Stella Koo & SeungHyun Lim Fall of France Stella Koo & SeungHyun Lim

Brief Information Fall of France = Battle of France. Area: France, Belgium and the Netherlands Location: North West Europe It was the German invasion of France and the low countries executed from 10 may 1940 Ended the Phoney war 10 May 1940 to 22 June 1940 Summary: German victory in Holland, Belgium and France, leading to an occupation that would last over four years and a desperate British evacuation from Dunkirk that left the UK facing invasion. Fall of france was also known as battle of france It happened 10th May 1940 to 22th June 1940 The battle of France happened in France, Belgium and the Netherlands which is north west Europe. It happened because of the Gernan invasion of France.

Timeline of the main events 16 June - Reynaud's government was divided between surrender and resistance, but faced Germany's inexorable advance through Paris and into the Rhône Valley. Reynaud resigned and a new government was formed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, the hero of the Battle of Verdun during World War 1. 9th June - they crossed the Seine. Also the Germans attacked on the Aisne and eventually turned towards Switzerland, cutting off all the French forces still holding the Maginot Line. 10th May 1940 – German forces advanced to Holland, landing at Hague 5th June - the Germans began a new offensive from their positions on the Somme. 14th May- Holland surrounded Germany invades Poland. Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. 13th May - Germans crossed the River Meuse into France at Sedan. 20th May - cutting off the Allied armies in Belgium. 7th June - Their tanks, led by Rommel, broke through toward Rouen 12th June, General Maxime Weygand, (French commander), told the French premier Paul Reynaud that the battle for France was lost and that a cessation of hostilities was the only option. 17th May - German crossed the River Oise and reached Abbeville. 10th May 1940 - German forces advanced into neutral Holland, with parachutists capturing strategic bridges and landing at airfields around The Hague. 11th May - the French cavalry retreated over the River Semois; on 13 May the Germans crossed the River Meuse into France at Sedan, aided by waves of dive-bombers. 12th May - German forces were on the outskirts of Rotterdam, and Holland surrendered on 14 May. In Belgium, German airborne troops landed on 10 May and the Belgian front was broken the next day. German tanks rolled west and the Belgians retreated to the Dyle Line, which ran from the Franco-Belgian border in the south to the River Maas in the Netherlands. Although this was reinforced by French and British divisions, it was abandoned on 15 May, and Belgium sued for peace on 27 May. The Germans advanced against France through the Ardennes Forest, which the French had considered to be impassable to tanks. The narrow breach this created widened rapidly, allowing General Heinz Guderian's German tanks to pour through. They crossed the River Oise on 17 May and reached Abbeville, near the Channel coast, on 20 May, cutting off the Allied armies in Belgium. 5th June - the Germans began a new offensive from their positions on the Somme. 7th June - After two days of fierce fighting, their tanks, led by Rommel, broke through toward Rouen; 9th June - they crossed the Seine. Also the Germans attacked on the Aisne and eventually turned towards Switzerland, cutting off all the French forces still holding the Maginot Line. On 12 June, General Maxime Weygand, the French commander, told the French premier Paul Reynaud that the battle for France was lost and that a cessation of hostilities was the only option. Reynaud's government was divided between surrender and resistance, but faced Germany's inexorable advance through Paris and into the Rhône Valley. On 16 June Reynaud resigned and a new government was formed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, the hero of the Battle of Verdun during World War 1.

The form of warfare France Germany Losses : 330,000 losses 2100 planes 10000 artillery pieces 3500 tanks and armored cars but only really about 2000 modern ones engaged Losses : 330,000 losses 1,450,000 prisoners 892 aircrafts Germany 4500 planes (Junkers Ju 87) 7500 artillery pieces 3800 tanks and armored cars The different countries used different weapons during the war. For example, France used airplanes like Junkers Ju 83. Losses: 156,492 losses + 6000 Italian losses in the French Alps) -- compared to 40,390 losses in Poland.

The German army The German Army was divided into three army groups: Army Group A commanded by Gerd von Rundstedt, composed of 45½ divisions including seven armored, through the Allied defenses in the Ardennes. Army Group B under Fedor von Bock, composed of 29½ divisions including three armoured, was tasked with advancing through the Low Countries and luring the northern units of the Allied armies into a pocket. It consisted of the Eighteenth and Sixth Army. Army Group C, composed of 18 divisions under Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, was charged with preventing a flanking movement from the east, and with launching small holding attacks against the Maginot Line and the upper Rhine. It consisted of the First and Seventh Army.

Casualties and lost France 360,000 dead or wounded in this battle French prisoners: more than 1,450,000 France's heavy artillery were captured Germany 1236 planes destroyed & 322 damaged 839 tanks were destroyed

What if… If Britain and France had accepted the new political order, German and France would have a good relationship. If the French soldier's had time to prepare before the war, they might win the war, but they didn’t have strategy and the French army was not able to lead a modern movement of war