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Originally Posted by MightyMacbeth Hey since you are talking about France, I thought of asking a few questions.
So ok, why did France quickly loose to Germany? if someone can summarize and give us a point form like reasons.
Also, when Germany conquered France, the French were not united, some fought against the allies and other French right? what happened, exactly ? |
Germany, as already described, defeated France in 1940 owing to a few "intellectual" factors:
1.
War of Movement: German generals like Guderian understood the potential of armoured warfare to shock and confuse an opponent. They fought a war of speed. Battlefield events changed at a pace too great for French officers. The war of movement negated superior French technology and numbers. The organization of effective defensive countermeasures proved extremely difficult.
2.
Junior Officer Empowerment: The Prussian military tradition handed the lower ranks the authority to make quick decisions without undue interference from above. This confidence helped create a general spirit of improvisation that only increased the speed of operations.
3.
Combined Operations: Artillery, infantry and armour (plus airpower) worked together to achieve a breakthrough. The tanks poured through the holes and forced the defender to confront a war of constant change and fast movement.
B. Technologically, one factor stood out. The German developments in radio communications and therefore reece helped their military attain the speed in coordination needed to stun and then defeat the French. Basic French weapons were still generally better and more plentiful than that of the Germans. The Germans therefore had to organize local superiority in order to attack or repel the enemy. This ability to organize counted.
In conclusion, however, it should be pointed out that a French invasion in 1939 would probably have taken the Nazis out of the war. Poland was far more of a drain on Germany than most people think or thought at the time. It took the German military many months to reorganize. Almost half of the tanks employed, for example, needed repairs. Germany was not the juggernaut created by Anglo-French and Nazi propaganda during the 1930s. Therefore, Allied propaganda probably played a role as great as the intellectual achievements of the German military.