| Cases Yellow & Red | Operation Dynamo | | Battle of France | Alexei, Mateo, Nikhil, Sarath, Yogesh Mateo

Thesis The French exclusion of the Belgian border from the Maginot Line allowed the Germans to invade easily through the north, as they were bolstered by a dominant air force and infantry. This led to the invasion of Dunkirk, the evacuation of Allied forces, and France’s subsequent defeat. The French surrender rendered them as simply a resistance force in the war, putting Nazi Germany ahead early in WWII. Yogesh

Timeline Vichy France established Case Yellow Case Red June 5,1940 May 10,1940 Case Red June 5,1940 Vichy France established July 10,1940 Operation Dynamo May 27,1940 Germans invade Paris June 14,1940 Alexei

Leadership Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay - coordinated Operation Dynamo General Maurice Gamelin - General in charge of French defense General Charles de Gaulle - French resistance leader (Free France) Marshal Philippe Pétain - Leader of Vichy France - Nazi collaborator General Erich Von Manstein - Came up with the Manstein plan, Case Yellow Chief of Staff Franz Halder - Put the Manstein plan into action, added improvements Yogesh

Casualties Allies had almost double the amount of casualties with 360,000 casualties compared to around 157,000 casualties for the axis during the Battle of France. Yogesh

German Tactics Blitzkrieg: A method of warfare, intended to unbalance the enemy until their annihilation Nazis led with the air force, followed by armored infantry. Germany often capitalized on unreadiness and surprise on the part of the enemy Luftwaffe: Bomb everything in sight, until there was NOTHING in sight. Slowed down Allied reinforcements, reconnaissance and communication Panzers: The German tank forces would come through after the bombings Overwhelmed and pushed back the Allies due to numbers and firepower sarath

French Tactic sarath

CASE YELLOW alexei

Case Yellow: First Phase, May 1940 - “Fall Gelb” — plan to attack the Low Countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg) to cut off Allied forces - General Erich von Manstein - Franz Halder - Quickly cut through the Low Countries with the Luftwaffe and Panzers - French lost significant forces in the north - Led to events of Dunkirk alexei

Nazis Invade Dunkirk France built the Maginot line to defend from future German aggression DID NOT WORK Went north towards the English Channel, around the strong part of the Maginot line Attacked Dunkirk but Hitler ordered a halt, and sent in the bombers This forced the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to evacuate from Dunkirk Beach, putting Nazi Germany ahead of the Allies Nikhil

Operation Dynamo 2 30 Mateo

Operation Dynamo (Dunkirk) -May 27, 1940 – June 4, 1940 -Coordinated by Vice Admiral Ramsay -Implemented Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk -Goal was to rescue at least 40,000 soldiers, mainly British Expeditionary forces Mateo

Mateo

Operation Dynamo Cont. -Not just military ships, also English civilian boats came to rescue -Allies successfully evacuate, about 340,000 soldiers were saved (out of the 350,000 waiting in beaches of Dunkirk), although Germans took the city of Dunkirk -Worked due to Hitler ordering tank movement in Dunkirk to halt -Germans would’ve had a major advantage if the evacuation had not worked -Became known as the “Miracle of Dunkirk” Mateo

CASE RED alexei

Case Red: Second Phase, June 1940 - “Fall Rot” — plan to destroy remaining French in the south after Allied evacuation of Dunkirk - Germans denied the French the opportunity to concentrate their forces with aerial attacks from the Luftwaffe - French Prime Minister Reynaud resigned, succeeded by Petain - Pétain signed armistice to end the Battle of France 20 days after Case Red begins in June of 1940 alexei

Fall of France Sarath

Fall of Paris Most divisions had been destroyed during Dunkirk BEF had retreated, leaving France by itself General Gamelin had committed most of the army reserves to reinforcing the Belgian border Marched through French Army and countryside French government had begun burning documents and prepping for total evacuation On June 14, 1940, Paris fell to the Nazis Sarath

Vichy France Nikhil

Vichy France Product of armistice between Nazis and France on 10 July 1940 ⅖ of France to Vichy government, and ⅗ to Germany Led by Philippe Pétain, who had absolute power Nominally independent from Nazi Germany, but actually servile to Nazis - increased Nazi power United Kingdom refused to support Vichy France - Nazi collaborators Instead supported Charles de Gaulle’s provisional government in London Large resistance movement against the Vichy government and Nazi government Nikhil

Charles Pétain and Adolf Hitler Nikhil Charles de Gaulle

Free France

Free France Led by General Charles de Gaulle, the Free France movement was able to unify most of the French resistance forces in their struggle against Germany. de Gaulle was recognized by the British as the leader of France and built up his forces from his base in London as he did not like the armistice signed by Pétain and made sure to unify the various resistance groups Liberation of Paris on August 26,1944 yogesh

Fun Factoid Nikhil

Nikhil

Hitler’s Jaunty Jig Nikhil

Bibliography “Battle of France.” Battle of France - New World Encyclopedia, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Battle_of_France. “Battle of France - Fall Gelb (Case Yellow).” 3d History Illustrated World History. Bienaimé, Pierre. “Why France's World War II Defense Failed so Miserably.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 14 Apr. 2015, www.businessinsider.com/the-story-of-the-maginot-line-2015-4. Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Free French.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Dec. 2016, www.britannica.com/topic/Free-French. Call of Duty: World War II* *joke “English Heritage.” Operation Dynamo: Things You Need to Know about the Dunkirk Evacuation | English Heritage, www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/dover-castle/history-and-stories/operation-dynamo-things-you-need-to-know/. “Fall Of France.” HistoryNet, www.historynet.com/fall-of-france. Operation Dynamo, the Evacuation from Dunkirk, 27 May-4 June 1940, www.historyofwar.org/articles/operation_dynamo.html. Peck, Michael, et al. “Hitler's Greatest World War II Mistake: Not Crushing the British at Dunkirk.” The National Interest, The Center for the National Interest, nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/hitlers-greatest-world-war-ii-mistake-not-crushing-the-20876. “The Fall of France - a Summary.” History in an Hour, 7 Aug. 2015, www.historyinanhour.com/2012/06/22/the-fall-of-france-summary/.

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