Einmarsch Frankreich / Fall of France 1940

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and surround the Allied units that had advanced into Belgium. During the fighting, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and many French soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo.
In the second operation, Fall Rot (Case Red), executed from 5 June, German forces outflanked the Maginot Line and pushed deep into France. Italy declared war on France on 10 June and soon afterwards the French government fled to the city of Bordeaux. France's capital of Paris was occupied on 14 June. On 17 June, Philippe Pétain publicly announced France would ask for an armistice. On 22 June, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, going into effect on 25 June. For the Axis Powers, the campaign was a spectacular victory.

Der Westfeldzug bezeichnet die Eroberung der Niederlande, Belgiens, Luxemburgs (Fall Gelb) und Frankreichs (Fall Rot) durch die deutsche Wehrmacht während des Zweiten Weltkrieges vom 10. Mai bis 25. Juni 1940.
Zu Beginn des Polenfeldzuges hatten Frankreich und Großbritannien dem Deutschen Reich am 3. September 1939 den Krieg erklärt, ohne militärisch wirksam einzugreifen. Dieser „Sitzkrieg" endete erst Anfang April 1940, als es zu einem britisch-deutschen Wettlauf um die Besetzung Norwegens kam. Das „Unternehmen Weserübung" war Anfang Mai weitgehend zugunsten Deutschlands entschieden, woraufhin der Angriffsbefehl im Westen erteilt wurde. In einer Art „Sichelschnitt" drangen deutsche Panzerverbände, teils eigenmächtig handelnd, binnen weniger Tage „blitzkriegartig" durch die Ardennen bis zur Kanalküste vor, schnitten die teilweise nach Belgien vorgerückten britisch-französischen Truppen ab und zwangen die britischen Truppen, sich von Dünkirchen aus auf ihre Insel zurückzuziehen. Von den besetzten Benelux-Ländern aus erfolgte Anfang Juni der Angriff auf das französische Kernland, der mit der Besetzung von Paris am 14. Juni vorentschieden wurde.

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Education

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• battle of france
• france1940
• paris1940
• ardennen
• wehrmacht
• ww2
• dünkirchen
• frankreich1940
• Dunkerque
• avenue de la Grande Armée
• Arc de Triomphe

[Hippophilee]

The Russians can be madly brave. Yet in many occasions they began by losing battle after battle, and only later ended up winning – at a terrible human cost. They destroyed Napoleon and Hitler. Yet they dropped out of the war in 1917. And in 1941 entire Russian armies surrendered to the Germans. They were not "coward": They did not want to die for Stalin's regime, which had sabotaged Soviet defense. Those poor folks were killed anyway…

Don't judge soldiers of the past from your armchair…

[Vanyaaynav]

@KM1492Matamoros I cannot agree with you that all Frenchmen were cowardly. The French pilots from a squadron Normandy - Neman at war on east front were not afraid of colds and death. Last defenders of Rejhstaga were Frenchmen from structure of armies SS. Also there was a division of Sherleman... I think that defeat of the French army in 1940 is connected with an inept management of commanders and generals of the French army...

[KM1492Matamoros]

@Vanyaaynav

yes thats true, but you cant compare russian with french. russian are a much stronger nation they have the will to fight and to win and the french are all cowards if they see a german soldier they drop there guns immediately and fly the white flag. and the funniest is the french send germany always a declaration of war at first but then they never attacks germany hahah what a weak nation. and if germany occupy france they cry always for help.

[Vanyaaynav]

The German army has grasped France for a month. In Russia in Stalingrad the German army has grasped street for same time.