Had Hitler not invaded the Soviet Union and instead invaded the Middle East, his chance of success would have been much greater. He could have done this by destroying British influence in the Middle East and use the most precious resource known to war, oil. As Hitler's mistakes are pointed out by Robert Cowley, Robert Cowley could also show how Hitler could have won World War II. If he had taken Alexander the Great's path through the Middle East, he could cut off Britain from its most precious jewel, (an interesting pun,) India by capturing the Suez Canal. .
By deciding to destroy Soviet Russia in 1941, Hitler lost the war. As he defeated France and closed in on Paris in 1940, Hitler believed he could go after the rest of the continent after signing the Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan. "His instrument was the Tripartite Pact, signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan on September 27, 1940, binding any two to come to the aid of a third if it was attacked." (Robert Cowley, What If, page 298). His pact was more than enough to take the continent and maybe even Great Britain if only he had looked to the East. The Romanian oil wells had caught Hitler's attention and that is what attracted him to the Soviet Empire. However, if he went towards Greece defeating the little Ottoman states, he would have eventually reached bigger oil wells like those in modern day Kuwait and Iraq. "On April 3, Rasid Ali had overthrown the pro-British Government in Iraq and asked for German help." (Cowley, What If, page 301). He could gain British India by curving through Iraq and on the way, destroy British morale. .
Hitler, like all human beings, had an ego. It was causing him to think illogically and go after a much-hated Communist Russia instead of looking east. The hatred for the Soviets caused Hitler to not even think of choosing another adversary. "He exulted in the great victories over Stalin in the summer and autumn of 1941 and never expressed regret, even when Russian shells were falling on his Berlin bunker in 1945, that he had set Operation Barbarossa in motion.
