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| France fell in less than a month. Much of the British army and a large part of the Polish army was able to escape in a series of evacuations (], ]). The French Republic collapsed and was replaced by an "]" ("''French State''" in ]) headed by Marshal ]. His government based in ] (hence the name, ]) became a loyal partner of the Axis for the rest of the war. This campaign included ]. | France fell in less than a month. Much of the British army and a large part of the Polish army was able to escape in a series of evacuations (], ]). The French Republic collapsed and was replaced by an "]" ("''French State''" in ]) headed by Marshal ]. His government based in ] (hence the name, ]) became a loyal partner of the Axis for the rest of the war. This campaign included ]. | ||
| Some of the suggested causes of the Allied defeat were: | |||
| *French overreliance on the ], a chain of forts built along most of the French-German border, | |||
| *neglect of tank warfare by the French, | |||
| *General Gamelan's decision to send his forces north to defend against invasion through the ], | |||
| *Hitler's decision, against the advice of the German General Staff, to adopt the Manstein plan after an aircraft with carrying a copy of the original invasion plan crashed outside French territory | |||
| *more controversially, defeatism (or a lack of willingness to fight) among the French and particularly French leaders. | |||
| American journalists, being neutrals at the time, observed much of this on both sides. It is they who took a famous sequence of photographs of Hitler dancing a jig for his officers the day of the surrender ceremony. | |||
| Further reading: | |||
| ''Berlin Diary'', William L Shirer. In the period just before the surrender, Shirer worked for CBS News under ], moving around Europe as events dictated. This is his written account of the period. | |||
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| {{msg:WW2Theatre}} | {{msg:WW2Theatre}} | ||
Revision as of 20:26, 4 May 2004
History -- Military History -- List of battles
In World War II, Battle of France or Case Yellow (Fall Gelb in German) was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May, 1940. German armored units punched through the Ardennes, outflanking the Maginot Line and unhinging the Allied defenders.
Fall Gelb had been elaborated by the famous General Erich von Manstein.
France fell in less than a month. Much of the British army and a large part of the Polish army was able to escape in a series of evacuations (Ariel, Dynamo). The French Republic collapsed and was replaced by an "État Français" ("French State" in French) headed by Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain. His government based in Vichy (hence the name, Vichy France) became a loyal partner of the Axis for the rest of the war. This campaign included Operation Rot.
Some of the suggested causes of the Allied defeat were:
- French overreliance on the Maginot line, a chain of forts built along most of the French-German border,
- neglect of tank warfare by the French,
- General Gamelan's decision to send his forces north to defend against invasion through the Low Countries,
- Hitler's decision, against the advice of the German General Staff, to adopt the Manstein plan after an aircraft with carrying a copy of the original invasion plan crashed outside French territory
- more controversially, defeatism (or a lack of willingness to fight) among the French and particularly French leaders.
American journalists, being neutrals at the time, observed much of this on both sides. It is they who took a famous sequence of photographs of Hitler dancing a jig for his officers the day of the surrender ceremony.
Further reading:
Berlin Diary, William L Shirer. In the period just before the surrender, Shirer worked for CBS News under Edward R Murrow, moving around Europe as events dictated. This is his written account of the period.
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