Battle of France: Case Yellow & Case Red. May 10th–June 25th, 1940

On 3 September 1939, France and Britain
Declared war on Germany following the
German invasion of Poland.
In early September 1939, France began the limited 
Saar Offensive and by mid-October
Had withdrawn to their start lines.
German armies invaded Belgium, 
Luxembourg and the Netherlands on
10 May 1940. 
Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940
And attempted an invasion of France.

France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg were invaded on same day by the following forces:

German Army Group A, with 38 infantry and 7 armored divisions, was the main column under the command of Gerd von Rundstedt. This group was to march through the Ardennes.

German Army Group B, with 26 infantry and 3 armored divisions, was to invade the Low Countries under the command of Fedor von Bock. Though strong, this force was considered diversionary.

German Army Group C, with 19 infantry divisions, attacked the Maginot Line under the direction of Wilhelm von Leeb to pin down the French forces there.

Italian Army Group West, with 32 infantry divisions, attacked southern France under the command of Umberto di Savoia.

On 5 Jun, after the Dunkirk actions, the German forces renewed their attacks. On 5 Jun a panzer attack on the Somme put them closer to Paris. On 10 Jun, the French government fled Paris for Bordeaux, declaring Paris an open city. Churchill visited France again the next day, attempting to rally morale but offering little material support. France was now lost; it would only be the matter of time when Germany would declare victory. On 14 Jun, German forces marched into Paris, dealing a critical blow to whatever French morale that remained.

On 22 June 1940, General Pretelat surrendered the French Second Army Group, marking the end of the battle. The government of France formally surrendered three days later in the same railroad car at Compiègne that Germany had surrendered in at the conclusion of WW1 in 1918. The French attempted to drag out the surrender negotiations by trying for more favorable terms, and they tried the patience of German leaders. Finally, at 1700 that day, Keitel communicated an ultimatum that the French must surrender by 1800, otherwise he would give the order to continue the attack on the rest of France. The French surrendered a few minutes after 1800. To many German military leaders, the victory spelled a satisfying revenge for the defeat in WW1 and the shame that resulted from the post-WW1 sanctions. "I had a feeling that this was our hour of revenge for Versailles, and I was conscious of my pride in the conclusion of a unique and victorious campaign, and of a resolve to respect the feelings of those who had been honorably vanquished in battle", said Keitel. "That day was the climax of my career as a soldier." French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, who refused to surrender, resigned and was replaced by collaborationist Philippe Pétain. France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north and the German-sponsored Vichy government in the south. In London, de Gaulle announced his refusal to recognize the Vichy government, and instead established a new French government dubbed the Free French in London.

At the end of the campaign, the Germans suffered 156,000 casualties (27,074 killed) while the Allies lost 2,292,000 casualties or capture. The breakdowns were as follows:

France: 90,000 killed, 200,000 wounded, and 1,800,000 captured.

Britain: 68,111 casualties

Belgium: 23,350 casualties

The Netherlands: 9,779 casualties

Poland: 6,092 casualties

The campaign showed the world that warfare was no longer limited to fortresses and trenches. French troops stood guarding the Maginot Line achieved little while German troops bypassed them with speed. At the time of the surrender, some Maginot Line elements were still at decent strength, but surrendered all the same. In little over a month, the German troops had achieved what Germany could not in four years in WW1. Stunningly, while Germany lost 2 million men while unsuccessfully trying to take France in the previous war, this modern German army achieved it with a fraction of the lives lost.

More information within this video includes (to name just a few):

1. Plans preceding Case Yellow and Case Red (Manstein Plan vs Schiefflen Plan)

2. Differences in Tank Tactics between the Allies and the Germans

3. Attempted Allied counter attacks to the German Invasion

4. Erwin Rommel and Heinz Guderian's progress throughout the campaign (5th Panzer Division under Kleist, 7th Panzer Division under Rommel, XIX Army Corps under Guderian)

5. The formation of Vichy French Government under Petain in 1940 and its history up through the German occupation of November 1942.

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