Fall of France. shameful surrender. (125 photos). French capitulation at the beginning of World War II France surrendered to World War II

On the eve of World War II, the French army was considered one of the most powerful in the world. But in a direct clash with Germany in May 1940, the French were enough for a few weeks of resistance.

Useless superiority

By the beginning of World War II, France had the 3rd largest army in the world in terms of the number of tanks and aircraft, second only to the USSR and Germany, as well as the 4th navy after Britain, the USA and Japan. The total number of French troops numbered more than 2 million people.
The superiority of the French army in manpower and equipment over the forces of the Wehrmacht on the Western Front was undeniable. For example, the French Air Force included about 3,300 aircraft, of which half were the latest combat vehicles. The Luftwaffe could only count on 1,186 aircraft.
With the arrival of reinforcements from the British Isles - an expeditionary force in the amount of 9 divisions, as well as air units, including 1,500 combat vehicles - the advantage over the German troops became more than obvious. However, in a matter of months, there was no trace of the former superiority of the allied forces - the well-trained and tactically superior army of the Wehrmacht forced France to capitulate in the end.

The line that didn't defend

The French command assumed that the German army would act as it had during the First World War - that is, it would launch an attack on France from the northeast from Belgium. The entire load in this case was to fall on the defensive redoubts of the Maginot Line, which France began to build in 1929 and improved until 1940.

For the construction of the Maginot Line, which stretches for 400 km, the French spent a fabulous amount - about 3 billion francs (or 1 billion dollars). Massive fortifications included multi-level underground forts with living quarters, ventilation systems and elevators, electrical and telephone stations, hospitals and narrow gauge railways. railways. Gun casemates from air bombs were supposed to be protected by a concrete wall 4 meters thick.

The personnel of the French troops on the Maginot Line reached 300 thousand people.
According to military historians, the Maginot Line, in principle, coped with its task. There were no breakthroughs of German troops on its most fortified sections. But the German army group "B", bypassing the line of fortifications from the north, threw the main forces into its new sectors, which were built on swampy area, and where the construction of underground structures was difficult. There, the French could not hold back the onslaught of the German troops.

Surrender in 10 minutes

On June 17, 1940, the first meeting of the collaborationist government of France, headed by Marshal Henri Petain, took place. It lasted only 10 minutes. During this time, the ministers unanimously voted for the decision to turn to the German command and ask him to end the war on French territory.

For these purposes, the services of an intermediary were used. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, P. Baudouin, through the Spanish Ambassador Lekeric, transmitted a note in which the French government asked Spain to turn to the German leadership with a request to stop hostilities in France, and also to find out the terms of the armistice. At the same time, a proposal for a truce was sent to Italy through the papal nuncio. On the same day, Petain turned on the radio to the people and the army, urging them to "stop the fight."

Last stronghold

At the signing of the armistice (act of surrender) between Germany and France, Hitler was wary of the vast colonies of the latter, many of which were ready to continue resistance. This explains some of the relaxations in the treaty, in particular, the preservation of part of the French navy to maintain "order" in their colonies.

England was also vitally interested in the fate of the French colonies, since the threat of their capture by German forces was highly valued. Churchill hatched plans to create exile government France, which would grant de facto control over the French overseas possessions of Britain.
General Charles de Gaulle, who created a government in opposition to the Vichy regime, directed all his efforts to seizing the colonies.

However, the North African administration turned down an offer to join the " Free France". A completely different mood reigned in the colonies of Equatorial Africa - already in August 1940, Chad, Gabon and Cameroon joined de Gaulle, which created the conditions for the general to form the state apparatus.

Fury of Mussolini

Realizing that the defeat of France from Germany was inevitable, Mussolini on June 10, 1940 declared war on her. The Italian Army Group "West" of Prince Umberto of Savoy, with forces of over 300 thousand people, with the support of 3 thousand guns, launched an offensive in the Alps. However, the opposing army of General Aldry successfully repelled these attacks.

By June 20, the offensive of the Italian divisions became more fierce, but they managed to advance only slightly in the Menton area. Mussolini was furious - his plans to seize a large piece of its territory by the time of France's surrender had failed. The Italian dictator has already begun to prepare an airborne assault, but has not received approval for this operation from the German command.
On June 22, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, and two days later a similar agreement was signed between France and Italy. So, with a "victorious embarrassment" Italy entered the Second world war.

Victims

During the active phase of the war, which lasted from May 10 to June 21, 1940, the French army lost about 300 thousand people killed and wounded. Half a million were taken prisoner. The tank corps and the French Air Force were partially destroyed, the other part went to the German armed forces. At the same time, Britain will liquidate the French fleet in order to avoid it falling into the hands of the Wehrmacht.

Despite the fact that the capture of France took place in a short time, its armed forces gave a worthy rebuff to the German and Italian troops. For a month and a half of the war, the Wehrmacht lost more than 45 thousand people killed and missing, about 11 thousand were wounded.
The French sacrifices of German aggression could not have been in vain if the French government had made a number of concessions put forward by Britain in exchange for the entry of the royal armed forces into the war. But France chose to capitulate.

Paris - a place of convergence

According to the armistice agreement, Germany occupied only the western coast of France and the northern regions of the country, where Paris was located. The capital was a kind of place of "French-German" rapprochement. Here, German soldiers and Parisians coexisted peacefully: they went to the cinema together, visited museums, or simply sat in a cafe. After the occupation, theaters also revived - their box office receipts tripled compared to pre-war years.

Paris very quickly became the cultural center of occupied Europe. France lived as before, as if there were no months of desperate resistance and unfulfilled hopes. German propaganda managed to convince many French people that capitulation is not a disgrace to the country, but a road to the “bright future” of a renewed Europe.

On the eve of World War II, the French army was considered one of the most powerful in the world. But in a direct clash with Germany in May 1940, the French were enough for a few weeks of resistance.

Useless superiority

By the beginning of World War II, France had the 3rd largest army in the world in terms of the number of tanks and aircraft, second only to the USSR and Germany, as well as the 4th navy after Britain, the USA and Japan. The total number of French troops numbered more than 2 million people.
The superiority of the French army in manpower and equipment over the forces of the Wehrmacht on the Western Front was undeniable. For example, the French Air Force included about 3,300 aircraft, of which half were the latest combat vehicles. The Luftwaffe could only count on 1,186 aircraft.
With the arrival of reinforcements from the British Isles - an expeditionary force in the amount of 9 divisions, as well as air units, including 1,500 combat vehicles - the advantage over the German troops became more than obvious. However, in a matter of months, there was no trace of the former superiority of the allied forces - the well-trained and tactically superior army of the Wehrmacht forced France to capitulate in the end.

The line that didn't defend

The French command assumed that the German army would act as it had during the First World War - that is, it would launch an attack on France from the northeast from Belgium. The entire load in this case was to fall on the defensive redoubts of the Maginot Line, which France began to build in 1929 and improved until 1940.

For the construction of the Maginot Line, which stretches for 400 km, the French spent a fabulous amount - about 3 billion francs (or 1 billion dollars). Massive fortifications included multi-level underground forts with living quarters, ventilation systems and elevators, electrical and telephone stations, hospitals and narrow gauge railways. Gun casemates from air bombs were supposed to be protected by a concrete wall 4 meters thick.

The personnel of the French troops on the Maginot Line reached 300 thousand people.
According to military historians, the Maginot Line, in principle, coped with its task. There were no breakthroughs of German troops on its most fortified sections. But the German army group "B", having bypassed the line of fortifications from the north, threw the main forces into its new sections, which were built on swampy terrain, and where the construction of underground structures was difficult. There, the French could not hold back the onslaught of the German troops.

Surrender in 10 minutes

On June 17, 1940, the first meeting of the collaborationist government of France, headed by Marshal Henri Petain, took place. It lasted only 10 minutes. During this time, the ministers unanimously voted for the decision to turn to the German command and ask him to end the war on French territory.

For these purposes, the services of an intermediary were used. The new Minister of Foreign Affairs, P. Baudouin, through the Spanish Ambassador Lekeric, transmitted a note in which the French government asked Spain to turn to the German leadership with a request to stop hostilities in France, and also to find out the terms of the armistice. At the same time, a proposal for a truce was sent to Italy through the papal nuncio. On the same day, Petain turned on the radio to the people and the army, urging them to "stop the fight."

Last stronghold

At the signing of the armistice (act of surrender) between Germany and France, Hitler was wary of the vast colonies of the latter, many of which were ready to continue resistance. This explains some of the relaxations in the treaty, in particular, the preservation of part of the French navy to maintain "order" in their colonies.

England was also vitally interested in the fate of the French colonies, since the threat of their capture by German forces was highly valued. Churchill hatched plans for a French government in exile that would grant de facto control of Britain's French overseas possessions.
General Charles de Gaulle, who created a government in opposition to the Vichy regime, directed all his efforts to seizing the colonies.

However, the North African administration turned down an offer to join the Free French. A completely different mood reigned in the colonies of Equatorial Africa - already in August 1940, Chad, Gabon and Cameroon joined de Gaulle, which created the conditions for the general to form the state apparatus.

Fury of Mussolini

Realizing that the defeat of France from Germany was inevitable, Mussolini on June 10, 1940 declared war on her. The Italian Army Group "West" of Prince Umberto of Savoy, with forces of over 300 thousand people, with the support of 3 thousand guns, launched an offensive in the Alps. However, the opposing army of General Aldry successfully repelled these attacks.

By June 20, the offensive of the Italian divisions became more fierce, but they managed to advance only slightly in the Menton area. Mussolini was furious - his plans to seize a large piece of its territory by the time of France's surrender had failed. The Italian dictator has already begun to prepare an airborne assault, but has not received approval for this operation from the German command.
On June 22, an armistice was signed between France and Germany, and two days later a similar agreement was signed between France and Italy. So, with a "victorious embarrassment" Italy entered the Second World War.

Victims

During the active phase of the war, which lasted from May 10 to June 21, 1940, the French army lost about 300 thousand people killed and wounded. Half a million were taken prisoner. The tank corps and the French Air Force were partially destroyed, the other part went to the German armed forces. At the same time, Britain will liquidate the French fleet in order to avoid it falling into the hands of the Wehrmacht.

Despite the fact that the capture of France took place in a short time, its armed forces gave a worthy rebuff to the German and Italian troops. For a month and a half of the war, the Wehrmacht lost more than 45 thousand people killed and missing, about 11 thousand were wounded.
The French sacrifices of German aggression could not have been in vain if the French government had made a number of concessions put forward by Britain in exchange for the entry of the royal armed forces into the war. But France chose to capitulate.

Paris - a place of convergence

According to the armistice agreement, Germany occupied only the western coast of France and the northern regions of the country, where Paris was located. The capital was a kind of place of "French-German" rapprochement. Here, German soldiers and Parisians coexisted peacefully: they went to the cinema together, visited museums, or simply sat in a cafe. After the occupation, theaters also revived - their box office receipts tripled compared to pre-war years.

Paris very quickly became the cultural center of occupied Europe. France lived as before, as if there were no months of desperate resistance and unfulfilled hopes. German propaganda managed to convince many French people that capitulation is not a disgrace to the country, but a road to the “bright future” of a renewed Europe.

September 1, 1939 Hitler ordered his troops to invade Poland. On the same day, the Reichstag passed a law on the accession of Danzig to Germany. By virtue of their obligations to Poland, France and Great Britain on September 3, after two ultimatums, declared war on Germany. Gradually, an increasing number of first European and then non-European countries were involved in hostilities. The second world war began.

In the Polish campaign, the armed forces of Nazi Germany (Wehrmacht) for the first time tested a new tactic of offensive combat operations - " blitzkrieg". It was based on plans for a sudden, swift attack with close cooperation of all branches of the armed forces, intensified bombardment of cities and communications in the very first days of the war, the widespread use of sabotage groups and landing units behind enemy lines, and concentrated tank strikes. The goal of the operation was not the systematic "squeezing out" of the enemy, but the breakthrough of the front and the rapid development of a strategic offensive by mobile formations. A sufficiently strong Polish army, traditionally concentrated along the border for positional combat operations, could not resist such tactics.

Already in the first days of the war, the German units broke through the Polish defenses. To September 7 advanced tank formations approached the outskirts of Warsaw. However, in their rear, the resistance of the Polish units still continued. Many of them managed to break out of the encirclement and reinforce the grouping of troops concentrated near Warsaw. In this situation, the German command changed the original plan of the campaign and delivered a rounding blow from the north and south in the direction of Brest-Litovsk with the forces of two army groups. To September 17 the ring is closed. It was rather symbolic, but on the same day units of the Soviet Army entered the territory of Poland from the east. The government of the USSR declared its determination "to render assistance to the fraternal peoples Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. In fact, the USSR followed the terms of the secret protocols of 1939, according to which these territories were included in its sphere of influence. Parts of the Wehrmacht cleared "Soviet territory" and a joint military parade of the two armies was held in Brest-Litovsk, symbolizing the formation of a new state border USSR and Germany. The last pockets of Polish resistance were soon crushed. September 28 The signing of the Soviet-German treaty of friendship and borders took place, according to which the Polish statehood was liquidated, and the responsibility for unleashing the war was assigned to Great Britain and France.

November 30, 1939., taking advantage of the border incident on the Karelian Isthmus, Soviet troops invaded Finland. This war was caused by the desire to strengthen the geopolitical positions of the USSR in the region and create security guarantees for Leningrad. The Finnish government refused to engage in political dialogue on these issues and hoped to use the German-Soviet contradictions to its advantage. The unexpected rapprochement between the USSR and Germany left Finland face to face with a powerful enemy. " winter war ", which lasted until March 12, 1940 demonstrated the low combat capability of the Soviet Army, and especially low level training of command personnel, weakened by Stalin's repressions. Only due to large human casualties and a clear superiority in strength, the resistance of the Finnish army was broken. Under the terms of the peace treaty, the territory of the USSR included the entire Karelian Isthmus, the northwestern coast of Lake Ladoga, and a number of islands in the Gulf of Finland. The war significantly worsened relations between the USSR and Western countries - Great Britain and France, which planned to intervene in the conflict on the side of Finland.

In those months when the Polish campaign and the Soviet-Finnish war took place, amazing calm reigned on the Western Front. French journalists called this period " strange war". The obvious unwillingness of Western government and military circles to aggravate the conflict with Germany was explained by a number of reasons. The command of the British and French armies continued to focus on the strategy of positional warfare and hoped for the effectiveness of the Maginot defensive line covering the eastern borders of France. The memory of the colossal losses of the First World War also forced one to exercise extreme caution. Finally, many politicians in these countries counted on the localization of the outbreak of war in Eastern Europe, on Germany's readiness to be satisfied with the first victories. The illusory nature of such a position was shown in the very near future.

Capitulation of France. May 10, 1940 The offensive of German troops on the Western Front began. To avoid a direct attack on the strong fortifications of the Maginot Line, a strike through the territories of Belgium and the Netherlands was supposed - a copy of the offensive operation of the First World War. Taking into account this possibility, an Anglo-French language was also developed. strategic plan. It provided for the concentration of troops on the northern border of France with their subsequent advance to the territory of Belgium. The first days of the German offensive, it would seem, confirmed the correctness of this calculation. The Dutch and Belgian divisions rolled back under the blows of the German troops. After the massive bombing of Rotterdam, the Queen and the government of the Netherlands left the country, and the army capitulated. However, British and French formations were already occupying defensive positions along the Meuse-Antwerp line, ready to contain the enemy.

Events took an unexpected turn on the night of May 14. The most powerful tank grouping of German troops struck in the area of ​​​​the mountain range Ardennes on the border of Luxembourg and Belgium. At the tip was an army group under the command of the best tank commanders of the Reich - Kleist, Guderian, Rommel, Goth. It consisted of more than 1200 tanks. This wedge tore through the ill-prepared Allied defenses at Sedan in a matter of hours. To May 18 the Germans broke through to the Somme and began to turn to the north, squeezing the 350,000th group of Anglo-French troops into a ring. Not wanting to risk accepting a war of maneuver, the British command insisted on concentrating these units in the Dunkirk area for evacuation to the British Isles. But this operation was also under threat - to May 24 the Germans have already reached Boulogne and Calais. At this moment, Hitler's unexpected order to stop the offensive followed. The real reasons for it can only be guessed at. Perhaps the desire to save shock tank units and achieve success with the help of aviation played a role; perhaps Hitler still hoped for a compromise exit from the war by England. One way or another, but a few days of delay allowed the Allies to organize the evacuation of most of the encircled formations. The forces for the defense of the mother country were saved, but France was left to its fate.

The second stage of the battles for France began on June 5. The French army managed to temporarily stabilize the front along Somme, Maasou and lines Maginot. However, their 65 divisions were opposed by 124 German. Belgian troops capitulated on May 28, and Italy entered the war on June 10. Confusion and lack of will reigned in French government circles. The high command was unable to organize active resistance. Within a few days, from June 5 to June 15, German troops carried out three offensive operations, breaking the defensive orders of the enemy. June 10th the French government moved from Paris to the city of Vichy, and June 14 The Germans entered the capital without a fight. The line under the military campaign in France was summed up by a breakthrough on the same day of the Maginot line south of Strasbourg, as a result of which more than 400 thousand French soldiers were surrounded. The French government was headed by Marshal Paten- a supporter of not only reconciliation, but also a close military-political rapprochement with Germany. June, 22 in Compiègne forest, in the trailer of Marshal Foch, preserved as a museum (where the armistice was signed in 1918), an agreement was signed according to which 2/3 of French territory was subject to occupation. France was obliged to pay huge sums and provide for the economic needs of the Reich, and the French army was deprived of heavy weapons and was significantly reduced.

Italy's entry into the war. announcing June 10, 1940. war with France, Italy entered World War II. Since the Franco-Italian truce was signed two weeks later, Italy unleashed hostilities in Africa. From the territory of Italian Somalia, the invasion of British Somalia, Kenya and Sudan began, and from the territory of Libya - to Egypt. However, the British counteroffensive in December 1940 drove the Italians out of Egypt, and in the spring of 1941 cleared East Africa of the Italians. In October 1940, Italy attacked Greece. Another Italo-German offensive in North Africa in the fall of 1942, it also ended in defeat from the Anglo-American troops in May 1943. Italy also failed to participate in the war against the USSR.

The second Compiègne truce is an armistice concluded on June 22, 1940 in the Compiègne forest between Nazi Germany and France and completed the successful campaign of German troops in France. The result of the armistice was the division of France into an occupation zone of German troops and a puppet state ruled by the Vichy regime. Hitler deliberately insisted that a truce be concluded in the Compiegne Forest, since the 1918 Compiegne Armistice of 1918 between Germany and the troops of the Entente countries was signed there, which provided for the end of hostilities of the First World War on unfavorable terms for Germany.

German troops On May 10, 1940, they launched an invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands and France, and within a month they defeated the French troops and the British expeditionary units located on the continent. On June 10, Paris was occupied, and the French government moved to Bordeaux. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud refused to negotiate peace and resigned on June 16, replaced by World War I hero Marshal of France Henri Philippe Pétain. He immediately entered into negotiations with Hitler.

Hitler chose the Compiègne forest, a place near the town of Compiègne in the department of Oise, as the place for the signing of the armistice. This was meant to symbolize a historic revenge on France, as the Compiègne Forest was the site of the signing of the humiliating truce between Germany and the Entente in 1918, which ended operations on the Western Front of World War I and marked the beginning of the end of the German Empire. Hitler made the decision on the place of signing the armistice on May 20, when it was far from the end of the fighting.

Especially for this occasion, the same railway carriage of Marshal Foch, in which the signing of the agreement took place in 1918, was delivered from the museum to the place of signing. Negotiations began on the afternoon of June 21. Hitler, who arrived in Compiègne along with several top military and civilian officials of the Reich, defiantly left the ceremony after the announcement of the preamble of the armistice text. From the German side, the Chief of Staff of the Supreme High Command, Wilhelm Keitel, remained at the head of the delegation, from the French side, General Charles Hüntziger. Initially, Huntziger did not have the authority to sign an armistice, but communication was established from the place of negotiations with the government in Bordeaux.

Keitel stated from the very beginning that the text drawn up by the German leadership would not be changed. During the negotiations, the French delegation and General Maxime Weygand, who on behalf of the government maintained contact from Bordeaux, objected to certain conditions. On the evening of June 22, at 18:30, Keitel demanded within an hour to sign or reject the text of the armistice, at 18:50 Huntziger signed.

On June 21, the French delegation was admitted to the same car in which the 1918 armistice agreement was signed and where Hitler and the highest dignitaries of the "Third Reich" were waiting for her. After reading the pream
the armistice act, Hitler raised his hand in farewell and left the car, after which Keitel handed the French the text of the agreement, which, as he said, could not be changed.
The French delegation retired to the tent to study the document. The head of the French delegation, Gen.

French commissioners for the signing of the armistice in Compiègne. Photo. June 22, 1940

Ral Huntziger was allowed to call General Weygand in Bordeaux. Hüntziger informed him that the document they had received did not contain any peace terms and that the German delegation had refused to discuss the matter for the time being. He was simply handed the text of the armistice agreement, consisting of 24 points that are not subject to change.
The next day, as a result of negotiations, an agreement was reached that the ships of the French navy could be based in overseas ports. The Germans made a number of other minor concessions, after which Keitel gave the French an ultimatum. They were given one hour to decide on
the signing of an armistice, otherwise negotiations will be interrupted and the French delegation will be expelled behind the front line. Eight minutes after the ultimatum was delivered, the head of the French delegation signed the act of armistice, having previously received an order to this effect by telephone from Weygand. However, the act came into force only after it was signed by Italy, which took another two days. Formally, hostilities ceased on 24 June.
Why did Hitler refuse to make his peace terms public? Otto Meissner, head of the Reich Chancellery, explains: “In 1940, Hitler often said that he did not enter into an agreement with France because he wanted to see what England would have done after France had withdrawn from the war. An agreement with France would only complicate the conclusion of a peace agreement with England, making Anglo-German relations more difficult."
Later, at the trial in Nuremberg, Admiral Raeder said: "The Fuhrer wanted to reserve any opportunity to demand more or less large indemnity from France, depending on what he could get from England" ... Moreover, General Halder on September 23 1940, he wrote in his diary: "Hitler will never give up the idea of ​​making not England, but France pay for this war."
What would be his requirements? Otto Abetz (Nazi agent in France) reveals them: “At the time of the armistice, Hitler was considering an elaborate plan for the partition of France, which included: the inclusion of the northern departments in the future France, autonomy for Brittany, the transfer of the border from the Rhine far beyond the border of 1871 and the inclusion of Burgundy to the borders of Germany.
Although Hitler wanted to conclude an armistice with France, it is obvious that at that moment he could not make such demands. Then Goebbels wrote in his diary: "We must keep the French in our hands and in the meantime pump out everything that is possible from France."
On June 25, the truce went into effect. Petain announced on French radio: “Honor saved! Now we must turn our efforts to the future. Begins new order!»...
Later, Petain spoke of the "national revolution" and the "rebirth of France" - as if all this
lo perhaps in the midst of a world war in a country two-thirds of which is occupied by the enemy; being in Vichy, only 40 kilometers from the German tank forces; in the country, the republican system which was abolished, and the parliament was dissolved. Petain's efforts to conclude a truce only led to his seizure of power to establish a "new order". (Gutar A. Fall of France. From Munich to Tokyo Bay. SPb., M., 1992)
France was divided into two zones: occupied and unoccupied. The armed forces, with the exception of the troops necessary to maintain order in the non-occupied territory, were subject to disarmament and demobilization.
The assistant minister of war, General Charles de Gaulle, declared his disagreement with the capitulation policy of the government and left for England. On June 18, he addressed on English radio with an appeal to all French soldiers and officers who were in British territories to join the organization of "free French" he was creating.
France agreed to extradite all political emigrants to Germany and return prisoners of war.