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To go into detail why Germany couldn't invade or even annoy the US mainland in WW2, they didn't have a credible navy and never had a strategic bomber fleet.

Hitler started WW2 5 years before the German navy was built-up, and most of their aviation was for close air support.

Even the English Channel ended up being too much.

In summary, both Germany and Japan declared war on a country they couldn't invade, the USA - how futile is that?

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The Japanese knew that they would lose in a war with the US but the military leadership considered a war inevitable. Pearl Harbor was their "Hail Mary". The civilian leadership (Konoe et al) tried to negotiate an alliance of some kind with the US as late as autumn 1941.

"In the first six to twelve months of a war with the United States and Great Britain I will run wild and win victory upon victory. But then, if the war continues after that, I have no expectation of success." – Yamamoto, head of the Japanese Navy, and architect of the Pearl Harbor attack

Neither had the means to get an army to the US mainland, either, nor supply it. The logistical support needed for the D-Day invasion was incredible.

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