Blitzkrieg and the Fall of France
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Related resources
Aggression and Appeasement
D-Day and the Liberation of Europe
The Battle of Britain
The War Ends
War in the Pacific
Alliances and the Causes of WWI
What students do
- Compare French and German tank numbers to explain why France lost despite fielding more tanks
- Trace the German advance from the Meuse crossing at Sedan on May 13 to the Channel at Abbeville on May 20
- Analyze Ambassador Bullitt's May 15, 1940 telegram describing the "hernia" growing at Sedan
- Explain why the Maginot Line was bypassed through the Ardennes rather than broken
What it covers
- What blitzkrieg actually combined, from massed armor and close air support to radio-coordinated tempo
- Why French planners judged the Ardennes impassable for tanks and left it lightly defended
- How six weeks separated the May 10 invasion from the June 22 armistice at Compiegne
Learning targets
- Explain what blitzkrieg combined: massed armor, air support, radio, and speed.
- Explain why the Maginot Line was bypassed rather than broken in May 1940.
- Trace the German advance from Sedan on May 13 to the English Channel on May 20.
- Analyze an American ambassador's telegram describing the German breakthrough.
- Explain why France lost to tempo and concentration rather than to numbers.
From one teacher to another
Students walk in assuming World War II moved slowly because World War I did, so the speed of the fall of France is usually the first real surprise of the unit. This lesson is built around that shock, and it doesn't let the mechanics of this new way of fighting take a backseat to the outcome. It is the second lesson in my World War II unit, following aggression and appeasement, so students already have the diplomatic failure in hand before they see what the resulting war looked like on the ground.
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