Original subtitles

That will work.

At 5:30 a.m. on May the 10th, 1940,

Adolf Hitler launched his long-awaited

Western offensive, codenamed Case

Yellow. This was the moment for which

both the Germans and the Allies have

been preparing since the previous

September.

The campaign which followed would see

the Germans achieve one of the most

stunning victories in the annals of

warfare. In the battle of France, the

German army deployed the greatest

concentration of tanks ever

assembled. Their offensive saw the war's

first large-scale airborne operation.

Already victorious in Poland and Norway,

the Germans would now be meeting forces

equal to their own in both manpower and

material. Yet with new and revolutionary

tactics, the Germans would destroy the

armies of Belgium, Holland, and France.

and inflict upon the British army its

greatest humiliation since its defeat in

the American

Revolution. The German campaign would

leave Hitler as undisputed master of

Western Europe and give his army an aura

of invincibility.

So complete was its victory that four

years would pass before Germany's

supremacy in France and the Low

Countries could again be

challenged. On March the 12th, 1938,

Hitler sent his army into Austria and

annexed it to the

Reich. Though the invasion openly

flouted international law, neither

Britain nor France made any

protest. Encouraged by his victory,

Hitler turned his attention toward

Czechoslovakia. He began demanding the

return of the Sudetan land, a Czech

region inhabited by ethnic Germans.

International tension over the issue

mounted steadily to the point where war

seemed

certain. Eventually, in September 1938,

the leaders of France, Britain, Germany,

and Italy met at Munich to resolve the

crisis.

Eager at all costs to avoid war, the

Western powers yielded to all of

Hitler's demands, the checks were given

no say in the carving up of their

country. Britain hoped that peace in

Europe was now assured and that Hitler

would pose no further threat. This

illusion was shattered within 6 months

when in March 1939, the Germans occupied

the rump of

Czechoslovakia. Britain was outraged and

promptly abandoned its policy of

appeasement. On the 31st of March,

Britain and France promised to guarantee

the independence of Poland, where it

seemed Hitler would strike next.

Just 3 days later, Hitler ordered his

generals to draw up plans for Poland's

destruction. His main objective was to

regain territories seeded to the Poles

after the Great War.

He felt sure the allies would not

actually go through with their threat to

fight. In August

1939, he stunned world opinion by

signing a non-aggression pact with the

Soviet Union, his most hated

enemy. A secret clause in the pact

arranged for the partition of Poland

between the two powers.

With Russian complicity thus assured,

Hitler masked 59 divisions along the

Polish borders and prepared to launch

them in converging

attacks. The German formations included

over 2,500 tanks and 2,000 Luftwafa

fighters and bombers.

The Polish forces facing them were

spread out all along the 1,750 mi of the

frontiers with

Germany. They comprised seven armies

totaling 30 active divisions and 10

reserve divisions. They also possessed

12 large cavalry brigades, 475 tanks,

and 445 aircraft.

On September the 1st, Hitler's armies

surged across the Polish

frontiers. In the north, the German

third army advanced from East Prussia

and the fourth army from Pomerania.

In the south, 8th and 10th armies

attacked from Cicia and 14th army from

Slovakia. By the 5th of September,

fourth army had secured the Danzik

corridor and was moving southeast

alongside Third Army. By the 7th of

September, 10th Army had advanced

northeast to within 30 mi of Warsaw,

cutting off Polish forces before they

could reach the River Vistula.

The main basis of German success in

Poland was an entirely new tactic which

came to be called blitzkrieged or

lightning

war. Blitzkrieg relied on the deployment

of armored forces in entire divisions.

These Panza divisions consisted of both

light and heavy tanks, motorized

infantry, artillery, and reconnaissance

units. Once the masked heavy tanks had

punched their way through enemy

defenses, the breach would be

consolidated and widened by the

following wave of light tanks and

infantry.

The forward units continued their

advance, carrying the battle into enemy

rear

areas. A key element in Blitzkrieg was

the close ground support provided by the

Luftvafer, whose air strikes helped

isolate frontline forces and cut them

off from any logistic support.

In the skies over Poland, the Luftvafa

rapidly achieved total aerial

supremacy. Attacks against Polish

airfields wiped out a large portion of

the Polish air force on the first day of

the

war. The Luftvafa struck hard at key

military installations, supply lines,

and rail networks. Indeed, the Germans

were all too familiar with the layout of

the Polish railway system, having built

it

themselves. On the 10th of September,

the Poles began a general retreat toward

the southeast of their country. On the

15th of September, the German Third Army

completed its northern Pinsir movement.

fourth and 14th armies completed the

encirclement from the east by September

the

17th. Poland's fate was sealed when on

that same day some 41 Russian divisions

crossed her near defenseless eastern

frontiers. By September the 23rd they

had effortlessly occupied the zone

allotted to them under the Nazi Soviet

pact.

Meanwhile, the Germans mopped up the

final pockets of

resistance. Overwhelmed by ferocious

Luftvafa bombing raids, Warsaw finally

surrendered at 2 p.m. on September the

27th.

The German victory had been achieved

with a loss of only 44,000 casualties

compared to total Polish losses of

nearly a million in killed, wounded, and

captured. 2 days after the launch of the

Polish invasion, France and Britain, in

line with their earlier guarantees,

declared war on Germany.

However, Poland's geographical location

and the swiftness of the German victory

prevented them from intervening

directly. The French briefly advanced

across Germany's western border, but

upon hearing of Poland's defeat, they

withdrew.

In September, the first detachments of

the British Expeditionary Force or BEF

began taking up positions along the

Franco Belgian

border. By the end of the month, 13

British divisions were in place,

numbering over 150,000

men. 21,000 vehicles accompanied the BEF

to France along with almost all of

Britain's heavy military equipment.

The French and British troops dug in and

waited for the expected German attack in

the west. No attack came, and for the

next 8 months, hostilities would be

limited to sporadic artillery duels and

bombing raids.

The next major German offensive was

directed not at France but

Scandinavia. In April 1940, German

troops moved to occupy Denmark and

Norway. They were sent to protect

Germany's supplies of iron ore which

were shipped out from Sweden through the

Norwegian port of Narvik.

By occupying Norway, Germany would also

secure bases for air attacks against

Allied shipping in the North Sea and

keep the Royal Navy from the

Baltic. The Allies had already realized

that severing Germany's iron ore supply

would [ __ ] the Nazi war machine, and

they were simultaneously planning their

own operation in Norway.

The Germans narrowly won the ensuing

race. On April the 9th, German troops

landed at Christianund, Bergen,

Tronheim, and

Narvik. Supporting airborne assaults

were made against Oslo and Stanganger.

This was the first major air land sea

operation in history. On the same day

and in the space of 4 hours, the Germans

occupied Denmark. By April the 16th,

Germany controlled most of southern

Norway. Despite heroic resistance,

Norway's largely militia army had been

unable to prevent the German capture of

their coastal cities.

Over the next three days, British and

French troops landed at Namsos, Narvik,

and

Andles. In the south, they advanced as

far as Lilyhammer, but were then

repulsed and had to be withdrawn by

early

May. In the north, they pushed the

Germans out of Narvik.

However, the Allied campaign was doomed

by poor coordination, especially between

the navy and infantry. While the total

air supremacy achieved by the Luftvafer

proved

decisive, the outcome of the Norwegian

campaign was a foregone conclusion. Even

before the fighting had finished there,

the Germans were preparing to launch

their greatest gamble of all, the

invasion and conquest of the West.

After his lightning conquest of Poland,

Hitler had hoped the Allies would accept

the German victory, just as they had

earlier accepted the occupation of

Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Once he saw they were determined to

fight, he had resolved to launch a

western offensive as soon as possible.

He knew the Allies would need time to

mobilize fully and to draw on the

resources of their overseas colonies. If

given this time, they would be too

strong for Germany to defeat.

It was essential, therefore, that the

German army should attack while it still

had the

initiative. His first strategic priority

was to defeat the French army in the

field. Once this was achieved, he felt

confident that Britain would sue for

peace. Much of Hitler's military outlook

had been shaped by his time as a

frontline soldier on the Western Front

during the Great War.

Many of his generals had been staff or

artillery officers during World War I

and as such would not have fought in the

trenches. On this basis, Hitler

distrusted their opinions and frequently

overruled them. Indeed, all his military

initiatives to date had been taken

against the express advice of the high

command.

Each one of these had succeeded. And for

Hitler, these successes amounted to

victories over his own generals as well

as the

enemy. Hitler's decision to go to war

with Britain and France deeply dismayed

his commanders. They neither shared his

grand ambitions of conquest nor believe

the army was strong enough to realize

them.

Their opposition to Hitler was weakened

after his run of

successes. The high command was also

indebted to him for restoring the army's

power and

prestige. Hitler could also count on the

support of the rank and file who hero

worshiped him.

By the spring of 1940, Hitler's

leadership was secure and the army's

loyalty was guaranteed.

On the 21st of March 1940, Paul Renault

became France's prime

minister. Two years earlier, as Minister

of Finance, he had affected major

improvements in the French

economy. Aged 62, he now found himself

at the head of a government and a

country that had long been torn by

bitter political divisions.

Militarily, he was a hardliner against

Germany and wanted France to adopt a

more aggressive

attitude. Upon taking office, he

immediately cooperated with Britain in

planning and executing the Allied

intervention in

Norway. Yet time and again, Renault's

initiatives were blocked by his numerous

enemies.

He was also at loggerheads with his

senior military

commanders. He had long argued, though

without success, for the formation of

armored core in the French

army. The eve of the German offensive

found Reena's government virtually

paralyzed by disunityity.

Before becoming prime minister in

1937, Neville Chamberlain had been

Minister of Health and Chancellor of the

Excheer. He believed that peace in

Europe could best be achieved by making

concessions to Germany. Even though he

had a deep personal dislike of

Hitler, it was a belief shared by many

people in Britain. And when Chamberlain

returned home after signing the Munich

Agreement, he received a hero's

welcome. But while appeasing Hitler on

the political front, Chamberlain also

oversaw British preparations for the

possibility of

war. In 1938, he introduced

rearmorament. The regular army received

new weapons and vehicles as well as

improved salaries and living

conditions. The territorial army reserve

was reorganized and

expanded. Following Germany's takeover

of Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain quickly

introduced conscription and stepped up

the pace of

rearmament. He also arranged for the

British Expeditionary Force to go to

France in September

1939. His political standing, however,

had been badly undermined by his earlier

policy of appeasement.

He had also spurned Russian offers of an

alliance, thus paving the way for the

Nazi Soviet

Pat. His political fate would be sealed

by the defeat of the Allied expedition

in

Norway. On the first day of the German

offensive in the West, Chamberlain would

be forced to resign.

The man who would replace him had been

one of his sternest opponents and an

arch critic of

appeasement. At the outbreak of war,

Winston Churchill was first lord of the

admiral team. He was one of Britain's

most experienced politicians, having

held eight cabinet positions in a

40-year career, interspersed with

frequent spells in the political

wilderness. In 1938, he had even

considered retiring from public life.

Churchill had been one of the fiercest

critics of the pre-war policy of

appeasement and was absolutely

unshakable in his opposition to

Hitler. He was largely responsible for

planning and directing the Allied

campaign in Norway but escaped serious

criticism for its

failure. In spite of his great

experience, Churchill was only a

compromised choice for prime minister.

Though the support he received was less

than wholehearted, he himself had

complete

self-belief. He would later remark that

assuming the leadership felt like

walking with destiny.

Within a week of defeating Poland,

Hitler had issued a directive stating

that Germany should launch an attack

against France through the low countries

as quickly as

possible. Hitler dismissed his general's

objections to this order as defeist and

insisted on the operation going

ahead. At once, the German high command

prepared their first plan for the

western offensive code named Case

Yellow.

Case yellow gave the major role to the

army's right wing, Army Group B, which

would overwhelm the Belgian forces along

the line of the Albert Canal and then

push towards the

SA. Army Group A in the center would

attack through southern Belgium in

support while Army Group C held the

Franco-German frontier in a largely

static role.

Case yellow was virtually a repeat of

the German invasion plan of

1914. Hitler had misgivings about this

version of case yellow, noting that its

proposed advance had to be made across

difficult

terrain. Worse still, it seemed likely

to lead to the sort of static war of

attrition he had himself endured in the

trenches of World War I.

He suggested making an attack against

the Allied

center. Over the ensuing months, the

high command prepared several minor

variations of case yellow, none of which

quite satisfied

him. In any case, the onset of winter

forced Hitler to postpone his offensive

time and again. The Germans now began

studying a fifth and very different

version of case yellow known as

sicklestroke. Sicklestroke required Army

Group B, now much reduced in size, to

attack Belgium and

Holland. First, airborne troops would be

parachuted into Rotterdam, where they

would seize the aer drones.

Paratroops would also be used to secure

bridges over Belgium's Albert

Canal and to capture the vital fortress

of

Ebeneale. Next, the Luftvafa was to

attack airfields in Belgium, Holland,

and

France, destroying enemy aircraft before

they even had a chance to take off.

Finally, the main body of Army Group B

was to commence its

advance. Its main purpose was to lure

the Franco British forces into the

Belgian

lands. In the south, facing the

formidable fixed defenses of France's

Majino line, Army Group C was to engage

its defenders and affect a breakthrough

if possible.

The main effort was to be delivered by

the strongest German force, Army Group

A, in the center. Spearheaded by seven

armored and three motorized

divisions, Army Group A would attack

across the dense forest of the Arden

through Luxembourg and southern Belgium.

Bypassing the Majino line, they were to

cross the MS between Dong and Saddon,

then break out toward the S. By so

doing, they would drive a huge wedge in

the center of the Allied armies.

If all went to plan, Sicklestroke could

yield a decisive victory. Its very

boldness had deterred the high command

when it was first laid before them in

November. Since then, there've been time

to perfect its details.

When sicklestroke was finally put to

Hitler in February 1940, that same

boldness appealed to him

instinctively. Furthermore, Sicklestroke

was in line with his own earlier

suggestion that an attack might be

possible against the Allied

center. Its adoption was thus

assured. From that point on, all the

deliberations and preparations of the

general staff were geared entirely

towards its successful

realization. For months on end, its

every aspect was carefully rehearsed in

elaborate training

exercises. By May the 10th, 1940, every

German soldier from the highest rank to

the lowest knew exactly what was

expected of him if victory was to be

achieved. France's principal system of

defense was the Majino line.

The line was an extensive bullwwork of

fortifications deemed impossible to

breach. This elaborate defensive network

contained numerous tank traps, mines,

fortified machine gun imp placements,

anti-tank, anti-aircraft, and heavy

field artillery.

The forts were all linked by connecting

lifts and tunnels. They could supply

their own needs of water and power, and

the largest could accommodate a garrison

of a thousand

men. France had spent a staggering 7,000

million Franks in building the Majino

line, by far the greater part of her

overall defense budget.

Due to the strength of the Machino

defenses, French strategists were

certain the Germans would have to repeat

their 1914 attack through Belgium and

Holland. However, in planning how to

meet this threat, they were immediately

faced with the problem of Belgian

neutrality.

The Belgians were afraid of provoking

Germany by being seen to align

themselves with Britain and

France. They were also worried that a

close alliance with France would

antagonize their Flemish population who

harbored strong anti-French

sentiments. They therefore pursued a

policy of strict neutrality.

Allied troops were forbidden to enter

Belgium unless the country was actually

attacked. They were denied the chance of

familiarizing themselves with the

terrain or even of learning the battle

plans of the Belgian

army. Eventually, the Allies developed

the strategy known as the deal plan or

plan D.

Once the Germans attacked, the French

first and seventh armies and the BEF,

the most mobile Allied forces, would

advance into Belgium and occupy a line

running from Antwerp to Namur along the

Deal

River. Here they hoped to link up with

the Belgian army.

To their right, the French 9inth Army

would deploy along the river MS from

Namur to the French

border. In March 1940, the modification

known as the Brada variant was added.

This required the French 7th Army on the

left to proceed even further to Brada so

as to form a continuous Allied Dutch

Belgian front.

South of this, the French second army

group was to man the Majino

line. And in the center of the Allied

position, a small covering force of five

divisions would be stationed behind the

Arden

forest. Because the Arden was considered

impossible, no anti-tank or

anti-aircraft weapons were given to

these troops.

To the north, both Belgium and Holland

had evolved their own independent

strategies to counter a German

invasion. Belgium's first line of

defense ran along the Albert

Canal. Its lynchpin was the formidable

Fort Ebony Male, and there were

fieldworks with machine gun posts every

5 to 800 yd.

But the Belgians did not expect to be

able to hold this line for

long. They subsequently planned to fall

back on a line from Antworp to Namore,

known as the KW

line, the same line that the French

would advance to as part of their deal

plan. Since November 1939, they had been

fortifying this sector and by May of the

following year had erected hundreds of

pillboxes along

it. A small percentage of which were

earmarked for occupation by the French

and

British. The Dutch too had decided to

defend only part of their country.

This was the vital economic area located

between the three large rivers of the

Murs, Val, and

Rin. The Dutch army was to fight

delaying actions on the Greb

line and would then withdraw and resort

to the traditional tactics of deliberate

flooding to impede the enemy.

The allies prospects of repelling the

German invasion would depend entirely on

factors beyond their

control. Firstly, the Belgians would

have to delay the Germans long enough

for the Allies to occupy the deal

line. Next, there would have to be

perfect coordination between the various

forces.

This coordination would have to be

worked out in the very heat of

battle. Above all, the Germans would

have to attack precisely where the

Allied strategists expected they would.

The commanderin-chief of the German army

was General Valter von

Broich. 58 years old, he was a decorated

veteran of the First World War. An

excellent linguist and student of world

affairs. A highly intelligent officer,

he was Hitler's personal choice to

become commander-in-chief in 1938.

However, he lacked the strength of

character to stand up to Hitler. Like

many of his colleagues, Brohitch doubted

the wisdom of launching a Western

offensive. When he voiced these doubts

to Hitler, he was so fiercely berated,

he never again dared to question the

Furer's directives.

In November

1939, Brohitch was presented with the

first draft of the sicklestroke

plan. Its author was Lieutenant General

Fritz Eric von Mannstein, one of the

keenest operational minds in the German

army. Brokich thought Sicklestroke

unfeasible and dismissed it. But

Mannstein kept lobbying for its

acceptance until at last Brohitch lost

patience and transferred him to a

command in the

east. Soon afterwards in February,

Mannstein met Hitler and described his

plan to him. The very next day, Brohitch

was ordered to adopt sicklestroke, which

the Furer presented as his own

idea.

Over the following weeks, as he oversaw

the rehearsals for sicklestroke, Rohich

himself came to appreciate its

potential. His troops had also benefited

from months of training and

reorganizing. Despite his cautious

nature, Brohitch felt the army at last

had a real chance of victory.

The supreme commander of the allied

forces in France was General Maurice

Gamina. He was aloof and felt ill at

ease amongst his troops. He preferred to

spend his time at his headquarters, cut

off from the man.

In May 1940, Gamla's command was made up

of four operational areas. The most

important of these was in the northeast

facing

Germany. Gamalan retained direct control

of planning and strategy, leaving his

frontline commanders in charge of

operations and liaison with each other.

It was a desperately flawed command

structure characterized by inefficient

coordination and

communication. To make matters worse,

Gamla had fallen out with his key

commanders. The BEF commander, Lord John

Gort, was disturbed by the blatant

weakness of the French command

structure, but as he was subordinate to

Gamala, he could do little about it.

Gamala had been a staff officer during

the first world war and the strategies

of that era still dominated his

outlook. He believed that infantry still

reign supreme on the battlefield. He

discounted the idea that tanks on their

own could breach a continuous line of

defense.

As the lessons of the Polish campaign

were pondered, he confidently asserted

that his forces could contain and cut

off any possible breakthrough by

panzas. Gamla's passive strategy

infuriated France's new prime minister,

Paul Renault, who called him a nerveless

philosopher. twice in April and again on

the very eve of the German invasion. He

tried to have Gamalan

dismissed. However, each time the

general's political supporters had

stepped in to save him. France's fate

would now rest in his hands.

Germany had mustered 136 divisions for

its assault on France. No more than a

third were fully experienced and

equipped, and these would all be

committed in the attack's first

wave. In spite of Blitz Creek's reliance

on mobile forces, the army was far from

being entirely motorized and had only

120,000

trucks. Many of its guns still had to be

horsedrawn. Because Germany lacked the

military and industrial resources for a

long war, it needed swift victories.

Blitzkrieg provided the method by which

such victories could be

secured. It required the close

cooperation of all arms, especially

between the army and air

force. To achieve this, Luftafa ground

crews accompanied the Panza divisions to

help coordinate air and ground attacks.

At the war's outbreak, the Luftvafa was

Europe's largest and most powerful air

force. Its planes were deployed in

semi-autonomous fleets, the aerial

equivalent of Panza

divisions. The Luftvafa largely

functioned in a sophisticated army

support role typified by such planes as

the highly effective Stooker dive

bomber.

Because most of its planes were short

range, the Luftwaffer needed to occupy

and operate from captured enemy

airfields. Over 4,000 Luftvafa planes

would take part in the Battle of France,

giving it a numerical superiority of

almost 2:1 over the Allied air forces.

By May 1940, German Panza strength stood

at over

2,500

machines. Individually, the German tanks

held no clear advantage in either armor

or firepower, but their deployment in

armored divisions guaranteed them

battlefield superiority at the point of

contact.

Each armored division included about 240

tanks as well as supporting

vehicles. These divisions would have a

decisive and dramatic influence in the

coming conflict.

The Panza 2 was first produced in

1935. It featured a new suspension

system using five large independently

sprung road

wheels. Though heavier than the Panza 1,

it was also faster and more powerful.

955 Panza 2s would be committed in the

Battle for France, almost half of the

army's total tank

strength. Its 20 mm cannon was a

converted aircraft gun and would be no

match for many of the Allied tanks. It

was essentially a lightly armed scout

tank.

The Panza 3 was intended as Germany's

main battle tank and was expected to

make up 75% of an armored division's

strength. It was primarily designed to

fill an anti-tank role and was equipped

with the same anti-tank gun that was

used by the infantry.

Problems in development meant that only

350 were available at the beginning of

the western

offensive. The Panza 3 had six small

road wheels per side, each independently

sprung on a torsion

bar. Very little of its suspension

system was exposed to enemy weapons.

However, difficulties with rough terrain

caused this type of suspension to be

abandoned in later

models. In 1938, it was decided to

upgrade the Panzer 3's main gun to 50

mm, but this new model was not ready

when the offensive began. During the

course of the campaign, 40 upgunned

Panza 3es were to see action.

The Panza 4 was designed as an infantry

support tank and equipped with a short

low velocity gun firing high explosive

shells. It was designed to deal with

enemy infantry and anti-tank guns. Its

suspension system was a simple bogey

arrangement using quarter elliptical

springs. Though first planned in 1935,

it wasn't until 1939 that the Panza 4

finally came off the production line.

Though intended to make up 25% of an

armored division's strength, the 278

tanks which fought in France constituted

only 2% of total German armored

strength. With gun changes, it was to be

the mainstay of the Panza force

throughout the war.

The Panza 38T was originally a Czech

tank and had been the mainstay of the

Czech

army. An excellent wellarmored light

tank, it came into German possession

with the occupation of Czechoslovakia in

1939. Over 438 Ts took part in the

Western offensive.

In just 7 years, the German army had

grown from a 100,000, the figure

permitted by the Versail treaty, to a

grand total of 3.5

million.

Of these 2.5 million would be committed

to the western

offensive. A large percentage of German

troops were conscripts drafted from the

brown shirts, the police, and

elsewhere. By May 1940, the army's

morale could not have been higher. to

the earlier bloodless conquests of

Austria and the checks, they could now

add their well-fought victories in

Poland and

Norway. These campaigns gave the

ordinary German soldier complete

confidence in his training, equipment,

and

leadership. The German troops were well

paid and received generous home leave,

factors which further boosted their

morale.

Though discipline was strict, relations

between the men and their officers were

very good, and a strong spirit of

comradeship was fostered throughout the

army. Alongside the regular army,

Germany would field three divisions of

the Vaffan SS totaling 100,000 men.

It had been founded in March 1939 as the

military wing of the Nazi party's elite

SS

organization. It had been arranged that

should war break out, it would come

under army

command. Entry standards were rigorous.

Out of every 100 applicants, only seven

were accepted.

The SS were the first German units to

train with live ammunition and to be

issued with camouflage

jackets. SS divisions were all

motorized. Highly organized and

fanatically loyal to Hitler, they were

intended to be used as shock troops.

Although Hitler was intensely proud of

these his personal regiments, the Vaffan

SS were initially mistrusted by the army

who regarded them as amateur

soldiers. However, they fought well in

Poland, thereby earning a reputation for

courage and discipline.

In the battle for France, Germany would

field a highly organized and motivated

fighting

force. By May 1940, 94 French divisions

containing 2 and a4 million men were

deployed to meet the expected German

attack.

However, much of their artillery dated

from the First World War, and they were

dangerously short of effective anti-tank

and anti-aircraft

guns. French and British tactical

doctrine regarding tanks and aircraft

lagged far behind the Germans. Both the

high commands considered tanks as first

and foremost an infantry support weapon.

The few French armored divisions formed

by 1940 contained only half as many

tanks as their German

counterparts. Between them, the Allies

deployed 3,100 tanks in May 1940, but

they were widely dispersed amongst the

infantry divisions.

As for the French Air Force, it could

field only 740 modern fighters and 140

effective light or medium

bombers. These were reinforced by 350

aircraft from Britain's RAF attached to

the

BEF. The Allied aircraft were dispersed

amongst the different areas of the front

in just the same way as the armored

forces were.

This made it impossible for individual

army commanders to obtain a sufficient

concentration of air power at the right

moment. This shortcoming would be one of

the major factors in the outcome of the

battle of France.

The French Army's standard light tank

from 1935, the R35, was used in an

infantry support role. 855 R35s equipped

the army in May 1940, making it France's

most numerous

tank. Extremely slow, it was unsuitable

for mobile strategic operations.

Like all French tanks, its effectiveness

was limited by the fact that its

commander had also to act as gunner,

loader, and radio

operator. First developed in the mid

1930s, the Char B was a formidable

weapon with thicker armor than any

Panzer. It mounted a 47 mm gun in a

revolving turret, backed up by a 75 mm

gun in the

hull. Though limited by a short

operating range of 85 mi, the Charb

could cope with any German tank pitted

against it. Like other French tanks, it

was poorly deployed by the army command.

The Matilda 2 would prove to be the best

British tank in the Battle of France. It

was one of the earliest tanks to have a

hydraulically controlled

turret. Designed purely for infantry

support. Its cross-country speed was

little faster than walking pace. The

Matilda was the best protected tank of

its day, but it suffered somewhat from

poor vision and

mobility. During the interwar years, the

French army was regarded as the most

formidable in Europe. By

1939, this reputation no longer stood up

to close

scrutiny. Throughout the 1930s,

recruitment had fallen and funding

declined due to the depression and the

large costs of the Majino

line. The troops received only 50 simmes

a day, compared to a British private

daily allowance of 17 Franks.

This caused great resentment amongst the

French rank and

file. Their living conditions were

uncomfortable and

impoverished. Discipline was lacks with

soldiers often neglecting to salute

their officers and even leaving their

barracks each weekend without

permission. Many of the officers did

their level best to secure a posting far

behind the lines, away from the dreiness

and danger of the front.

The winter of 1939 was the coldest in 50

years, making life at the front harsher

still. Training and work routines were

curtailed, which gave rise to idleness

and then

boredom. Amongst the BEF, where the

officers insisted on keeping their men

busy, morale was a good deal better.

Their months of waiting were spent

improving defense works and completing

the training of the recently raised

territorial army

units. For the French soldiers, however,

their army's ingrained defensive

strategy added to its inertia and

further sapped their fighting

spirit. On May the 10th, the French army

would go into battle with a fatal mix of

apathy and disharmony.

By the spring of 1940, there was a

widespread belief amongst the French

army that the war would be settled by

diplomatic agreement without a shot

being

fired. On May the 7th, normal leave was

restored to the

army. By now, relations between Paul

Renault and General Gamalan had

completely broken down. And on May the

9th, the French premier offered to

resign because his government would not

let him sack the

general. In the wake of the Norwegian

disaster, Britain's Prime Minister

Neville Chamberlain was also preparing

to

resign. That same evening, the

Luftwaffer informed Hitler, the weather

on May the 10th will be

good. Later that night, the code word

Danzig went out to the already alerted

German units, signaling that the long-

aaited offensive would begin at 0535

hours. The long gathering storm was

finally about to break.

On the 9th of May 1940, all along

Germany's western borders, the forces of

the Vermachar were packing up and

getting ready to move.

Hitler's insistence on secrecy and speed

was followed to the

letter. Even frontline commanders were

not informed of the offensive's launch

until the last moment.

In the early hours of May the 10th,

Luftwafer crews were roused out of their

beds and told to be ready for action

within 15

minutes. Before dawn, every available

Luftvafa plane was

airborne. Meanwhile, long columns of

panzas were leaving their quarters and

driving along the approach routes to

France and the Low Countries.

At first light, the skies over Belgium

and Holland were suddenly filled with

the roar of Luvafa

planes. Wave after wave of fighters,

bombers, and transports swept over the

frontiers. After 8 months of uneasy

peace, war had finally come to the

west. As he prepared to launch his great

offensive, Adolf Hitler left Berlin with

his entourage in his personal train.

Despite the weariness that some of his

generals continued to feel about the

coming campaign, he felt supremely

confident. He asserted that the French

were too fond of easy living and lacked

fighting spirit. He declared that by

applying all means at its command,

Germany could deliver one gigantic

knockout blow.

The German forces assembled along the

western front were divided into three

army

groups. In the north was Army Group B,

commanded by 55-year-old General Fedor

vonbach, a First World War hero who came

from a longestablished military

family.

His forces were 18th Army facing Holland

and Sixth Army facing northern

Belgium. Army Group B totaled 29

divisions, three of which were armored

and two

motorized. Amongst these formations were

4,500 paratroops and one airborne light

infantry division.

These units would play a key role in the

coming

offensive. Extending from Lege to

Luxembourg was Army Group A under

General Carl von Runstead, one of the

Vermachar's most resourceful and

flexible-minded

commanders. A general since 1927,

Runstead was highly respected within the

army. His command was made up of fourth

army, 12th army and 16th

army. Altogether, army group A mustered

35 infantry

divisions. Its key units, however, were

the seven armored and three motorized

divisions which would form the vanguard

of the attack.

Nearly all of Germany's heavy panzas had

been allotted to this massive armored

falank. In the south, deployed opposite

the Majino line was Army Group C,

commanded by Colonel General Ritter von

Lee. Having left the army in 1938, he

had been recalled from retirement on the

outbreak of war.

Army Group C's formations were drawn

from seventh army on the east bank of

the Rine and first army in

Lraine. It had a fighting strength of 19

infantry

divisions. Added to the ground forces

was the formidable striking power of

Herman Guring's Luftvafer.

A prominent World War I flying ace,

Guring had risen to be the highest

ranking Nazi after Hitler

himself. The Luftwaffer had over 3,000

planes committed to the Western

offensive. Army groups A and B were each

supported by a self-contained air fleet

comprising fighters, bombers, and

reconnaissance aircraft.

The Stooka dive bombers which would

provide close support artillery for the

armor remained under the centralized

control of

Guring. The Germans maintained a reserve

strength of 42 divisions of which two

were

motorized. This reserve was under the

direct command of the commanderin-chief

General Valter von Brahich.

The Supreme Allied Commander, General

Maurice Gamla, had his headquarters at

the chat deen on the outskirts of

Paris. Gamla had chosen Vansen so that

he could be close to his political

masters, but it was nearly a 100 miles

from the front. It did not even possess

a radio communication center. From this

distant ivory tower, Gamla surveyed the

Allied forces poised to meet the German

onslaught. On the extreme left from the

North Sea to Bayer was the French 7th

Army under General Ziro.

60 years old, Jiro was considered one of

France's ablest

generals. His army consisted of seven

elite divisions, including two motorized

infantry and one light mechanized

division. Next in line came the British

Expeditionary Force under Lord John

Gort. Though subordinate to Gamala, Gort

had the right of appeal to his own

government before carrying out any order

which imperiled his

force. The British Expeditionary Forces

position stretched from Bayer to Mold.

It included nine infantry divisions and

one tank brigade as well as supporting

units.

From mold to the western end of the

majino line was army group one under

general

biott. Biott would also be given the

responsibility of liazing with the

Belgian

forces. Army group one consisted of

first army, 9inth army and second army.

These formations comprise 21 divisions

in all, including 14 infantry, three

motorized infantry, and six light

mechanized

divisions. Holding the Majino line

itself was Army Group 2 under General

Pittala. Pretila's command numbered four

armies totaling some 44 divisions, one

of which was British.

The French General Reserve consisted of

22 divisions, including all three

armored divisions and two motorized

infantry

divisions. Of this total, seven

divisions, including two armored, were

earmarked for Army Group

One. Another five infantry divisions

were allotted to guard against a

possible German strike through

Switzerland.

The French Air Force's planes were

deployed in so-called zones of air

operations corresponding to the

boundaries of the different army groups.

The French Air Force numbered some,200

planes comprising bombers, fighters, and

reconnaissance craft. These were

reinforced by 350 planes of the RAF.

To the north, the Dutch army mustered

eight divisions with two more in

reserve, and the Belgian army fielded 18

divisions with an extra four in

reserve. At sunrise on May the 10th,

waves of Luftvafa bombers struck at

roads, railways, and airfields in

Holland, Belgium, and

France. While the Dutch frontier

defenses were being attacked to the

east, thousands of German paratroops and

airborne troops were dropped over the

key cities of Rotterdam and the Hague.

These troops took the Dutch defenders

completely by surprise and succeeded in

capturing and holding the vital bridges

on the Rine until the mobile ground

forces could come

up. It was the first major attempt in

history to conquer a country from the

air and the success of the airborne

operation was vital to the whole

invasion's

outcome. To disguise the small numbers

of their airborne troops, the Germans

adopted the ruse of dropping dummy

parachutists at scores of locations,

effectively creating the impression of

overwhelming

numbers. The trick also helped spread

panic and confusion amongst defending

forces.

The attack against Belgium was also

spearheaded by paratroops whose

objectives were the two main bridges

over the Albert Canal and the key

fortress of Ebony

Male. The fortress was the lynch pin of

Belgium's main line of defense. It

dominated the Albert Canal, the main

roads leading west, and the vitally

important high bridges over the

canal. Built between 1932 and 1936, it

was regarded as the strongest fort in

the

world. Measuring 900 yd by 700, its

fortifications were a tight complex of

mutually supporting artillery and

infantry installations.

A series of forts with observation

posts, search lights, and machine guns

was linked together by a network of

tunnels. The only access to the network

was through Fort

17. There were turrets with twin

revolving cannon, retractable cannon,

and rapid fire guns.

There were also anti-aircraft machine

guns and dummy

positions. On its northeastern side, a

steep slope plunged 40 m to the Albert

Canal, providing complete

security. On its northwestern side, the

flood plane of the river Ja had been

raised by the fortifications.

Extra security was provided by a steeply

embanked trench containing machine guns,

anti-tank cannon, and search

lights. Similarly equipped trenches

faced west and south, and here there

were also 4 m high walls.

The allies counted on Ebony Male holding

out for at least 5 days, which would

give their troops time to get in

position on the deal

line. The mission of capturing Ebony

Male was entrusted to a tiny but highly

trained unit of 78 parachute

engineers. The key element in the attack

was the use of gliders, which

transported the troops to their target

in absolute silence. Attack from the air

was the one thing Ebony Male was not

protected

against. When the gliders crash landed

onto its roof in the dawn halflight of

May the 10th, the defenders were taken

completely by

surprise. In the first 10 minutes, the

Germans occupied nine installations.

They then blew up the casemates and

cupillers of all the guns with a new

highintensity hollow charge

explosive. Finally, they kept the fort's

garrison of,200 men pinned down until

the arrival 24 hours later of the

advanced troops from sixth army.

The capture of Ebony Male was achieved

with the loss of only six German dead

and 15 wounded. It was a sensational

coup. Afterwards, Hitler would decorate

personally all the engineers who had

taken part in the operation.

About an hour and a half after the

opening of the German offensive in the

north, the French commander, General

Gamina, ordered the implementation of

the deal plan. The units of the Allied

first army group rolled across the

Belgian border and advanced towards

their allotted positions along the river

deal. Here they planned to halt the

advancing Germans. Gamal felt calm and

confident, delighted that the Germans

were attacking just where he had guessed

they would.

On the Allied left, the French 7th Army

raced northwards to link up with the

Dutch as part of Gamla's so-called Breda

variant. By lunchtime the following day,

they reached Tillberg, only to find

their advance cut off by the 9th Panza

Division. The Dutch had already been

forced to retreat northwards.

Gamla's braider variant was thus negated

at a stroke and Jiro had no option but

to fall back towards

Antwerb along the river deal itself.

Other allied units were horrified to

find that the defenses were

incomplete. Worst of all, the quick

collapse of Ebony Male had already

forced the Belgians to start falling

back toward the deal well before many of

the Allied units had even got into

position.

As battle was being joined in the Low

Countries to the south, Army Group A's

massive armored formations were moving

forward towards the

Arden. These were arrayed in three

densely packed blocks with armored

divisions in the first two and motorized

infantry in the third.

Altogether their columns stretched out

for a 100

miles. Overhead an immense umbrella of

Luftvafa fighters flew cover against any

possible air attack by the

Allies. But with Allied eyes fixed

firmly on Belgium, no such attack

came. Within 2 days, the mechanized

spearheads of Army Group A erupted out

of the

Arden. Surging across the French border,

they arrived at the banks of the river

MS on the afternoon of May the

12th. The German forces in this sector

comprised three Panza divisions and the

elite Gross Deutsand motorized infantry

regiment.

For their imminent attempt across the

river, they were promised overwhelming

air

support. Facing them were 10 infantry

divisions drawn from the French 9inth

and second

armies. These were woefully short of

anti-tank and anti-aircraft artillery,

and six of the divisions consisted of

reserveists, many of whom were over 40

years old.

The successful crossing of the MS was

vital for the German invasion. Only then

would the panzas be able to fan out and

operate on favorable

ground. When the Germans launched their

assault, the main effort was made just

west of Sedon.

On the afternoon of the 13th, 12

squadrons of Stookers struck and forced

the French gunners on the far side of

the river to retreat into their

dugouts. At 400 p.m., detachments of

Panza infantry in rubber boats began

crossing the

river. These units managed to secure a

tow hold on the opposite bank. By

midnight, the Germans had driven a wedge

5 mi deep in the French defenses and

built another bridge across which the

panzas began to

pour. On the 14th of May, Allied air

strikes were mounted against the German

bridge heads, but as in Belgium, ground

flack units beat them off, inflicting

heavy casualties.

Indeed, in this engagement, the RAF

incurred the greatest rate of loss it

ever sustained in any single operation,

losing 40 out of 71

planes. By that afternoon, all three

Panza divisions, first, second, and

10th, were across the river and had

repulsed a French

counterattack. Commanding them was

General Heints

Gderion. Aged 52, Gdderion was a pioneer

of Blitzcrete tactics and its most

outstanding exponent.

Although the German high command

mistrusted Gderrion's revolutionary

theories, Hitler found them attractive

and had sanctioned the earlier formation

of Panza

divisions. In command of an armored core

for the invasion of Poland, Gdderion had

played a key role in the German victory.

His tanks achieved deep penetration with

such incredible speed they earned their

commander the nickname hurrying heights.

Despite his success, the high command

continued to feel uneasy about Gadder's

methods of striking into enemy terrain

far ahead of infantry support.

Consequently, when arrangements were

being finalized for the western

offensive, they made his command

subordinate to the more conservatively

minded General Paul Ludvigon

Klest. With his tanks safely across the

MS, a number of options were open to

Gdderion.

He could wait for the infantry who were

still 36 hours away from Sidon to catch

up. He could push on towards Paris or

swing round to take the Majino defenses

from the

rear. However, Gderrion ordered first

and second Panza to change direction and

drive west toward the Arden Canal with

the objective of breaking clear through

the French defenses.

The Arden Canal formed the hinge between

the French 2nd and 9inth Armies. And if

Gderrion could breach that line, he

would split apart the Allied armies and

strike at the flank and rear of the

forces moving into Belgium.

The main danger was that the swing west

would leave his left flank exposed and

he left the 10th Panza and the Gross

Deutsland regiment to guard against any

Allied counter

strike. Reacting to the German

breakthrough at Saddon, the French

ordered the cracked third armored

division to attack the Sedon bridge head

on the morning of the 14th.

However, it failed to reach its start

lines until late that afternoon and also

found itself without artillery or

infantry

support. The local commander, Second

Army's General Huniker, called off the

attack and ordered the division's tanks

to be dispersed amongst his infantry

units, thus dismantling the one Allied

force which stood a chance of repelling

the Panzers.

Huniger also decided to pull back his

left flank to guard against a German

thrust into eastern

France. This merely widened the Sedon

breach from 5 mi to

15. Further up the river MS, German

panzas had also crossed at Montterme and

Dino and severely battered the units of

General Korap's 9inth army.

The Don crossing had been made by

Seventh Panza under the command of a

48-year-old Major General Irwin

Raml. By the evening of the 15th,

Gderian's panzas had broken through the

defenses on the Arden Canal and the

roads to the west lay open.

Yet that very evening, Klest, worried

that Gderian's forces were overextended,

ordered him to halt and to confine his

troops to the bridge head already

gained. Gdderion argued forcefully

against the order and received

permission to continue the advance for

another 24 hours in order to widen the

bridge

head. With his customary boldness,

Gderrion made the most of this

permission, advancing 50 miles, as far

as the river

was. To his right, Raml also advanced

some 50 mi, capturing 10,000 prisoners

and 100 tanks for the loss of only 35

killed and 59 wounded.

At nightfall on the 16th, Gderrion was

again ordered to

halt. Neither Hitler nor his high

command could quite believe how easily

the French had been

overcome. They were still fearful of a

strong counterattack against the

vulnerable left flank. And Hitler

insisted on Gdderian waiting until an

infantry corps could come up and form a

flank shield.

As Gderian's panzas were slicing through

French defenses to the south, in the

north the Germans were also gaining the

upper hand.

On May the 12th and 13th, the first

major tank battle of the war took

place at Meadow. The French First Army's

two light mechanized divisions came into

contact with powerful elements of the

German third and fourth Panza

divisions, aly supported by Stooka dive

bombers.

On the first day, the French tanks did

well, proving that on a one-to-one

basis, they could match the much vaunted

panzas. The Samuas, in particular, could

stand more than one hit by all but the

heaviest German tank cannon. However, as

the battle progressed, the Panza's

superior tactics enabled them to

outmaneuver the French repeatedly. And

at nightfall on the 13th, the French

tanks

withdrew. That same evening, the tanks

of the 9inth Panza division reached the

outskirts of Rotterdam and the Dutch

position, despite heroic resistance,

became

hopeless. The next day, following

ferocious Luftvafa bombing raids on

Rotterdam, Holland capitulated.

The German breakthrough on the MS

reduced Gamla's entire strategy to

tatters. Realizing the extent of the

catastrophe, French Premier Paul Renault

phoned Winston Churchill early on the

15th to say, "We have lost the battle."

Churchill insisted that the advancing

panzas would have to stop soon to

resupply, at which stage they could be

attacked and cut

off. The sheer speed of the German

advance had thrown Gamla and his

commanders completely off balance.

In trying to devise effective

counterstrokes, they kept thinking in

terms of infantry pace rather than panza

pace and so were consistently too slow

in responding to the changing

situation. Time and again they would

designate a halt line where the German

advance could be stemmed only to find

that the panzas had already passed that

line.

Early on the 15th, General Jiro was

switched from the seventh army to take

over the shattered remnants of the 9inth

army. Late that night, Gamla, realizing

the breach at Sedon was irreparable,

ordered the whole Allied front in

Belgium to be withdrawn to the line of

the river

Shelt. Poor leazison meant that the BEF

and the Belgians did not receive the

order until the following

day. On May the 16th, Paul Renault took

steps to replace Gamala and summoned

General Maxim Veand from Syria to assume

command. Vegan was 73 years old and had

been recalled from retirement just the

previous year.

He didn't reach France until May the

19th, causing a further delay in Allied

attempts to devise effective counter

measures. In any case, Vegan's ideas

were just as outdated as Gamalan's, and

so his accession to the command saw no

significant change in Allied tactics.

Following the French collapse at Sedon,

the British War Cabinet decided that

they would send no more RAF fighters

across the channel.

On May the 17th, the Royal Navy were

informally asked to draw up plans for

the possible evacuation of the British

Expeditionary Force from

France. In the south, on May the 17th, a

counterattack was launched against the

Panza corridor by Colonel De Gaulle's

fourth armored brigade, but this was

easily

repulsed. On May the 18th, Gerrion

reached Peron, while to the north, Raml

occupied

Camre. That same night, General Jiro

arrived at his new headquarters to find

that the 41st Panza Corps had got there

before him.

Early the following morning, he was

captured by a German tank

patrol. Later that day, De Gaul's fourth

armored brigade mounted another attack

against Gderian's flank, but the panzas,

well supported by Stookers, again beat

him off.

To the north on May the 17th, Louva and

Brussels were occupied by the German 6th

Army. As the Allied troops retreated

westwards through Belgium, they began to

threaten the right flank of the German

advance. In the early hours of May the

20th, RML occupied the strategic heights

near Aras. He was about to be attacked

by the British Expeditionary

Force. The offensive launched on May the

21st was supposed to be made by two

British and eight French divisions.

However, the French were still not ready

at the allotted time, and so the British

had to attack on their

own with only three infantry battalions

and 74 tanks.

Nevertheless, they took Raml's forward

units completely by surprise and

succeeded in driving them back 10 m,

destroying a large number of

panzas. The German artillery could make

little impression on the heavily armored

Matildas, and in desperation, RML formed

a gun line made up largely of flak 88s.

Firing over open sights, the German guns

finally stemmed the British

advance. 188 battery alone knocked out

nine British tanks. Heavy attacks by

Stookers later that evening, forced the

British to

withdraw. As the British expeditionary

force were preparing to attack at Aras,

General Vegan was startled to learn that

Gderian's panzas had reached the channel

coast the previous

evening. The Allied armies in the north

were now completely cut off.

After much debate, it was decided the

allies would fall back to a new front

marked by Vanien, the river Esco, the

old frontier position from Mold to

Alawan and the river

Lease. A strong offensive was also

planned involving a simultaneous strike

from both north and south.

While returning to his headquarters,

General Biott was killed in a car crash,

and it was not until the following day

that his successor received the

necessary

orders. The French First Army was

consequently behind

schedule. As the allies affected the

withdrawal to their new positions, their

progress was severely hampered by the

flood of refugees fleeing the advancing

Germans and continuous Luftvafa bombing

raids. On May the 22nd, Brahic ordered

Army Group A to swing right. It was to

head for a line through Arontierre,

Epra, and Aend, cutting off the channel

ports as they

advanced. Army Group B was to wheel its

left flank around to face north, thus

strengthening the walls of the

trap. That same day, second Panza

reached Bologin, and on May the 23rd,

10th Panza invested Calala.

While fighting continued to rage around

both ports, by May the 24th, First

Panzer Division had reached the line of

the R canal barely 10 mi from

Dunkirk. At this moment, the Germans

were closer to Dunkirk than most British

formations. And between them and their

objective, there stood just one British

Expeditionary Force

Battalion. Total victory was within the

Germans grasp.

Yet as they stood poised to deliver the

Cuda grass, they were stunned to receive

orders to

halt. The order to halt was issued by

General Vonrunstead on the evening of

the 23rd. Despite Brahish's desire for a

vigorous

advance, Runstead wanted a pause to let

his forces regroup.

He had lost half his armor in the drive

through France. Though most of these

losses had resulted from wear and tear

rather than enemy

action. Hitler not only approved his

decision to halt the armor, he also gave

orders that the halt be made

permanent. As the panzas were driving

ever deeper into France, Hitler had

become increasingly edgy and nervous. He

feared that at any moment an Allied

counterstroke could cut them off and

deny him his imminent

victory. Frightened by his own success,

he preferred to pull the reigns on his

advancing columns rather than take any

risks. Hitler may even have wanted to

avoid destroying the

BEF. While visiting Runstead, Hitler

astonished his generals by speaking

admiringly of the British Empire. He

claimed all he wanted from Britain was

that she acknowledged Germany's

continental

supremacy. Once France was defeated,

Hitler assumed he could make peace with

Britain. Sparing the British army would,

Hitler believed, make that peace easier

to reach.

Above all, there was the influence of

Herman

Gurring. Guring was eager that the glory

of the final victory should belong to

the

Luftvafer. He argued that the Luftvafer

was much more loyal to the Nazi party

than the army and they therefore

deserved the honor of the ultimate

triumph. The Luftwaffer commander

assured Hitler that his air force could

finish off Dunkirk on its own.

Guring's arguments gave Hitler the final

justification he was looking for to halt

the

panzas. Since May the 20th, a huge

flotilla of ships of all sizes was being

assembled along England's channel coast

in case the British expeditionary force

would have to be evacuated.

These would later be augmented by

thousands of small boats essential for

fing troops from shore to

ship. Many of the small boats, which

included yachts, lifeboats, twers, and

more, were manned by civilian

volunteers. The planned evacuation was

cenamed Operation Dynamo and commanded

by Vice Admiral Subertam Ramsey.

At 1900 hours on May the 26th, Ramsay

was ordered to commence operation

Dynamo. He had been counting on three

French ports being available for the

evacuation, but by now both Bologone and

Cala had been

captured. With Dunkirk the only port

remaining in Allied hands, Ramsay feared

no more than 45,000 troops could be

rescued. On the evening of May the 25th,

Lord John Gort had ordered the British

Expeditionary Force to retreat to the

sea. His decision was prompted by the

critical position of the Belgian army on

the Allied left.

It had already used up all its reserves

and was on the brink of

collapse. Once the Germans overran the

Belgian line, they could then strike at

the British army's exposed

flank. Gort felt it was wiser to retreat

than comply with Vegan's orders for an

attack to the

south. The following day, the Germans

finally broke through the Belgian

defenses. Just as importantly, Hitler

gave permission for Army Group A to

resume its

advance. On May the 27th, the exhausted

Belgian army could fight no further, and

King Leopold asked the Germans for an

armistice. By dragging out the surrender

negotiations, the Belgians managed to

buy their allies an extra 24 hours in

the life or death race for Dunkirk.

Nonetheless, it took hard and desperate

fighting by French and British forces to

keep their escape routes open. One

British division was reduced to the size

of a single brigade by nightfall on the

27th. The following day, the Belgians

officially surrendered. At Le almost

half of the French first army who had

been slow to retreat were cut

off. Despite being surrounded they chose

to fight on and over the next 3 days

would tie down seven German

divisions. That evening the retreating

allies were hemmed into a narrow bridge

head around Dunkirk and only 25,000 men

had yet been evacuated.

But the vast armada of small boats now

began to arrive, enabling more and more

troops to be rescued each

day. Poor weather had hindered Luftvafa

operations during the early stages of

the

evacuation. The first heavy Luftvafa

raid did not come until May the 29th,

but their attacks increased in intensity

over the next 3 days.

Though the RAF committed every available

plane to provide fighter cover, they

were heavily

outnumbered. Nor could they stay long

because of the distance from

England. Luftwafa attacks accounted for

243 ships, including eight destroyers

and eight troop carriers.

Luckily for the British Expeditionary

Force, the Lufafa failed to put Dunkerk

Harbor out of action. It was from the

harbor rather than the beaches that the

great majority of troops were

embarked. Late on the 30th, the Germans

finally realized the scale of Operation

Dynamo. It was decided that an all-out

effort must be made to break through the

British Expeditionary Force

defenses. On May the 31st, the Allies

were forced to fall back to the line of

defenses along the Franco Belgian

frontier. German pressure on the

perimeter continued throughout the next

day and there were further massive

assaults from the Luftvafer.

Yet again, the Allied rear guard was

forced back, though they managed to

prevent a German

breakthrough. On June the 2nd, daylight

evacuation had to be suspended because

of the ferocity of Luftvafa

attacks. But by then, Operation Dynamo

was nearly finished. That night, the

last British troops were brought safely

away.

On June the 3, the Germans drove the

French rear guard numbering 30,000 into

the outskirts of Dunkirk

itself. That night, Ramsay's ships

attempted to evacuate this last

contingent. Their task was complicated

by the sudden arrival of thousands more

unarmed French troops.

These had quit fighting earlier in the

week and had since hidden in cellars,

empty houses, and anywhere else they

could around the

port. Now, news of the Navy's last

departure brought them streaming onto

the beaches, desperate to get on board

one of the final

ships. In spite of all the ensuing

confusion, 26,000 French troops were

successfully evacuated.

However, as the last ship sailed out of

Dunkirk, nearly 40,000 men had to be

left

behind. This caused immense bitterness

amongst the French, many of whom accused

their chief ally of abandoning

them. Nonetheless, Operation Dynamo had

been an astounding success.

A total of

338,000 Allied troops had been brought

safely to

England. Even though Britain had

suffered a catastrophic defeat, Dunkirk

took on an immediate mythic resonance

for the British

people. It symbolized their brave and

resourceful resistance to German might.

To that extent, Dunkirk had a profound

inspirational effect which helped

Britain to continue fighting even when,

as now, her position seemed

hopeless. For while Britain had

succeeded in rescuing her army from the

brink of destruction, that army was

currently in no condition to fight

another

campaign. Nearly all its heavy weaponry,

transport, and material had been

abandoned, including 2,500 guns.

64,000 vehicles and well over half a

million tons of stores and

equipment. With the cream of the Allied

armies routed in Belgium, it could only

be a matter of time before Germany

finished off Veagan's remaining forces.

In less than four weeks of fighting, the

French had already lost 30 divisions and

most of their

armor. Their allies had also been

defeated. As for the Germans, most of

their infantry had scarcely been engaged

yet, and the Panza divisions were now

rested and

refitted. They had already established

large and solid bridge heads of both

Amians and Peron. All that faced them

was another hastily constructed French

line. Vegan's forces were deployed along

the line of the Som and Aim

rivers. 49 French divisions manned this

front's 225 mi with 17 more left in the

Majino line.

There were also four British divisions.

Two of these had been isolated from

Gort's main force and thus missed the

Dunkirk

evacuation, while the other two were

newly arrived from

England. The French forces included six

much depleted mechanized and armored

divisions, and the British also had one

weakened armored division.

The French were opposed by 130 German

infantry divisions, including the fresh

second and 9inth

armies. The panzas were regrouped into

five armored core, each containing two

panza divisions and one of motorized

infantry. Three of these core were given

to army group B in the west. one being

commanded by Raml and the other two by

Klest. The two remaining panzer corors

under Gderion went to army group A in

the

east to bolster his weak forces. Vegan

ordered the construction of a

checkerboard of closed operational bases

called hedgehogs.

These were installed in woods and

villages and packed with artillery used

in an anti-tank

role. Even if outflanked, the hedgehogs

were designed to be able to continue

resisting. The German offensive opened

in the west on June the

5th. The French put up a determined

resistance and the Germans had

difficulty in subduing the hedgehogs.

At last on the 7th, Raml's panzas broke

through towards

Ruong. French resistance in this sector

promptly

collapsed. Raml had dealt with the

hedgehogs by bypassing them completely

and leaving them for the infantry to mop

up.

Army Group A's offensive began on June

the 9th and also ran into stiff

resistance. But that night, Gderion got

his tanks across the

air. The next day, he widened his bridge

head and with the remaining Panzer

divisions following through, the French

defense gave

way. Veagan's armies began to

disintegrate on all fronts. And on June

the 10th, Renault and his government

left

Paris. Four days later, the Germans

entered the

city. On June the 16th, Renault resigned

and a new cabinet was formed, headed by

Marshall Philip

Petar. 84 years old, Petar had been one

of the heroes of France's victory in

World War I.

In the present crisis, however, Pan

could see no point in prolonging the

struggle. A request for an armistice was

transmitted to Hitler. The following

day, June the 17th, Pa made a national

broadcast instructing the French to stop

fighting. By June the 19th, RML occupied

Sherborg, which marked the end of his

campaign. In 6 weeks, his 7th Panza,

nicknamed the Phantom Division for its

apparent ability to appear out of

nowhere, had captured nearly 100,000

prisoners, as well as hundreds of guns

and armored

vehicles.

His own casualties came to just over

2,500, of which fewer than 700 were

killed. Only 42 of his tanks had been

destroyed. In the east, Gdderian's

remorseless Panza Drive quickly cut off

all the French troops in the Majino line

before pushing on to the Swiss border.

To his right, Kle's Panza core crossed

the Lir and penetrated as far as

Leyon. On June the 20th, Hitler

delivered his terms to the French

envoys. Hitler's main objective was to

cut France off from

Britain. The northern part of France

would be occupied by Germany and used as

a base for continuing the war with

Britain.

The remainder would be governed from

Vichi by a regime headed by

Patan. The French could keep their fleet

and their

colonies. Hitler had a humiliating

surprise in store for the French. He had

located the railway carriage in which

the German commanders surrendered to the

French at the end of the Great War.

German engineers were ordered to hack

down the walls of the museum in which

the carriage was housed and bring it to

the exact place it had stood on that

famous

occasion. There in the forest of Raton,

50 mi northeast of Paris, Hitler awaited

the French delegation on June the

21st. When the French, led by General

Huniger, arrived and recognized the

carriage, they were a gasast. It was

Hitler's supreme gesture of

revenge. One German diarist later wrote,

"The battle of France is over. It has

lasted 26 years."

On June the 22nd, General Vegan

authorized the acceptance of German

terms, and the three French armies cut

off in the east. A total of 400,000 men

surrendered. At 12:35 a.m. on June the

25th, the fighting officially ceased.

Though Germany had not asked for the

handing over of the French fleet,

Britain still feared its ships falling

into German

hands. On the 3rd of July, the Royal

Navy attacked the main French squadrons,

putting many ships out of action.

This raid caused great bitterness and

badly soured Anglo French

relations. The German conquest of the

West had cost them just over 150,000

casualties, of whom only 27,000 were

killed. Total Allied losses in killed

and wounded came to

390,000, while 2 million more were taken

prisoner.

The Luftvafer lost

1,284 planes and the RAF

931, more than half of which were

precious

fighters. The French Air Force had some

560 planes

destroyed. The Germans also captured

huge amounts of Allied equipment of all

kinds.

Germany's crushing victory confirmed its

position as the supreme power in Western

Europe. Their only remaining enemy,

Britain, was isolated and much

weakened. Hitler was convinced she would

soon throw in the towel.

Even before the armistice came into

effect, he had ordered the

demobilization of 35 divisions and the

Panza groups were to be broken

up. As far as Hitler was concerned, the

war in the West was effectively over.

Boyed by his great triumph, Hitler was

already starting to contemplate a

campaign against the Soviet

Union. Yet by letting the British

expeditionary force slip through his

fingers at

Dunkirk, Hitler ensured that Britain

could continue

fighting. He was therefore about to lead

Germany into a war on two fronts. His

most spectacular victory thus sewed the

seeds of his ultimate

defeat. Heat. Heat.