THE battle for france it was the episode that resulted in the Nazis' conquest of France. The Nazi victory took about 46 days, and the speed of conquest surprised the world, as it was expected that the French resistance would be much greater. The invasion of France was one of the great feats of the Nazi army and opened the way for new conquests to be made throughout the war.
Background
On September 1, 1939, the Germans had invaded the Poland successfully. The response of France and England to the invasion of Poland came on September 3, when they declared war on Germany. Germany's victory in Poland happened quickly: in just under a month, the Germans entered Warsaw victoriously.
In March 1940, the order was given to the invasion of norway. The strategic importance of this military action was to ensure control of Swedish iron production and obtain important air bases, which would provide support to attack the British. The invasion of Norway, however, only happened because Hitler had to postpone twice his plans to invade France.
When the German invasion of France began, actions in Norway were still taking place, but tragically for the Allies. During this period (April/May 1940), the allies they were formed by the United Kingdom and France. Soviet Union and United States only joined the Allies from mid-1941. O Axle it was formed by Italy and Germany. Japan only joined the Axis in September 1940.
German strategy
The conquest of France was strategic for Nazi Germany, mainly due to the fact that France represented the bigger threat to Germany in Continental Europe and defeating it would allow Hitler to isolate the UK in war. Furthermore, the defeat of France and, later, the United Kingdom would allow Hitler to focus on his ultimate goal: the conquest of the Soviet Union and the destruction of Bolshevism.
The German strategy consisted of three large groups that would attack different points of the French defense. See the three German groups and their attack locations:
Army Group B: the attack of this group would be from the invasion of Holland and Belgium. By conquering these countries, the group would cross the border into France;
Army Group A: this grouping would attack France from the Ardennes, a forest region that was considered impassable by the French armies;
Army Group C: This group would attack a line of fortified buildings in France that was built along the French-German border.
Germany's strategy relied on the fact that the French would reinforce their defenses along the border with Germany. Belgium (due to the fortified buildings of the Maginot Line ensure a better defense on the French-German border) and that they would not expect an attack across the Ardennes. Thus, Hitler's attack focused exactly where the French did not expect: in the center, in the Ardennes region.
Invasion of France
The German attack began at 4:35 am on 10 May with the invasion of the Netherlands. Soon after, the Germans attacked Belgium. The highlight of the German attack on Belgium was the takeover of Fort Eben Emael by paratroopers. Eben Emael was a Belgian fort considered invincible, and the Germans conquered him after a day of fighting.
The German war strategy in France was also the blitzkrieg: a war tactic considered innovative and that in this first phase of the war was quite effective. THE blitzkrieg it consisted of coordinated infantry, aviation, and armor attacks on a concentrated point of opposing defense. The objective was to open a breach in the opposing defense and penetrate through it.
In France, the main attack of the Germans was through the Ardennes. The aim was to penetrate French defenses through the Ardennes and, in a pincer movement, corner the French armies that were to the north in Belgium. Thus, the attack of the group of armies B was practically a bait for the French not to notice the main attack and movement of the German army.
O German attack in the Ardennes region it was fulminating. The French army deployed in the region was, in addition to being weakened, unprepared for the heavy load of attacks launched by the Nazis. Thus, French defenses in the region were quickly dismantled by the Germans. This allowed the Germans to corner the French and British armies stationed in Belgium.
Many historians question the great difference in performance between the two armies (French and German). Max Hastings suggests that British and French armies were used to and trained for short, localized battles. The German army (reformulated during the 1930s), in turn, was trained in innovative war tactics and enabled for a conflict on a continental scale.|1|.
The Allied armies cornered by the German armies would have been completely slaughtered by the German forces had it not been for the Withdrawal from Dunkirk, in which more than 300,000 soldiers were evacuated by the UK from the region. The withdrawal at Dunkirk took place on June 4, 1940.
The sequence of events marked the French fall to the Axis. France was invaded by the Italians on June 10th, and on June 14th, the Germans invaded the French capital, Paris. The invasion of Paris was recorded in photos that portray the desolation of the French population (part of it) with the defeat to the Germans.
Consequences
The defeat of France led to the emergence of Vichy France, a French regime that collaborated with the Nazis throughout the war. Another part of France was occupied by German troops and, further south, a resistance government was formed led by Charles de Gaulle. After the battle in France, the Germans turned to the UK and carried out heavy air strikes, mainly in London.
|1| HASTINGS, Max. The world at war 1939-1945. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2012, p. 74.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/invasao-nazista-franca.htm
