In World War II, the Battle of France,was the successful Wehrmacht invasion of
France and the Low Countries, starting on 10 May 1940, defeating primarily French
forces. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gel, Wehrmacht
armoured units pushed through the Ardennes to cut off and surround the Allied
units that had advanced into Belgium. Whilst British and neigbouring French forces
were pushed back to the ocean by the extremely mobile and well coordinated Wehrmacht
operation, the British government decided to evacuate the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF) as well as several French divisions at Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo.
After the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), The Wehrmacht
set in motion a second operation, Fall Rot, which was started on
5
June 1940. At first the exhausted French forces put up stiff resistance, but
Luftwaffe air superiority bit by bit overcame French artillery positions. Wehrmacht
forces went around the Maginot Line and pushed deeper into France as French forces
began to collapse. Wehrmacht forces arrived in an undefended Paris the French
capital on
14 June 1940 and their
commanding officers met with French officials who were ready to stop the fighting.
On the German frontier, from Basel to the North sea, millions of men, and
thousands of tanks, Waiting for Adolf
Hitler's Order to Attack. Heeresgruppe B (Army Group B). was commanded by
Fedor von
Bock, Consisting of 29 divisions, three of them armoured was deployed from
the northern tip of the Dutch frontier as far as Aachen. And from Aachen to Trier
was Heeresgruppe A (Army Group A). that was commanded by Rudolf
von Rundstedt, Consisting of 45 divisions, of which at least seven were armoured
and 3 motorised. Heeresgruppe C (Army Group C). was stationed between Trier, and
the Swiss border, Heeresgruppe C (Army Group C). was commanded by Wilhelm
Ritter von Leeb, which contained 19 divisions. Walther
von Brauchitsch, was in overall command.
5:35 a.m. German airborne
troops land on the bridges at Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Moerdijk in Holland and
more parachutists dropped on the fortress of Eben Emael, the key to the defence
of Liege in Belgium, and the German armies of Heeresgruppe B (Army Group B) were
commanded by Fedor
von Bock, and Heeresgruppe A (Army Group A) Commanded by Rudolf
von Rundstedt. Cross the frontiers of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg.
Allied troops crossed into Belgium, along front from North sea to Moselle.
The British Royal Air Force (RAF) made attacks on troop carrying aircraft
near Rotterdam and The Hague, against aerodromes occupied by German forces in
Holland, on German troops and communications, and on German bomber squadrons.
Luxembourg government crossed into Belgium.
Many French towns and
villages bombed, including Bethune, Dunkirk, Nancy, Calais, and Lyons. The British
Royal Air Force (RAF) aerodrome was also raided.
Mr Chamberlain resigned
from premiership. Mr Churchill accepted it and undertook to form coalition ministry.
Luftwaffe raiders appeared over Southeast coast. 44 incendiary and explosive
bombs dropped in Kent. Damage slight.
British troops landed in Iceland
to prevent Germany, seizing the country.
State of siege proclaimed in
Dutch East Indies.
German troopship mined in the Sound while returning
from Oslo.
Go To: 11th
May Articles:
The Second
Great War.
Edited by Sir John Hamilton
The War Illustrated.
Edited
by Sir John Hamilton
2194 Days Of War.
ISBN-10: 086136614X
For a complete list of
sources
