May 2015 FLYPAST 35had almost always pushed on ahead
of those units tasked with mounting
a defence. On June 10, Italy also
invaded France, with Paris falling to
the Germans on June 14. Eight days
later, France surrendered and was
soon divided into two occupation
zones, plus an unoccupied zone
governed by the French Vichy
regime. Though technically neutral,
the latter was semi-fascist in its
political outlook and co-operated
with the Nazis, including –
infamously – its racial policy.
With the war in mainland Europe
apparently over in a terrifyingly
short space of time, attention
inevitably turned to Britain.
Churchill attempted to steel
citizens for the likely invasion,
declaring that “what General
Weygand called the Battle of France
is over. I expect that the Battle of
Britain is about to begin”.had almost always pushed on ahead had almost always pushed on ahead
of those units tasked with mounting of those units tasked with mounting
a defence. On June 10, Italy also a defence. On June 10, Italy also
invaded France, with Paris falling to invaded France, with Paris falling to
the Germans on June 14. Eight days the Germans on June 14. Eight days
later, France surrendered and was later, France surrendered and was
soon divided into two occupation soon divided into two occupation
zones, plus an unoccupied zone zones, plus an unoccupied zoneand Arras captured. The main
achievement of the Allied stand was
to give retreating forces more time
to reach the port of Dunkirk, from
which they were being evacuated to
Britain.
Despite Luftwaffe hopes to
destroy all that remained of the
encircled armies, Operation
Dynamo was a success – with
around 330,000 British and French
troops rescued from Dunkirk by a
flotilla of vessels.SURRENDER
Meanwhile, the second part of
Germany’s two-pronged attack
succeeded in outflanking French
forces occupying the Maginot Line,
as well as advancing westward
into France and towards Paris.
Counterattacks proved difficult
to organize – the pace of German
progress meant that the invadersLIGHTNING WAR
that threw the defending armies
into disarray. In a three-day
campaign from May 12 to 15, the
Germans crossed the River Meuse
and captured the French city of
Sedan, encircling the opposition,
including the British Expeditionary
Force. They then pushed on
towards the English Channel,
reaching the coast at Abbeville and
continuing to drive the remaining
British forces into retreat.
Following the rapid success of the
invasion, much of the resistance
had become disorganised, with
detachments cut off from their
units, or lacking information. The
Allies did succeed in initiating
a counterattack at Arras, using
heavily armoured tanks. It was an
attempt to thwart the fast-moving
spearhead of German advance,
and though it did register some
gains, it was eventually overcomeWeygand called the Battle of France Weygand called the Battle of France“...I INDICATED A FORTNIGHT AGO AS CLEARLY AS I COULD TO THE HOUSE THAT THE WORST
POSSIBILITIES WERE OPEN; AND I MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THEN THAT WHATEVER HAPPENED IN
FRANCE WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE TO THE RESOLVE OF BRITAIN AND THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO
FIGHT ON, IF NECESSARY FOR YEARS, IF NECESSARY ALONE.” WINSTON CHURCHILLGERMANY’S RAPID INVASION OF THE LOW COUNTRIES AND FRANCE
WAS BOTH FRIGHTENING AND COSTLY FOR THE ALLIES
Above left
Shot down by three pilots
from GC I/3 on November
22, 1939, Leutnant Heinz
Schulz of 3/JG 76 crash-
landed his Messerschmitt
Bf 109E south-west of
Merzig and was captured.
CHRIS GOSS COLLECTION34-35_Blitzkrieg_fpSBB.indd 35 13/03/2015 11:31