The European War began long before the first shot was fired.  Surviving the aftershocks of World War one was difficult; millions of people were left homeless, poor and without jobs.  Because it was Germany that was the main enemy, the United Nations forced them to pay rebuilding taxes to help pay for the damages they caused.
	The Germans, of course, believed this to be entirely unfair, but they could do nothing about it.  It was then that the National Socialists (Nazis), headed by Adolf Hitler, came to power.  Hitler, a phenomenal public speaker, convinced the Germans that they did not suffer needlessly.  If they didn't like the taxes, stand up and say so.
This is ultimately began the War, with Hitler's growing power the Nazis began to build a military force more powerful than  all of the rest of Europe.  The War in Europe (and possibly the entire War)  started with Hitler's invasions of Germany's neighboring countries.  Austria surrendered with out a fight.
	Poland, however, resisted and was swiftly overmatched.  Using Blitzkrieg, a tactic that can be further researched in the "Weapons and Strategies" page, Poland fell in only six weeks.  Scandinavia was also taken by force shortly thereafter.  Along with Scandinavia fell the Netherlands and Belgium.
The first major target of Hitler was France, who believed they could repel a German Invasion.  The French relied on the Maginot line, a series of bunkers, walls, and fortifications, which was built between the wars in case the Germans attacked again.  Hitler attacked France with a unique strategy.
	He used his strongest troops against the Allies weakest lines and thrust through.  At the same time, his foot soldiers crashed through the Ardennes Forest to the north of the Maginot line and headed straight for the ports of Boulonge, Calais, and Durnkirk.
After long and weary fighting, France eventually fell to the Nazis.  Britain now stood alone and pleaded with the the US to help them, but the US was determined to stay neutral.  When Hitler was not able to take Britain, he turned towards Russia.
	During this time, Hitler began his mass murder of Jews and other civilians of the countries he had dominated.  Most went to concentration camps where they could be worked to death, gassed, or killed by some other form of cruel punishment.
After Pearl harbor, which  happened during this time, the US sent troops to North Africa to try to attack the Germans from underneath, coming up through Italy.  The Operation was a general failure.  While the army was not wiped out, they made very little progress.
	Instead, a strategy was made to cross the English channel at night and to land on the French shore.  After one of the most brutal invasions in history, the Allies were able to push forward and liberate all of France within weeks.
As the Germans were being pushed back north and south, Hitler unleashed one final surprise.  Known as the battle of the Bulge because of the shape of the Allied lines during the battle, this pushed the Allies to their limit.  Eventually, General Patton pushed his Army up north in just two days to help rescue the ailing Allied forces.
	After the victory in the Battle of the Bulge and with Hitler's armies crushed, there was nothing to stop the Americans from reaching the German capital of Berlin.  On the Eastern front, the Russian Red Army was closing in at the same time, and they would topple the Nazi empire.
And so ended Adolf Hitler's National Socialist regime.  With it went the end of the European Campaign.  The main focus of the war then went over to the war in the Pacific.