History of War Summary 11 - World War II Part 2: The Fall of France and German Control of Western Europe

In the spring of 1940, Germany launched a large-scale offensive into Western Europe. German forces attacked the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in succession, breaking through the Allied defense lines. France and Britain had anticipated the main German thrust through Belgium, but the German army instead advanced rapidly through the Ardennes Forest into northern France. German tank divisions broke through the Allied defenses and reached the English Channel, isolating British and French forces. The British conducted a massive evacuation operation from Dunkirk, moving approximately 330,000 troops back to Britain. France continued to resist but could not stop the German advance. Paris fell in June, and the French government signed an armistice with Germany. Northern and western France were occupied by German forces, while the Vichy regime was established in the south. Germany had seized control of key areas in Western Europe, leaving Britain as the only major European nation still opposing Germany.