,900 km) long. German troops advanced rapidly, capturing 2 million Russian soldiers. By November, one German army group had swept through the Ukraine. A second army was besieging the city of Leningrad, while a third approached within 25 miles (about 40 km) of Moscow, the Soviet capital. An early winter and fierce Soviet resistance, however, halted the German advance. Certain of quick victory, the Germans had not planned for winter uniforms. For the first time in the war, German armies had been stopped. A counter attack in December 1941 by a Soviet army came as an ominous ending to the year for the Germans.