First part of a two part article on The French in World war II
The French were our allies in the first world war and in the second. Prior to the start of hostilities in the second world war we signed a joint pact with the French that neither would agree to an armistice with the Germans without mutual consent. At the start of the war the French and the British forces outnumbered the Germans in men and tanks and their generals were confident that they could contain any attack by the Germans, complacent even. The truth is, however, that they were mostly old men still living in the times of the first world war. The French General Gamelin was overall commander of the allied forces, he was confident that the defensive Maginot Line would contain a frontal attack. According to General De Gaulle, Gamelin had no radio or telephone communications with his forces from his HQ and relied on driving round to the different sectors, thinking that 48 hours was an adequately quick response to a changing situation. Although, with the British, he had more tanks at his disposal than the Germans they were inferior tanks and he had chosen to distribute them amongst his infantry. He had more artillery than the Germans but the French relied entirely on horses to move their guns. Once the Germans launched their blitzkreig attack in April 1940, using massed panzers to attack the forces through the lowlands to the north, the inadequacies of the allies’ strategy and equipment became apparent and the outcome was inevitable. General Gamelin was sacked and replaced by 74 year old General Weygand, who was equally incompetent. The French president, Reynaud, resigned and they called on 86 year old Field Marshall Petain.
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