Battle of France

Battle of France
Conflict	Battle of France
Partof	the Western Front of World War II
Caption	A German Panzer IV during the campaign.
Date	10 May – 25 June 1940
Place	Low Countries, France
Result	Decisive German victory
Territory	Occupation of most of France; establishment of Vichy France
Combatant1	Axis, Germany, Italy (from 10 June)
Combatant2	Allies, France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Czechoslovak Legion
Commander1	Germany:, Walther von Brauchitsch, Gerd von Rundstedt, Fedor von Bock, Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, Heinz Guderian, Erwin Rommel, Italy:, Umberto di Savoia
Commander2	France:, Maurice Gamelin, Alphonse Georges, Maxime Weygand, United Kingdom:, Lord Gort, Belgium:, Leopold III, Netherlands:, Henri Winkelman
Strength1	Germany:, 141 divisions, 7,378 guns, 2,445 tanks, 5,638 aircraft, Italy:, 32 divisions
Strength2	Allies:, 144 divisions, 13,974 guns, 3,383–4,071 tanks, ~3,000 aircraft
Casualties1	Germany:, 49,000 dead, 111,000 wounded, 18,000 missing, 1,236 aircraft lost, 795–822 tanks lost, Italy:, 6,029–6,040 casualties
Casualties2	Allies:, 360,000 dead or wounded, 1,900,000 captured, 2,233 aircraft lost, ~1,749 tanks lost

Contents

Background
German strategy and forces
Allied strategy and forces
Course of the battle
Aftermath
See also

Battle of France. The campaign, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries during the Second World War. Beginning on 10 May 1940, it culminated in a swift and decisive victory for Germany over the Allies, leading to the Armistice of 22 June 1940 and the establishment of the collaborationist Vichy regime. The battle demonstrated the revolutionary effectiveness of blitzkrieg tactics, combining rapid Panzer thrusts with overwhelming air support from the Luftwaffe, and permanently altered the strategic landscape of the Western Front.

Background

The roots of the conflict lay in the unresolved tensions of the First World War and the punitive conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. Following the remilitarization of the Rhineland and the Anschluss with Austria, Adolf Hitler turned his ambitions westward. The Munich Agreement and the subsequent dismantling of Czechoslovakia failed to appease German expansionism. The Phoney War period, following the invasion of Poland and the declarations of war by Britain and France, created a tense stalemate along the Maginot Line. French strategic thinking, heavily influenced by the static warfare of Verdun, remained defensive, while German planners, including generals like Erich von Manstein, devised audacious offensive plans.

German strategy and forces

German strategy, codenamed Fall Gelb, underwent a critical revision. The original plan, resembling the Schlieffen Plan, was replaced by the daring Manstein Plan. This called for a primary armored thrust through the densely wooded Ardennes region, considered impassable by Allied commanders, to reach the English Channel and trap Allied forces in Belgium. Commanded by generals such as Gerd von Rundstedt and Fedor von Bock, the Wehrmacht assembled three army groups. The spearhead, Army Group A, contained the bulk of the Panzer divisions under innovative commanders like Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel. They were supported by the Luftwaffe, led by Hermann Göring, which achieved air superiority through attacks on airfields and key infrastructure.

Allied strategy and forces

The Allied strategy, formulated by commanders like Maurice Gamelin, was fundamentally reactive and defensive. It relied on the impregnability of the Maginot Line and planned for the main body of the mobile forces, including the British Expeditionary Force under Lord Gort and the French First Army Group, to advance into Belgium to meet a German attack expected through the plains. This Dyle Plan left the Ardennes sector weakly defended by less experienced divisions. The French Army was large but doctrinally divided, with its best units and modern tanks like the SOMUA S35 scattered among infantry formations. Coordination between Allied forces was hampered by poor communications and command structures.

Course of the battle

The battle commenced on 10 May with simultaneous German invasions of the Netherlands and Belgium, featuring dramatic airborne assaults on Fort Eben-Emael and The Hague. As Allied forces moved north according to plan, the main German armored force surged through the Ardennes, crossing the Meuse River at Sedan and Dinant by 14 May. A rapid breakthrough was achieved, with Guderian's corps racing westward, culminating in the encirclement at Dunkirk. Although the Miracle of Dunkirk evacuated over 330,000 Allied troops, the French Army was left crippled. The second phase, Fall Rot, began on 5 June, with German forces breaking through the Weygand Line. The Italian invasion of France commenced on 10 June, and Paris was declared an open city and occupied on 14 June. The French government, now led by Philippe Pétain, requested an armistice, which was signed in the Compiègne Forest on 22 June.

Aftermath

The immediate aftermath saw the division of France into an occupied zone under the German military administration in the War and the West and the |France (World War II|German military administration in occupied France during World War II|German military administration and the unoccupied French State. The defeat was a catastrophic blow to the Allies, leading to the resignation of Neville Chamberlain and the rise of Winston Churchill in the United Kingdom. It solidified German hegemony over Western Europe and provided resources for the subsequent Battle of Britain and Operation Barbarossa. The battle proved the dominance of mobile, combined-arms warfare and led to profound tactical and strategic reforms within the surviving Allied armies. The Free French Forces, under Charles de Gaulle, continued the fight from London, setting the stage for the later Liberation of France in 1944.

Background

German strategy and forces

Allied strategy and forces

Course of the battle

Aftermath

See also