September 26th, 2006  
perseus
Primus Pilus
 
 
Quote:
In conclusion, however, it should be pointed out that a French invasion in 1939 would probably have taken the Nazis out of the war.
Ollie

In the early stages of the war I am not convinced France would have been successful. They would not only have to conquer the border defence but also cross the Rhine, it is difficult to see this happening before large reinforcements arrived.

At the time of France's declaration of War the French Army in the field totaled 30 infantry divisions, 14 of which were in North Africa, 9 on the Alpine front and only 7 on the western front plus a few battalions in the Pyrenees area. In Defence the Germans had 34 divisions rising to almost 44 by the 10th September 1939.

It took 3 weeks for France to mobilize and obviously these troops would have required substantial training. The French were also not well equipped for attack.

Perhaps the best chance was mobilizing earlier, through a combined Polish, British, Czech and French Effort. The Czech Army was strong , although the country was politically weak. Their Skoda tanks helped to make the attack in the West possible in 1940, so Chamberlains peace deal did not really buy time, it lost it.
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Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country. Herman Goering
 
 
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