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France was one of the largest military powers to come under occupation as part of the Western Front in World War II.The Western Front was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Germany.
The Battle of France (French: bataille de France; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (German: Westfeldzug), the French Campaign (Frankreichfeldzug, campagne de France) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and France.
France had lots of armed forces in World War II, in part due to the German occupation. In 1940, General Maurice Gamelin commanded the French Army, headquartered in Vincennes on the outskirts of Paris. It consisted of 117 divisions, with 94 committed to the northeastern front and a commander, General Alphonse Georges, at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre.
27 May: Allies enter Narvik. 28 May: King Leopold of Belgium had ordered his army to surrender to the German forces, which gave the Allies the needed time to evacuate from Dunkirk . With Belgium under complete German control, Germany planned to move toward the French coast to completely eliminate the Allied forces.
France did not invade Germany in 1939, because it wanted British lives to be at risk too and because of hopes that a blockade might force a German surrender without a bloodbath. The French and British also believed that they were militarily superior and guaranteed victory through the blockade or by desperate German attacks.
The liberation of Paris (French: libération de Paris) was a battle that took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since the signing of the Armistice of 22 June 1940 , after which the Wehrmacht occupied northern and ...
The Siegfried Line campaign was a phase in the Western European campaign of World War II, which involved actions near the German defensive Siegfried Line.. This phase spanned from the end of the Battle of Normandy, or Operation Overlord and the pursuit across northern France, which ended on 15 September 1944, and concluded with the opening of the German Ardennes counteroffensive, better known ...
Along with Toulon, the main port for the French Navy (French: Marine nationale), the Port of Marseilles was a vital objective. [2]: 88 The port, its facilities, and the rail and road links up the Rhone valley, being essential to the liberation of southern France and the ultimate defeat of German forces.