Member-only story
Why Did France Surrender So Quickly During WWII?
One of the most baffling losses in military history
In 1940, France’s military was considered by many to be the best in Europe, if not the world. France had spent the decades since the Great War enhancing its military and building up formidable fortresses in its frontier region. Their armies, combined with the British Expeditionary Force, numbered in the millions. The French fielded thousands of tanks, tens of thousands of heavy weapons, and nearly 150 divisions. That is why it was so shocking and demoralizing when France capitulated to a German invasion in just six weeks.
How did one of the world’s largest and most formidable armies capitulate so quickly? How did a battle for a single city, Stalingrad, last four times as long as the battle for all of France? Many people believe that the French gave in too easily in 1940. This misconception has fueled ideas of French military impotence (despite winning both World Wars in the end) and jokes at the French’s expense. The truth is much more complex and nuanced than that. France’s military in 1940 was good, but they were punched in the mouth and could never recover.
