A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

The War in Europe Begins 1061

Army invaded. Badly outnumbered Finnish soldiers fought bravely in sub­
zero temperatures, sometimes on skis, carrying light machine guns against
Russian tanks and temporarily holding back the Soviet forces. Finland har­
bored no illusions about winning the “Winter War,” but, like Poland, hoped
to be saved by British and French diplomatic or military intervention. France
now favored, at least in principle, armed intervention on behalf of Finland.
So did Britain’s Winston Churchill, who had angered his Conservative Party
by opposing appeasement of Hitler at Munich. But Finnish resistance soon
was broken. By the Peace of Moscow, signed March 12, 1940, the Soviet
Union annexed about 10 percent of Finnish territory.
With the goal of stopping Swedish iron ore from being shipped to Ger­
many, in April British ships mined the Norwegian harbor of Narvik, despite
the objections of the government of Norway. On November 9 German troops
occupied Denmark, which surrendered without a fight (see Map 26.2). Ger­
man paratroopers landed at Oslo and other Norwegian port cities, followed
by troops put ashore by ships. German soldiers repelled Allied troops, who
arrived at the end of April with sketchy orders and inadequate weapons.
Prime Minister Chamberlain had assured the British House of Com­
mons that Germany “had missed the bus” by waiting so long to attack in
the west. But Germany’s lightning occupation of Denmark and victory in
Norway brought down the Chamberlain government. Churchill, who had
been a member of Parliament on and off since 1900, became prime minis­
ter on May 10, 1940. The outspoken Churchill was an unpopular choice
among even some Conservatives, who held an overwhelming majority in
Parliament. Many remembered his impulsive attachment to far-fetched mil­
itary operations during the First World War, which had led to the cata­
strophic defeat of British troops at Gallipoli in 1915. Even one of his trusted
advisers said that Churchill had ten new ideas each day, but that nine of
them were bad. Still, his resilience, determination, and dedication made
Churchill an extraordinary wartime leader.

The Fall of France

German troops stared confidently across the Rhine River at their French

opponents. The German army could simply sidestep the French Maginot

Line, which stopped at the Belgian frontier. Germany enjoyed vast superi­

ority over France in the air (France had only about 500 first-line fighter

planes, Germany 4,000). Furthermore, the German army and air force were

already well-practiced, having conquered Poland.

French soldiers had become demoralized by the winter months in the

damp bunkers along the Maginot Line. The plan of the French high com­

mand to engage the enemy forces as they moved into the Low Countries

was undermined by the Belgian and Dutch governments; both, hoping to

remain neutral, had been unwilling to coordinate defense planning with

the French army. The French generals lacked confidence in the strength