Related to another OP, should the US have entered World War II earlier than it did?

[GreenStormCloud]

37. If France & England had been smarter they would have beaten Germany in 1940.

Everyone laughs at the Maginot Line, but it was actually successful. It was never penetrated. The French and English were afraid that the Germans would breakthrough the ML and placed their reserves behind the ML to contain a breakthrough. If they had trusted the ML and placed their reserves further North they could have stopped the Germans when they went around the ML. At the time the French had more tanks and better ones than the Germans, and the French & English outnumbered the Germans.

With another few months they would have been able to punch into Germany.

Hindsight is 20/20.

I don't think that Hitler would have attacked France or Germany in 1940. He wanted Russia and had said so before the war. He may have gone after them after beating Russia - IF he was able to beat Russia with Russia fighting alone.

If Franco had joined the war on the side of Germany then Hitler may have won. Spain would have given the Germans a land attack method on Gibraltar. Holding Gibraltar would have enabled Hitler to close the door to the Mediterranean, allowing him to control Africa and the Middle East's oil. (Oil discovered there in 1932.)