Western Europe, late 1939 – June 1940
After the rapid fall of Poland, a strange silence fell over Western Europe.
The war had begun, but on the Western Front, armies faced each other across the borders in uneasy stillness.
This period, known as the Phoney War, was a deceptive lull.
The Allies—Britain and France—prepared defenses, mobilized troops, and waited, while Germany regrouped.
Behind the scenes, Adolf Hitler and his generals planned a bold new strategy: the Manstein Plan—a lightning strike through the dense Ardennes Forest, bypassing the heavily fortified Maginot Line.
On May 10, 1940, German forces launched their assault.
Tanks and infantry surged through the Ardennes, catching the Allies off guard.
Within days, German forces encircled and overwhelmed the Belgian, Dutch, and French armies.
The French capital, Paris, was declared an open city to avoid destruction.
By June 14, 1940, German troops marched triumphantly into Paris.
On June 22, France signed an armistice, dividing the nation between Nazi occupation and the puppet regime of Vichy France.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, newly appointed, vowed resistance:
"We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds... we shall never surrender."
The fall of France stunned the world.
The Nazi war machine seemed unstoppable.
Across Europe, hopes for peace faded as the shadow of tyranny spread.