German+Invasion+of+France

= ﻿German Invasion of France = In 1939 a group of German Army men came up with a plan to attack the French Army in the northern part of France. It became known as the Manstien Plan and included an attack through the southern part of Belgium so they could avoid the Maginot Line. The ultimate plan was to reach the channel coast and to make the French government surrender. Adolf Hitler approved of the plan on February 17, 1940 but it didnt take place until May 10. It all started when the Luftwaffe bombed the Dutch and the Belgian airfields. The Germans plan was the use blitzkrieg to get it done quicker. The French became involved when they decided to step up and support the Dutch and Belgian forces. The Germans forces moved on toward the Channel. Winston Churchill ordered the implemation of Operation Dynamo, which was to evacuate the troops and equipment from the French port. Between May 27 and Juner 4, a total of 693 ships and 338,226 people were brought to Britian. 140,000 were members of the French Army. All the heavy materials were left France. On June 14 the Germans took over Paris. Reynaud resigned from France because he got out voted and Albert Lebrun was appointed the new premier. He started negotiations with Hitler. On June 22 France signed an armistice with Germany. The aggreement divied France into two different groups: the occupied and the unoccupied zones. The Germans could control 3/5 of the country. The remaining parts of the country are controlled by the French government at Vichy under Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain. Other things that the armistice stated included the surrender of all jews living in France to the Germans. An estimated 390,000 soldiers were killed defending France and around 35,000 German soldiers lot their lives during the invasion. media type="youtube" key="0elb5kesusU" height="349" width="425"