1. The Fall of France and the Vichy Government

2. The End of the ‘Phoney War’
April 9th, 1940
Germany ends the silence by attacking and capturing Denmark and Norway
Strategic move to build bases and attack GB
Only the beginning of Germany’s conquering spree

3. May, 1940 May 10th - Battle of France begins
Hitler invades the “Low Countries” (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg) using the blitzkrieg method
Blitzkrieg:
Translates to “lightning war”
First use of this military strategy was the invasion of Poland (before the Phoney War)
Involved quick but brutal use of planes and tanks followed by massive troops

4. May, 1940 cont’d Case Yellow:
Sent tanks through Ardennes Forest, rendering the Maginot Line useless; done while attention was kept on freshly invaded countries
Hitler reaches the northern coast of France in only ten days
Germany encircled the French and British divisions on the coast

5. France F a l l s
The last straw for France was the “major offensive” launched on Paris; the capital was captured on June 14th
The resistance in France weakened and France officially surrendered on June 22, 1940
Hitler made France sign the document of capitulation in the same railway carriage that Germany had surrendered in during WWI

6. The Aftermath…..

7. The Vichy Government After France fell, the country was split in two
One section of the country was occupied by the German military
In the Free Zone (southern zone) a puppet gov’t was set up
The headquarters of the “French State” government was in Vichy, France
Marshal Philippe Pétain headed the gov’t

8. The Vichy Government cont’d
A French general (Charles de Gaulle) set up a gov’t in exile in London
Part of his “resistance” was through a radio broadcast
De Gaulle eventually goes on to form the Free French military forces which liberated France from the Nazis in 1944

9. The Vichy Government cont’d
Under the Vichy gov’t, citizens of the “Free Zone” were forced to follow a strict moral code
France implemented Hitler’s “Jewish policy”; thousands of Jews and “enemies of the state” began to vanish
Gov’t officials and others did nothing to stop the new French fascism