The Road to Catastrophe: France’s Illusions Shattered

In the spring of 1940, Nazi Germany launched its devastating blitzkrieg against Western Europe, culminating in the rapid collapse of French defenses. What had been touted as the world’s strongest army found itself humiliated within weeks, with Paris falling on June 14 and the French government surrendering on June 22. This stunning defeat marked the end of the Third Republic and the beginning of four years of German occupation.

The roots of France’s catastrophic defeat lay in the interwar period. Traumatized by the enormous casualties of World War I, France had invested heavily in defensive fortifications, most notably the Maginot Line. This impressive system of underground fortresses along the German border created a false sense of security. As former Prime Minister Léon Blum boasted: “Our system may not be suitable for offense, but it’s superb for defense.” Marshal Philippe Pétain similarly assured the Senate Army Committee that the northeastern sector protected by the Maginot Line was “not in danger.”

Blitzkrieg Unleashed: Germany’s Masterstroke

The German offensive, codenamed Fall Rot (Case Red), began in earnest after the Dunkirk evacuation. Hitler had boasted this would be “the greatest battle in history,” and his forces were positioned to deliver the knockout blow to France. With 140 divisions, including 11 panzer divisions, the Wehrmacht prepared to slice through French defenses along a 600-kilometer front from the Channel coast to the Swiss border.

The German plan was meticulously crafted in three phases: initial attacks toward the lower Seine and Paris; a main thrust by armored units southeast through Reims to destroy French forces in the Paris-Metz-Belfort triangle; and supporting attacks to breach the Maginot Line at its weakest points. Army Group B under Fedor von Bock would attack from the Somme region while Army Group A under Gerd von Rundstedt delivered the main armored thrust.

Facing this onslaught, the French could muster only 49 divisions plus two British divisions along the hastily constructed Weygand Line. The French army, having lost 30 divisions in the initial campaign, was critically short of tanks, artillery and anti-aircraft guns. Their air force, decimated in early fighting, could offer little support against the dominant Luftwaffe.

The Weygand Line Crumbles: France’s Last Stand

On June 5, as German forces turned south after Dunkirk, the final phase of the Battle of France began. The Weygand Line adopted an innovative “hedgehog” defense system – strongpoints that could defend in all directions with mobile reserves behind them. However, lacking sufficient mechanized forces, these reserves couldn’t counter German panzer divisions once breakthroughs occurred.

Initial French resistance proved surprisingly determined. A German soldier wrote: “In those ruined villages, the French fought to the last man. When our infantry advanced 20 miles behind them, those ‘hedgehogs’ were still fighting fiercely.” But German superiority in tanks and airpower proved decisive. By June 7, Erwin Rommel’s 7th Panzer Division had split the French 10th Army, and the Weygand Line began collapsing along its entire length.

As German forces approached Paris, the French government debated whether to defend the capital. On June 11, with German artillery audible in the city, the government declared Paris an “open city” and fled to Tours, then Bordeaux. On June 14, German troops marched into Paris unopposed. American journalist William L. Shirer described the eerie scene: “The richest, happiest, most lively city in the world had become a dead city.”

Italy’s Opportunistic Stab: Mussolini’s Shame

On June 10, with France clearly defeated, Benito Mussolini declared war, cynically boasting: “I only need to sacrifice a few thousand lives to earn a seat at the peace conference table.” However, Italian forces made negligible progress against minimal French resistance in the Alps. When Hitler and Mussolini met in Munich on June 18, the Italian dictator had little to show for his betrayal. Roosevelt condemned Italy’s action as “the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor.”

The Fateful Choice: Armistice or Resistance?

As military collapse accelerated, a bitter divide emerged within the French government. Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, supported by newly appointed Undersecretary of War Charles de Gaulle, advocated continuing the fight from North Africa. But the influential duo of Marshal Pétain and General Maxime Weygand insisted France must seek an armistice.

Churchill made desperate efforts to keep France in the war, even proposing an unprecedented Franco-British union on June 16. But Reynaud’s cabinet rejected this radical idea 14-10. Exhausted and isolated, Reynaud resigned that evening, recommending Pétain as his successor. The 84-year-old hero of Verdun immediately began armistice proceedings.

On June 17, Pétain announced via radio: “With a heavy heart I tell you today that it is necessary to stop the fight.” This unauthorized statement further demoralized French troops still resisting. That same day, de Gaulle escaped to London, where two days later he would deliver his famous BBC appeal urging continued resistance.

Hitler’s Revenge: The Compiègne Armistice

Hitler deliberately chose the Forest of Compiègne as the surrender site – the same railway carriage where Germany had capitulated in 1918. When French delegates arrived on June 21, they found the historic wagon exhumed from a museum and placed precisely where it had stood 22 years earlier.

The terms were harsh: Germany would occupy northern and western France including Paris and the entire Atlantic coast; France would pay occupation costs; its army would be reduced to 100,000 men; and the French fleet was to be disarmed under German supervision (though not handed over). Most humiliating was Article 19 requiring France to surrender all German citizens on its soil – a provision Hitler included to capture anti-Nazi exiles.

On June 22, General Charles Huntziger signed for France. Two days later, France signed a separate armistice with Italy involving minor territorial adjustments. The Third Republic had fallen after just six weeks of fighting.

Legacy of the Fall: Occupation and Resistance

The defeat traumatized France, exposing deep divisions that would persist through four years of occupation. Pétain’s Vichy regime collaborated extensively, while de Gaulle’s Free French kept resistance alive from London and Africa. The rapid collapse shattered France’s self-image as a great military power, with lasting consequences for its postwar position.

Strategically, Hitler’s victory left Britain isolated. But his failure to eliminate the French fleet or prevent the Free French movement would have long-term consequences. The “strange defeat,” as historian Marc Bloch called it, remains one of modern history’s most dramatic military collapses – a cautionary tale about the perils of complacency, poor leadership and underestimating an innovative enemy.