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Battle of France
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Nazi leaders in Paris Vichy: Battle of France
How the halt command saved British troops in Dunkirk
Gamelin, Maurice Maginot Line France, Battle of Winston Churchill Battle of France
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Schlieffen Plan of 1905
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Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.
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U.S. marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945
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Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.
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Battle of France: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Date May 10, 1940 - June 25, 1940
Location Limburg • Low Countries • Moselle River • Paris • Rhine River
Participants Belgium • France • Germany • Netherlands • United Kingdom
Context Maginot Line • Phony War • World War II

Photos and Videos

Nazi leaders in Paris
Vichy: Battle of France
Gamelin, Maurice
Maginot Line
France, Battle of
Winston Churchill
Battle of France
Schlieffen Plan of 1905
Manstein, Erich von
Rotterdam, Netherlands; France, Battle of
How the halt command saved British troops in Dunkirk
Listen to Winston Churchill delivering his first speech as prime inister in 1940
Learn how Nazi panzers wedged between French and British troops and trapped the latter at Dunkirk
See All Videos, Images and Audio →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Timeline

Samuel Bak: Smoke
Holocaust
1933 - 1945
Learn how the Third Reich utilized U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic to destroy Allied supply convoys
Battle of the Atlantic
September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945
Nazi leaders in Paris
Battle of France
May 10, 1940 - June 25, 1940
Dunkirk evacuation
Dunkirk evacuation
May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940
North Africa campaigns of World War II
North Africa campaigns
June 1940 - May 13, 1943
the Blitz
Battle of Britain
July 1940 - September 1940
German bombing of London during the Blitz
the Blitz
September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941
German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
June 22, 1941
Pearl Harbor attack
Pearl Harbor attack
December 7, 1941
Wake Island
Battle of Wake Island
December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941
U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943
Pacific War
December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
April 9, 1942
Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid
April 18, 1942
Battle of Midway
Battle of Midway
June 3, 1942 - June 6, 1942
eastern New Guinea, from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, c. 1902
Kokoda Track Campaign
July 1942 - January 1943
Battle of Guadalcanal
Battle of Guadalcanal
August 1942 - February 1943
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943
Allied invasion of Sicily
Allied invasion of Sicily
July 9, 1943 - August 17, 1943
Italian Campaign, World War II
Italian Campaign
July 9, 1943 - May 2, 1945
Battle of Anzio
Battle of Anzio
January 22, 1944 - June 5, 1944
Normandy Invasion
Normandy Invasion
June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Cowra breakout
August 5, 1944
Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
October 23, 1944 - October 26, 1944
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945
U.S. Marines on Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
April 1, 1945 - June 21, 1945
Battle for Castle Itter
May 5, 1945
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945

Key People

Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
president of France
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
German field marshal
Kesselring
Albert Kesselring
German field marshal
Gerd von Rundstedt.
Gerd von Rundstedt
German field marshal
Heinz Guderian
Heinz Guderian
German general
Manstein, Erich von
Erich von Manstein
German general
Maxime Weygand
French general
Bock, Fedor von
Fedor von Bock
German military officer
Kleist, Paul Ludwig von
Paul Ludwig von Kleist
German general
Gamelin, Maurice
Maurice Gamelin
French officer
Reichenau, Walther von
Walther von Reichenau
German general
Brauchitsch, Walther von
Walther von Brauchitsch
German military officer
Henri Gerard Winkelman
Dutch military officer

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
U.S. marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945
World War II Quiz
Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
World Wars
Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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D-Day. American soldiers fire rifles, throw grenades and wade ashore on Omaha Beach next to a German bunker during D Day landing. 1 of 5 Allied beachheads est. in Normandy, France. The Normandy Invasion of World War II launched June 6, 1944.
A History of War
Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.
Pop Quiz: 17 Things to Know About World War II