The Fall of France

Page 1 of 7

• 1. Early tactics
• 2. Hitler's plan
• 3. Start of the attack
• 4. Race to the coast
• 5. Second act
• 6. Legacy
• 7. Find out more
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Early tactics

Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, leading Winston Churchill to remark, shortly afterwards, 'Thank God for the French Army'. To Churchill at that time, France's army seemed a powerful bulwark against possible Nazi aggression towards other European nations.

The defeat of this powerful army in a mere six weeks in 1940 stands as one of the most remarkable military campaigns in history.

'...the British and French planned to fight an updated version of what happened in 1914-18...'

In 1939, as World War Two loomed, the British and French planned to fight an updated version of what happened in 1914-18 during World War One, but with some essential differences. The French had suffered massive casualties in frontal attacks in 1914. This time they were going to remain on the defensive in western Europe, while mobilising their military forces and industrial base to fight a total war. They planned to take the offensive some two to three years after the start of hostilities.

The 'Maginot Line' replaced the crude trenches in which so much of the 1914-18 war was fought. It consisted of a sophisticated series of fortifications, which were confidently expected to protect France's frontier with Germany, although crucially the line did not cover the Franco-Belgian frontier. In general, the slow-tempo, attritional fighting of World War One heavily influenced French military doctrine at the outbreak of World War Two.

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Published: 2004-04-18