France, along with the United Kingdom, was one of the first participants in World War II after declaring war on Nazi Germany following its invasion of Poland in 1939. They were invaded themselves soon after in 1940 though, and remained occupied by the Germans until liberated by the Western Allies in 1944.
Overview
The German plan was radically altered, catching the Allied army off guard.
After the vicious battles and expense of World War I, France spent large sums of money to build the Maginot Line. The idea behind the line was to protect key industrial areas, give the French Army time to mobilize, and make up for inevitable numerical shortcomings. The Line stretched from Switzerland to the Ardennes, which were not considered passable by German troops. As Belgium had declared itself neutral, the Line was only weakly continued through Belgium.
The consensus among Allied leadership (such as Supreme Commander Maurice Gamelin) outlined a German assault much like that of World War I. Hitler was expected to send the bulk of his troops through the Low Countries. The Allied retaliation focused on containment, in effect a blockade of the German army that would be maintained until combined Allied forces could force a victory. Allied expectations originally matched the German plan closely. However, when a light German aircraft carrying two officers of the German General Staff and a copy of the plan misnavigated and crashed in Belgium, Hitler was forced to scrap his plan in favor of a fast mechanized strike through the Ardennes.(The original plan was indeed found by the Army of Belgium, but was considered to be an obvious feint and therefore ignored)
Between May 9 and 10, the German attack was launched. Forces occupied Luxembourg and assaulted Belgium and Holland. The British Expeditionary Force and the cream of the French military were sent to counter the assault, which was progressing more or less as the Allied command had foreseen; however, the German assault was merely a façade.
The actual assault (through the Ardennes) was an unprecedented event in military history. Panzer divisions smashed through the French center (i.e. the defense of the Ardennes), enveloping the forces in the North. The Luftwaffe, far numerically superior to the Armée de l'Air and the Royal Air Force, used extremely heavy carpet bombing against French infantry.
The breakthrough of Germany's concentrated mechanized forces in the middle created the collapse of the French Western Armies and the BEF, which secured German victory. Parts of the Line itself held fast, but were unable to fight the rapidly mobile German forces. These caused havoc in the allied rear, often surprising and easily neutralizing allied forces that thought they far away from the front. The ensuing chaos prevented the Allied command from getting a realistic assessment of the situation and form a new line of defense. Many Allied troops were cut off north of the German advance, but could be evacuated to the U.K. via Dunkirk (see Battle of Dunkirk).
The exact reasons for the rapid collapse of Allied forces is one of great debate in military academia. In general, the most agreed-upon causes are superiority of German tactics and equipment (typefied by the Blitzkrieg, using the Panzer and various aircraft), the superiority of the Luftwaffe (chiefly numerical), and French and British unpreparedness for an assault through the Ardennes (characterized by the trapping of a large portion in Northern France).
In June 12 the French government moved from Paris to Tours, and in June 14, the day of the conquest of Paris, the French government moved to Bordeaux. In June 13 Winston Churchill came to Tours for influence on the French government to continue in the campaign even from north Africa. He refused to release France from her contractual commitments to Britain, and suggested that France and Britain shall become one state. His mission failed.
The French high command, and many of France's politicians, despaired of the situation. While some, including Winston Churchill (as it above-mentioned) suggested that the government should relocate to the French colonies in North Africa and continued to fight, it instead followed the suggestions of Marshal Philippe Pétain, an elderly veteran and hero of World War I. The French government surrendered to Nazi Germany on June 24, 1940. Nazi Germany occupied three fifths of France's territory (Northern France and the entire French Atlantic Coast) and on July 10, 1940 established a new French government based at the town of Vichy. This government, officially neutral in World War II, was commonly referred to as Vichy France and was headed by Pétain. Its senior leaders acquiesced in the plunder of French resources, as well as the sending of French forced labor to Nazi Germany; in doing so, they claimed they hoped to preserve at least some small amount of French sovereignty. In the meantime, civilian anti-semites and Vichy officials aided in the concentration and persecution of Jews, in particular those of foreign citizenship. The German occupation proved costly, however, as it appropriated a full one-half of France's public sector revenue.
On the other hand, those who refused defeat and collaboration with Nazi Germany, the Free French, organised resistance movements in occupied Vichy France. The Free French Forces started in exile with the support of the United Kingdom. They were led by Charles de Gaulle, under-secretary of state for war and national defence, whose role in the resistance was to pave the way for his immense impact on the future of France, as leader of its provisional government and first President of the French Fifth Republic.
After the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) the German Army occupied southern France as well (Case Anton), leading to the scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon.
After four years of occupation and strife, Allied forces, including Free French Forces, liberated France in 1944.
See also
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_France_during_World_War_II under GFDL
