the battle of france (french: bataille de france) (10 may – 25 june 1940), also known as the western campaign (westfeldzug), the french campaign (german: frankreichfeldzug, campagne de france) and the fall of france, was the german invasion of france during the second world war.france and the low countries were conquered, ending land operations on the western front until the normandy landings on 6 june 1944.on 3 september 1939, france declared war on germany following the german invasion of poland.in early september 1939, france began the limited saar offensive but by mid-october had withdrawn to their start lines.german armies invaded belgium, luxembourg, the netherlands, and france on 10 may 1940.in fall gelb ('case yellow'), german armoured units made a surprise push through the ardennes and then along the somme valley, cutting off and surrounding the allied units that had advanced into belgium to meet the german armies there.british, belgian and french forces were pushed back to the sea by the germans; the british and french navies evacuated the encircled elements of the british expeditionary force (bef) and the french and belgian armies from dunkirk in operation dynamo.german forces began fall rot ('case red') on 5 june 1940.the sixty remaining french divisions and the two british divisions in france made a determined stand on the somme and aisne rivers but were defeated by the german combination of air superiority and armoured mobility.german armies outflanked the intact maginot line and pushed deep into france, occupying paris unopposed on 14 june.after the flight of the french government and the collapse of the french army, german commanders met with french officials on 18 june to negotiate an end to hostilities.italy entered the war on the german side on 10 june 1940 and attempted an invasion of france.on 22 june 1940, the second armistice at compiègne was signed by france and germany.the neutral vichy government led by marshal philippe pétain replaced the third republic and german military occupation began along the french north sea and atlantic coasts and their hinterlands.the italian invasion of france over the alps took a small amount of ground and after the armistice, italy occupied a small area in the south-east.the vichy regime retained the zone libre (free zone) in the south.following the allied invasion of french north africa in november 1942, in case anton, the germans and italians took control of the zone until france was liberated by the allies in 1944.the line was intended to economise on manpower and deter a german invasion across the franco–german border by diverting it into belgium, which could then be met by the best divisions of the french army.the war would take place outside french territory, avoiding the destruction of the first world war.the main section of the maginot line ran from the swiss border and ended at longwy; the hills and woods of the ardennes region were thought to cover the area to the north.general philippe pétain declared the ardennes to be 'impenetrable' as long as 'special provisions' were taken to destroy an invasion force as it emerged from the ardennes by a pincer attack.the french commander-in-chief, maurice gamelin also believed the area to be safe from attack, noting it 'never favoured large operations'.french war games, held in 1938, of a hypothetical german armoured attack through the ardennes, left the army with the impression that the region was still largely impenetrable and that this, along with the obstacle of the meuse river, would allow the french time to bring up troops into the area to counter any attack.
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