From Poland to the Fall of France World War II From Poland to the Fall of France

Sept. 3, Britain and France declare War on Germany Blitzkrieg England and France had promised to defend Poland from German aggression Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invades New method of warfare used called Blitzkrieg (Lightning war) Sept. 3, Britain and France declare War on Germany

Parachutists dropped behind enemy lines to create chaos and confusion First Take out enemy headquarters and communications with long range artillery and dive bombers Parachutists dropped behind enemy lines to create chaos and confusion Second Tanks and armoured infantry punch hole in weakest part of enemy lines Encircle strong point and cut them off Following troops force their surrender Motorized columns continue to drive through the demoralized enemy

Combined operations Blitzkrieg was characterized by the combined use of communications, coordination and mobility: Airplanes attacked transportation, supplies and artillery behind enemy lines Tanks led attacks against the enemy Infantry was transported in vehicles and supported the tanks Pincer movements encircled smaller enemy units and cut them off from support

Aircraft would attack behind enemy lines and destroy supply lines Fast moving armoured units would encircle and prevent forces from retreating Aircraft would attack behind enemy lines and destroy supply lines Tanks would thrust against forward lines supported by infantry and artillery ENEMY COMMAND POST ENEMY SUPPLY LINES ENEMY FRONTLINE

Blitzkrieg in action The effectiveness of “lightning war” was immediately obvious in the German campaign against Poland: The German Luftwaffe (“Air force”) destroyed the Polish railways and air force German armoured “panzer” tank divisions punched through Polish defences and began to encircle them Poland was defeated in roughly 4 weeks Even though Poland’s army was of comparable size to Germany’s, its outdated strategies and technology were no match against blitzkrieg.

Phoney War October 1939-April 1940 No fighting except Naval Battles – British papers dub it “Sitskrieg” British Navy (Churchill) wants to seize port of Narvik in Norway Cut off German supplies Norway neutral at this time April 1940 - Germany strikes first and takes Norway and Denmark French troops rush to help but are forced to withdraw Chamberlain forced to resign May 10 Germany invades France

The Fall of France The French and British thought that the Maginot line protected the southern access to France from Germany Concentrated their troops in the North around Belgium The Ardennes Forrest was thought to be impassable to a large armoured force. German forces smashed through the forest and encircled the BEF and French elite divisions at Dunkirk

Dunkirk Germans surround 340,000 British and French soldiers at Dunkirk 200,000 BEF 140,000 French British begin operation “Dynamo” – the evacuation of surrounded forces (May 27-June 4) Use every boat at their disposal including private craft Germans bomb beaches but do not send in Armour British fighters supply air cover Almost all troops removed and British see it as a great success Core of British army saved as well as best of French troops All equipment lost

Paris Falls The rest of France quickly fell to the Germans An Armistice was signed with Germany in the same railway carriage that Germany was forced to sign in at the end of WWI, 1918 Germany takes control of the North and a new French government is formed that will work with the Germans under Marshall Petain – Vichy Government

After the fall of France Churchill ordered the sinking of the French fleet British use torpedo Bombers

Next the Battle of Britain! The End Next the Battle of Britain!