Nazi Control Of Europe Map5/9/2021
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.This photo came from a camera found on German parachute troops who were taken prisoner.
![]() In the spring of 1940, an emboldened Germany asserted itself as a modern conqueror of nations, successfully invading and occupying six countries in fewer than 100 days. On April 9, 1940, Germany invaded Denmark, which capitulated in a mere six hours. At the same time, Nazi warships and troops were entering Norwegian waters, attacking ships, landing troops, and starting a conflict that would last for two months. Other key paradrops netted strategic bridges and villages that would allow passage of German armor. Paratroopers also landed in Rotterdam and The Hague under complete surprise. ![]() The French reserve divisions barely slowed the German thrust, and by 15 May the Germans had a large bridgehead across the river. A day later the German spearhead was through the French defences and far behind the Allied front line. The German tanks reached the coast at the mouth of the Somme River on 20 September, cutting the British and French armies off from their supplies. Sporadic attempts to re-establish contact with the rest of the French Army failed, leaving evacuation the only alternative. Between 27 May and 4 June the Royal Navy evacuated 200,000 British troops and 140,000 Belgian and French troops from Dunkirk, leaving 30,000 French behind holding the beachhead to the end. Several battles between German and Norwegian forces took place in the Ofotfjord in the spring of 1940. The government of France formally surrendered three days later in the same railroad car at Compigne that Germany had surrendered in at the conclusion of WW1 in 1918. The French attempted to drag out the surrender negotiations by trying for more favorable terms, and they tried the patience of German leaders. Finally, at 5pm that day, Keitel communicated an ultimatum that the French must surrender by 6pm, otherwise he would give the order to continue the attack on the rest of France. I had a feeling that this was our hour of revenge for Versailles, and I was conscious of my pride in the conclusion of a unique and victorious campaign, and of a resolve to respect the feelings of those who had been honorably vanquished in battle, said Keitel. France was divided into a German occupation zone in the north and the German-sponsored Vichy government in the south. At the end of the campaign, the Germans suffered 156,000 casualties (27,074 killed) while the Allies lost 2,292,000 casualties or capture. French troops stood guarding the Maginot Line achieved little while German troops bypassed them with speed. At the time of the surrender, some Maginot Line elements were still at decent strength, but surrendered all the same. In little over a month, the German troops had achieved what Germany could not in four years in WW1. Stunningly, while Germany lost 2 million men while unsuccessfully trying to take France in the previous war, this modern German army achieved it with a fraction of the lives lost. A tank is hitched to a plow to help with the spring tilling of the soil on March 27, 1940. The shell will be fired into the Nazi-occupied sector of the soldiers homeland.
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