Immediately following the evacuation, the Germans initiated Fall Rot and turned their sights on wiping out the remaining separated French forces in the south. France was declared an open city, when the French government fled from Paris because of the advancing Germans. German forces arrived in Paris on June 14th. Ironically enough, as Hitler insisted, three days later the French government officially surrendered in the same railcar the Germans surrendered in at the conclusion of WWI at Compiègne. “The humiliation of France was complete.” (Sheffield, 2011)
Following the successful takeover of Paris and surrender of the French, France was split into an occupied and unoccupied zone. The Germans occupied the northern part of France including …show more content…
(Franning, 1997, p. 284) The idea of a quick and violent tactic such as Blitzkrieg did not develop in World War II; on the contrary, it was methodically practiced and perfected through campaigns in Ethiopia, Spain and Albania before proving its worth in Poland. (Reilly, 1940, p. 244) The original idea behind the blitzkrieg tactic was to introduce a sequence of short campaigns aimed at minimizing the duration of the war. Germany’s ability to rapidly employ a combined armed force of light armored tanks, airplanes and artillery allowed them to push through defenses with great precision and unprecedented power. Unlike the French tanks at the time, which were spread out in thin lines trying to occupy a greater stretch of defensive positions, the Germans massed their tanks in one dynamic and capable “spear” allowing them to punch holes in the French defenses. After they penetrated the defensive lines, they were then able to wreak havoc behind them. Furthermore, the superior German airpower made it extremely difficult for the Allies to resupply their lines. The British and French were at a constant state of demoralization, as they had few supplies to combat the advancing Nazis. The lack of resupply and reinforcement enabled the Germans to circle the allies and destroy them. (“Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)”,
Following the successful takeover of Paris and surrender of the French, France was split into an occupied and unoccupied zone. The Germans occupied the northern part of France including …show more content…
(Franning, 1997, p. 284) The idea of a quick and violent tactic such as Blitzkrieg did not develop in World War II; on the contrary, it was methodically practiced and perfected through campaigns in Ethiopia, Spain and Albania before proving its worth in Poland. (Reilly, 1940, p. 244) The original idea behind the blitzkrieg tactic was to introduce a sequence of short campaigns aimed at minimizing the duration of the war. Germany’s ability to rapidly employ a combined armed force of light armored tanks, airplanes and artillery allowed them to push through defenses with great precision and unprecedented power. Unlike the French tanks at the time, which were spread out in thin lines trying to occupy a greater stretch of defensive positions, the Germans massed their tanks in one dynamic and capable “spear” allowing them to punch holes in the French defenses. After they penetrated the defensive lines, they were then able to wreak havoc behind them. Furthermore, the superior German airpower made it extremely difficult for the Allies to resupply their lines. The British and French were at a constant state of demoralization, as they had few supplies to combat the advancing Nazis. The lack of resupply and reinforcement enabled the Germans to circle the allies and destroy them. (“Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)”,