Fall Of France

Facts, information and articles about Fall Of France, a battle of World War II

Fall Of France summary: The Battle of France began in 1940 and consisted of two operations. The first one was Case Yellow or Fall Gelb and is when the armored units of Germany cut off allied units which had advanced into the country of Belgium at the Ardennes. When the British and the French saw themselves pushed back by the operation, the British evacuated their BEF or British Expeditionary Force with other French divisions in Operation Dynamo.

The Battle of France Begins

After the British left and France was left to fight for itself, the Germans launched Case Red or Fall Rot which started on June the 5th. During this operation, the French government saw itself split on the best action to take as many of the political representatives were looking for peace with Germany. Because of that, the French military forces that defended during Case Red were only partial at best. By June 22nd, France and Germany signed an armistice and the result was a split of the country of France where Germany got control of the west and the north plus part of the southeast and Zone Libra or unoccupied zone. Until the allied landings, French remained under control of the Axis.

The Liberation of France: 1944

Operation Overlord was launched by the Western Allies in June of 1944. On August 24th of the same year, the city of Paris was liberated. By September, most of France was already back in Allied hands. 580,000 French people were killed by the time the liberation started. As far as military deaths, there were 92,000 in the years of 1939 and 1940. From 1940 to 1945, 58,000 more died.