Battle of France (1940)

[Bruv119]

ok ok always get that date confused with the japanese invasion of manchuria.   been a few years since i looked at a textbook geez.

and kermit your signatures just go from low to the very bottom.

[oakranger]

Read this

WOW, thx. Just learn something new.  I can not believe they build a monument for it.  But like it said, it was to remember this little known WWII event.

[danny76]

Yes, that what i read a lot.  French and British just did not get off their bellybutton fast enough to stop them.  And as i put it, Germany was doing thing that the allies could not do.  There is one point that i read about the Germans, all their tanks and other armors vehicle have radio communications.  Where the allies have not yet practice communication like that. 
I try to carefully read the whole battle plane on both sides since day one, the Germans preformed flawlessly.  Germany did what the allies anticipated that they would do, but they move faster then what the allies did not except them to do. 
Thax for your input.  give me more. 

Excuse me. The French and British did not get off their bellybutton fast enough to stop them? Thank god for the US ploughing in so quickly then and saving the world just a mere four and a half years later, with their timely arrival in France.

[danny76]

The defeat of the B.E.F, has a huge amount to do with the fact that the British powers that be, seem to have one of two default settings in terms of conflict.

Setting 1: Everythings fine, now we've won we can demob 9/10 of the armed forces, stop development of weapons, we've taught the blighters a jolly old lesson they won't be forgetting any time soon.

Setting 2: Oh bugger

[Kermit de frog]

Excuse me. The French and British did not get off their bellybutton fast enough to stop them? Thank god for the US ploughing in so quickly then and saving the world just a mere four and a half years later, with their timely arrival in France.

I think it was Churchill that wanted to delay the invasion of France until June '44.

[Bruv119]

I think it was Churchill that wanted to delay the invasion of France until June '44.

wouldn't have wanted another dieppe or gallipoli....

If you didn't know he wanted to kick gerry out of N.Africa first.

[FTJR]

Churchill didn't want to invade France at all, he feared the worst. He only agreed to do it under pressure from Roosevelt(Spelling?) and Stalin. He was convinced that the way into Germany and occupied Europe was via Italy and Southern France.

[SFRT - Frenchy]

In one of the French aviation war book I read ... sadly can't remember which one ... the pilot stated that the French planes of the BOF were actually not that outclassed by the German ones, but the tactics/discipline were lacking.

He recalled many pilots taking off by themselve to patrol the skies, like they used to do in WW1.  This ideal of the gentleman fighter was the doom of many experienced pilots, totaly inadequated against the Blitz's paradigm.

[RufusLeaking]

As for Britain not commiting enough resources, Dowding quite rightly being a realist knew that saving France was a waste of time, even Churchill tried sending more fighter squadrons to their wreckage.  Luckily Dowding called it right.

Recently read Michael Korda’s book, “With Wings Like Eagles.”  In it, Korda tells the story of how Dowding successfully resisted sending squadrons of Hurricane Mk Is to France.  Churchill wanted to help the French.  The French believed the Mk Is, with their eight 0.303 guns, could stop a tank. It is obvious in hindsight that Dowding was right to keep the squadrons home, as he was right about his system of directing fighters during the Battle of Britain.

If Britain had fallen after France, it would have made the liberation of Western Europe much more difficult, and moved the Iron Curtain much farther west.

[RTHolmes]

You have to remember Hitler was secretly re-arming as soon as he took over in 1933 with the intent of doing everything he did.   All of those years were a massive head start ...

big factor. the germans had built up a big head of steam in terms of equipment, training, tactics and morale. they also had the will to succeed, fuelled by resentment over the treaty of versailles and the aftermath of WWI. and as others have mentioned, had already practised and refined their tactics by the time of the battle of france.

If Britain had fallen after France, it would have made the liberation of Western Europe almost impossible

[Kermit de frog]

Recently read Michael Korda’s book, “With Wings Like Eagles.”  In it, Korda tells the story of how Dowding successfully resisted sending squadrons of Hurricane Mk Is to France.  Churchill wanted to help the French.  The French believed the Mk Is, with their eight 0.303 guns, could stop a tank. It is obvious in hindsight that Dowding was right to keep the squadrons home, as he was right about his system of directing fighters during the Battle of Britain.

If Britain had fallen after France, it would have made the liberation of Western Europe much more difficult, and moved the Iron Curtain much farther west.

The Iron Curtain would not have moved west at all, as the Soviets most likely would have lost the war if not for the allies creating the second front.

[Lusche]

The Iron Curtain would not have moved west at all, as the Soviets most likely would have lost the war if not for the allies creating the second front.

They would have most unlikely lost the war. The turning point in the east was late 42/ early 43, in summer 43 the Wehrmacht lost completely the initiative to the Soviets, and they were advancing ever since - long before D-Day. d It just would have taken longer for them to get to Berlin.

[Kermit de frog]

They would have most unlikely lost the war. The turning point in the east was late 42/ early 43, in summer 43 the Wehrmacht lost completely the initiative to the Soviets, and they were advancing ever since - long before D-Day. d It just would have taken longer for them to get to Berlin.

The German forces had been weakened by the campaigns in France, Britain, Norway, and a few other countries in Europe and Africa.  Had Germany been allowed to fight the Soviets first, they most likely would have won.  All of this happening long before D-Day.

[oakranger]

Excuse me. The French and British did not get off their bellybutton fast enough to stop them? Thank god for the US ploughing in so quickly then and saving the world just a mere four and a half years later, with their timely arrival in France.

I should have explain my self on that remark.  The allies (French, U.K, Blegium, Holland) should have attacked Germany when they declare war on them.  They had six months to do this but instead sat there and did nothing.  If they have invade, it would have hurt Germany.  Germany did not have a panzer division, 2 division (may be wrong on that) that guard the west while the rest where playing in Poland.

Reason why U.S. did not want to jump in the war (1940) was political reasons and they really did not have a military to support the allies.  By the time they enter the war, it was decided (Politically) not to invade France in 1942 for good reasons: 1) Green U.S. was not ready to pursue a invasion into a heavy occupied France and they where busy in the Pacific, 2) U.K had their hands full in North Africa and Pacific, 3) If the allies did invade France (1942-1943) they would most likely be slaughter by the Luftwaffe that dominated the sky's over France.    

[Lusche]

The German forces had been weakened by the campaigns in France, Britain, Norway, and a few other countries in Europe and Africa.  Had Germany been allowed to fight the Soviets first, they most likely would have won.  All of this happening long before D-Day.

In your post you said "Soviets would have lost if Allies did not create the second front"

In common WW2 terminology, "The second front" refers to the Allied invasion of western Europe in 1944.