Question: Operation Felix was the seizure of Gibraltar (a British naval base at the tip of the Mediterranean Sea) by the Nazis during World War 2. The Nazis believed if they could take control of Gibraltar, which was strategically important, they could take control of the Mediterranean and invade French North Africa. It seemed like the plan was going to go forward, but it was stopped. What happened?

Answer: 
One possible explanation is that [the British bribed Franco](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/3199591/Winston-Churchill-bribed-General-Franco.html) to stay out of the war.

> 
> Churchill apparently convinced Spanish banker Juan March to act as a
>  secret agent, organising payments of millions of dollars to Franco's
>  generals in return for Franco agreeing not to side with Hitler
> 
> 
>
One reason not cited, was due to the overwhelming German victory in France--a win, so grand that no one had anticipated it! With the view that the German army was invincible. Therefore, they didn't need Spain, didn't require Gibraltar and the Soviet Union could be similarly easily defeated.