DK - World War II Map by Map

THE FALL OF FRANCE 55

ITALY

SW

ITZ

ERLAND

GR

EA

TE

R

GE

RM

A

N Y F R A N

C E

U N I T E

D

KI N G

D O

M

Se

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Aisne

Lo

ire

Do

rd

og

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Se

in

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M

ar

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M

eu

se

Clermont-Ferrand

Saint

Etienne

La Rochelle

Mullhouse

Colmar

Bordeaux

Royan Angoouleme

Grenoble

Le Havre

Le Mans

Limoges

Vierzon

Orleans

Paris

Troyes

Geneva

Nevers

Autun

Epinal

Cluny

Nantes

Biarritz

St.-Jean

de-Luz

Angers

Rouen

Nancy

Dover

Reims

Laon

Calais

Dijon

Vichy

Caen

Avranches

St. Malo

Metz

Saarbrucken

Lyon

Nice

Monaco

Lille

Arras

Dunkirk

Boulogne

Saint

Valery-en-Caux

Tours

Brest

St. Nazaire

Cherbourg

Portsmouth

Southampton

Rh

ône

Compiègne Dun-sur-Meuse

Vesoul

Bay

of

Biscay

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Is
la
nd
s
V I C
H Y^ F R A N
C E
S
P
A
I N
4th
Army
10th
Army 7th
Army
6th
Army
4th
Army
2nd
Army
3rd
Army
5th
Army
8th
Army
18th
Army
6th
Army
6th
Army
1st
Army
7th
Army
12th
Army
2nd
Army
9th
Army
JUN 1940 JUL AUG
2
3
4
5
1
TIMELINE
FRANCE DIVIDED
The German forces swept though
France in a matter of six weeks,
defeating the Allies and splitting the
country in two. The operation was
one of the most remarkable military
campaigns in history.
THE FINAL EVACUATIONS JUNE 15–23, 1940
On June 15 Britain launched Operation Ariel to
evacuate Allied military personnel from France. More
than 40,000 troops were rescued from Cherbourg
from June 15–18. As the Germans moved down the
French west coast, the ports available to the Allied
boats—St. Malo, Brest, St. Nazaire—were captured.
By June 23, only Saint-Jean-de-Luz remained open
to evacuate the last of over 160,000 troops.
4
Evacuations Jun 15–23
German advances in western France
FRANCE DIVIDED JUNE 22, 1940
On June 22 the French government, led by the
84-year-old World War I veteran Marshal Philippe
Pétain, agreed to an armistice. Germany occupied
the north and west of France while the south
was governed by Pétain from the town of Vichy.
Italy, which had declared war against France and
Britain on June 10, opportunistically occupied two
areas of France on the Italian border.
5
Occupied
by Germany
Vichy France
Occupied by Italy
Jun 12 The British
51st (Highland)
Division surrenders.
Jun 15–18
British troops
evacuated.
Jun 17 Under threat
of arrest for treachery,
General de Gaulle
flees to London.
Jun 16 The
Germans reach
Lyon in the
Rhône Valley.
Jun 10, 1940–Nov 1, 1942
The town of Vichy is the
base of the government
until it, too, is occupied
by Germany.
Jul 4 Hackenberg
fortress on the Maginot
Line surrenders, 12 days
after the armistice.
Jun 22 The French
5th and 8th Armies
surrender.
Jun 22 The armistice is
signed in a railway carriage
near Compiègne, France.
Jun 22 Italy
occupies two
areas in France.
KEY
German
armies
Maginot
Line
Hackenberg
fortress
French
armies
French
Navy
Jun 10–13
Operation Cycle
evacuates over
11,000 Allied troops.
US_054-055_Fall_of_France.indd 55 22/03/19 2:38 PM