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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.
13 June: Paris was declared an open city by the French government as the government fled to Bordeaux. 14 June: German troops entered the French capital of Paris. 16 June: French Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain became the prime minister of France, replacing Paul Reynaud .
The 1870 Franco-Prussian War, Prussian forces invaded France due to tensions regarding Prussia's growing influence in central Europe; The 1914 First Battle of the Marne at the outset of World War I; The World War II invasions: [2] May 1940 Battle of France, started by Nazi Germany's invasion of the Ardennes and the Low countries
Axis occupation of France: German occupation of France during World War II - 1940–1944 in the northern zones, and 1942–1944 in the southern zone. The Holocaust in France. Italian occupation of France during World War II - limited to border areas 1940–1942, almost all Rhône left-bank territory 1942-1943.
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.
For events preceding September 1, 1939, see the timeline of events preceding World War II. Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 brought many countries into the war. This event, and the declaration of war by France and Britain two days later, mark the beginning of World War II.
Between the time of the German victory in the Battle of France and the liberation of the country, the Allied Forces bombed many locations in France. In all 1,570 French cities and towns were bombed by the Allies between June 1940 and May 1945.
Adolf Hitler (hand on hip) looking at the statue of Ferdinand Foch before starting the negotiations for the armistice at Compiègne, France (21 June 1940) Ferdinand Foch ' s railway car, at the same location as after World War I, prepared by the Germans for the second armistice at Compiègne, June 1940