Western Front
1940: The French campaign
May – June 1940 · 6 battles
On 10 May 1940 Germany ended the “Phoney War” with an attack on the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. While the best Allied armies moved into Belgium, German panzer divisions passed through the Ardennes, broke the front at Sedan and in ten days reached the Channel, cutting off the British, French and Belgian forces in the north. The Netherlands capitulated after five days, Belgium after eighteen, and more than three hundred thousand soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk. In June France, regarded as the foremost land power in Europe, lost the war in six weeks, which changed the balance of power in Europe and left Britain alone against Germany.
- 10–28 May 1940Belgian CampaignFrom 10 to 28 May 1940 Belgium fought the Wehrmacht alongside the French and British. After 18 days of fighting, cut off against the sea, it capitulated.
- 10 May – 25 June 1940Key battleBattle of FranceFrom 10 May to 25 June 1940 Germany beat the Netherlands, Belgium and France, cutting through the Ardennes to the sea. France signed an armistice on 22 June.
- 10–17 May 1940Dutch CampaignFrom 10 to 17 May 1940 Germany conquered the Netherlands. The airborne assault on The Hague failed, but after Rotterdam was bombed the Dutch army surrendered.
- 12–15 May 1940Key battleBattle of Sedan (1940)On 12–15 May 1940 Guderian’s panzer corps forced the Meuse at Sedan after hours of Luftwaffe bombing, repelled counter-attacks and tore open the French front.
- 26 May – 4 June 1940Key battleBattle of DunkirkFrom 26 May to 4 June 1940 the Allies held a perimeter around Dunkirk while a fleet of over 800 vessels evacuated 338,000 troops to England.
- 10–25 June 1940Italian invasion of FranceItaly declared war on France on 10 June 1940. Its Alpine offensive of 21–24 June stalled before the French forts, taking only Menton and scraps of mountain.