Battle of France - World War II: A History from Beginning to End

That France and Germany were enemies in 1940 was not news to anyone. That Germany was bitter at the terms of its surrender at the end of World War I was hardly a surprise. That another war would follow all too soon was apparent to many. Yet no one could have expected that Germany’s rise to military power under the leadership of Adolf Hitler would have given birth to such an evil regime.

The churning resentment that Hitler and many other Germans felt against its enemies, particularly France, was destined to sow the seeds for vengeance that would see the Nazis storm across the Low Countries in an accelerated quest to destroy the French Army and then to occupy France. To achieve such a victory in only 46 days was an alarming feat; would Hitler’s Third Reich achieve its stated goal of lasting one thousand years as Germany took its place as the master of Europe? The Battle of France was much more than merely a military objective; it was the culmination of a quest for revenge on the part of the Nazis that would imperil the future of democracy all over the world.