Germany was unable to translate its earlier triumphs in 1939-1941 because they over reached. Early German victories saw Germany in control of most of Europe. Instead of consolidating the territories they conquered they made 2 very big strategic mistakes in 1941. The first and worst was on June 22, 1941 the Germans invaded the Soviet Union resulting in a two front war. The seciond mistake was on December 11, 1941 Germany declared war on the US.