Patrick Tawil's List: Fall of France Tipping Point

• The attack began on 10 May 1940,
• with German air raids on Belgium and Holland, followed by parachute drops and attacks by ground forces.
• . On 13 May, the first German forces emerged from the Ardennes near Sedan, on the River Meuse. In a two-day battle, the Panzers crossed the river, despite some surprisingly stiff resistance from the second-class French defenders, and near-suicidal attacks by Allied aircraft

  • Say: Since the French did not expect the Germans to attack them form the North the resistance was minimal and thus the French army was outflanked
• • The French government, realizing its defeat, flrd to Bordeaux to somewhat maintain order within the French People but in reality everyone knew that once Paris fell, the French spirit fell with it. The demoralized nation forfeited eight days later

  • Sheffield, Gary. "The Fall of France." bbc.co.uk. N.p., 27 May 2007. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.
    
• The Germans launched a major offensive on Paris on 9 June, and on 13 June Paris was declared an open city, as the French government fled to Bordeaux.
• The end came with the surrender of France on 22 June. Hitler insisted on signing the document of capitulation in the same railway carriage used when Germany had surrendered in 1918. The humiliation of France was complete

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• . In May 1940, French forces supported by the British were concentrated in northern France but the Germans instead launched their assault and entered France through the Ardennes where the blitzkrieg was met by little French resistance. The Maginot Line formed of hardened defenses was insufficient to absorb or blunt the lightning fast assault of Germany. The key effect of the blitzkrieg into France was the division of Allied forces which were effectively split in two and backing up the British Expeditionary Force and the French First Army to the English Channel

  • Say that: Germans issued the Blitzkierg. This ended up splitting up the French and the British. All this disorganization was followed by Operation Dynamo

  • Terjeson, Steven . "1940 - The Fall of France." World War II History. wwarii.com, 16 June 2010. Web. 17 Feb. 2012

• The more than 100,000 evacuated French troops were quickly and efficiently shuttled to camps in various parts of southwestern England where they were temporarily lodged before quickly being repatriated. British ships ferried French troops to Brest, Cherbourg and other ports in Normandy and Brittany, although only about half of the repatriated troops were deployed against the Germans before the armistice. For many French soldiers the Dunkirk evacuation was not a salvation, but represented only a few weeks' delay before being made POWs by the German army after their return in France.

  • Though the British considered Operation Dynamo a moral victory the French, in fact, saw this as a delayed defeat of France

  • Himes Andrew, "Operation Dynamo." Voices Education Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.

• With the French ports of Brest, Lorient, St. Nazaire, La Pallice and Bordeaux
• , u-boats no longer need to make lengthy voyages around the British Isles to reach the Atlantic. These ports were rapidly occupied and turned into fully functional u-boat bases capable of refueling, rearming and repairing u-boats.
• Shorter voyages meant more days spent on patrol, while the strategic location of the French ports extended the operational coverage of u-boats. In effect, the acquisition of new Atlantic ports on the French coast greatly increased the presence of u-boats in the Atlantic.

  • Germans were more active when they got hold of France because the ports, near Grat Britain, were used to ressuply the ships. Since the ports were much closer to Great Britain the resupply time was shorter as well. In other words, the Germans navy could patrol the English Channel for a longer period of time

  • "Battle of the Atlantic - Fall of France." German U-Boats. uboataces.com, 8 Oct. 2006. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.
• As a result, many British destroyers were held back in home waters to defend against an invasion threat,

  • Such German sea domination cause the British to become very defensive. They were mortified at the idea of losing their land as the French did.

  • Say: Caused GB to be less aggressive

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