They were flapping about in the dust, had no clear path, and lacked the resources to do what was required, what resources they did briefly capture were destroye

They were flapping about in the dust, had no clear path, and lacked the resources to do what was required, what resources they did briefly capture were destroyed (eg: heavy water source). You may as well say Japan would have made a weapon from their atomic pile program. Seriously, get a grip on the facts of the day.