Although the story of the German Fall Gelb offensive against France, Belgium, and Holland in May 1940 is well known, most accounts tend to stop with the conclusion of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk on June 4, 1940. The German operation that actually conquered metropolitan France, Fall Rot (Case Red), is usually glossed over in brief. Nor are many people aware today that there was a second BEF in France, which was also successfully evacuated by sea. The current literature on the Western campaign of 1940 essentially spotlights the German drive to the English Channel and the Dunkirk evacuation then skips ahead to the French armistice, skipping over the military, political, and human drama of France’s collapse in June 1940.
Indeed, some of the most interesting military operations of the 1940 campaign were conducted in June 1940, as the Allies mounted a vigorous counterattack at Abbeville (including the British 1st Armoured Division—the first time that the British Army employed an armored division in combat) and then mounted a tough defense along the Somme River. Unlike the easy breakthrough at Sedan, the Germans had to fight hard to break through the Weygand Line. Churchill decided to send a second BEF to France to support the French, but the Germans finally achieved a decisive breakthrough before it could be effectively deployed. The British were forced to mount a second evacuation from the ports of Le Havre, Cherbourg, Brest, and St. Nazaire, which rescued over 200,000 troops, although the transport RMS Lancastria was sunk by German bombers, with the loss of over 4,000 troops. While France was in its death throes, politicians and soldiers debated what to do—flee to England or North Africa or to seek an armistice.
The drama of the final three weeks of military operations in France in June 1940 has never effectively been captured on paper, but this is a story that needs to be told since it had great impact on the course of World War II and inter-Allied relations. This book will also address the initial German exploitation of France and how the windfall of captured military equipment, fuel and industrial resources enhanced the Third Reich’s ability to attack its next foe—the Soviet Union.
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Robert Forczyk has written numerous books, including Kursk 1943, Tank Warfare on the Eastern Front 1941–1942, and Nez Perce 1877: The Last Fight. He holds a PhD in international relations and national security from the University of Maryland and has a strong background in European and Asian military history. He retired as a lieutenant colonel from the US Army Reserves, having served eighteen years as an armor officer in the 2nd and 4th Infantry Divisions and as an intelligence officer in the 29th Infantry Division (Light).
Michael Page has been recording audiobooks since 1984 and has over two hundred titles to his credit. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. As a professional actor, he has performed regularly since 1998 with the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire. He is a professor of theater at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.