- Battle Name: Battle of France
- Battle Start Date: May 10th, 1940
- Battle End Date: June 25th, 1940
- Battle Belligerents: France and the Allies, Nazi Germany and Italy
- Battle Winner: Nazi Germany and Italy
- Total Casualties: 400,000+
27 Battle of France Facts for Kids
- The Battle of France, also called the Fall of France, was a military campaign on the Western Front during World War 2.
- The Battle of France was fought between the Allied and Axis armies.
- The main belligerents for the Allies were France, Belgium and the United Kingdom.
- The main belligerents for the Axis were Nazi Germany and Italy.
- The Battle of France was fought between May 10th, 1940 and June 25th, 1940.
- The Battle of France only lasted 46 days.
- The Battle of France was won by Nazi Germany.
- Nazi Germany’s victory allowed them to occupy France, push the British army back to the United Kingdom and paved the wave for a potential invasion of Britain.
- Nazi Germany’s victory was a huge defeat for the Allies and consolidated their occupation of Europe.
- The Battle of France resulted in over 400,000 casualties, over 160,000 for the Axis and over 300,000 for the Allies.
- The Axis started the Battle of France with over 3.6 million troops.
- The Axis lost 1,236 aircraft and around 800 tanks during the Battle of France.
- The Allies started the Battle of France with over 3.4 million troops
- The Allies lost 2,233 aircraft and over 2,300 tanks during the Battle of France.
- The German air force known as the Luftwaffe had air superiority in the Battle of France. At the time, they were the most well-trained and experienced air force in the world.
- Germany began the first phase of the Battle of France, known as Fall Gelb or Case Yellow, with the objective to cut off and push back the Allied forces back to the sea.
- The Fall Gelb was a major blow to the Allies in the Battle of France, and they were forced to evacuate from Dunkirk.
- Operation Dynamo was a plan by the British to evacuate Allied troops from Dunkirk, France and keep them from being captured or killed by the Germans.
- Between May 26th and June 4th, 1940, the British were able to evacuate 338,000 Allied troops from Dunkirk.
- The Siege of Lille, also referred to as Lille Pocket began on May 28th and ended on May 31st, 1940. For three days the French First Army defended Lille, which made it possible for an estimated 100,000 extra soldiers to be evacuated.
- Following the Siege of Lille, the second phase of Germany’s plans in the Battle of France had begun with the Fall Rot, or Case Red. This operation was made capable due to Fall Gelb’s success.
- Fall Rot began on June 5th, 1940, with German Army Group B assault on Paris. Though French artillery was fierce the German Army was able to break the French’s defenses in three days.
- The Allied armies were surrounded and lost the Maginot line to the Germans under Operation Tiger. The Maginot line had successfully defended them against the Germans in World War I.
- The capture of the Maginot line was made capable due to the advancement through the Ardennes.
- The French signed an armistice with Germany on June 22nd, 1940 at 18:36 French time.
- The Germany’s made the French sign the armistice at the Forest of Compiègne, the same location where Germany was forced to sign the 1918 Armistice that ended World War 1.
- The fall of France to the German’s were some of the darkest days during World War 2.
Battle of France Pictures
A picture of German soliders crossing the Meuse River.Credit: German Federal Archive
A picture of British soliders escaping at Dunkirk, France.Credit: United States Government
A picture of Calais, France destroyed by German bombings.Credit: German Federal Archive
A picture of German Major General Rommel in France.Credit: German Federal Archive
A picture of C. Huntzinger surrending France to Germany.Credit: German Federal Archive
A picture of Adolf Hitler inspecting his troops in France.Credit: German Federal Archive
Find More Facts About the Battle of France
- A Timeline of the Battle of France – Discover what happened and when it happened during the Battle of France on the World History Project website.
- The History of the Battle of France – Read about the Battle of France and its history on the BBC website.
- Pictures of the Battle of France – View some unforgettable pictures of what happened at the Battle of France on the WW2DB website.
- Battle of France – Wikipedia – Learn more about the Battle of France during WW2 on the Wikipedia website.