Battles were fought at Dinant, Sedan, Amiens & Abbeville, France during May 1940.
Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections.com
I feel that the one and only answer already given to this question is not good enough.The French army fought in 1940 but was badly led and the French politicians were either stupid or dishonest or both.The French lost a lot of men in 1940.Many went to Germany as prisoners of war.Some people feld to Britain and fomred the free french and lots of french forces were outside France anyway in the french empire in Africa and Asia.In France the Vichy govt under Petain fought against the french who did not want to help the Germans.DE GAULLE after a struggle for their hearts and minds won the majority of french people outside France round to the idea of a new France fighting alongside the allies.Britain and later when thy joined the war America helped the french and French troops fought in Italy in 1943 and in North Africa,at Bir Hakeim (a Paris metro station is named after this battle.)Another metro station is called JACQUE BONSARJENT after a french man who refused to be pushed off the pavement by a German soldier,he was executed).French naval and air units fought Germany from Britain and French units landed on D day with the rest of the allies.French troop numbers were small at first but they fought weel because they wanted to prove that it was not just Americans and British who had liberated Europe.The French helped occupy Germany in 1945.
Other than the initial fighting with Germany, I don't recall any historical record of significant actions taken by organized French military units. There were some small engagements, part of the French Navy defected to England, and there was the noteworthy bravery of the Resistance.
Although Eisenhower ordered Patton to allow DeGaul to enter Paris as the liberator, France had little impact in the winning of WWII.
"There were some small engagements, part of the French Navy defected to England, and there was the noteworthy bravery of the Resistance."
Kind of wrong. France was one of the most important armies in the Italian Campaign, and French troops were the first to crack the Gustav Line, allowing Polish troops to take Monte Cassino and the Americans to liberate Rome.
Furthermore, although the French troops were not so important in the liberation of Northern France (the only significant contribution being the French 2nd Armored Division under the 3rd U.S. Army), the French First Army under General de Lattre de Tassigny was half of the entire force that liberated all of Southern France (Operation Dragoon being the "other" D-Day that popular media and Hollywood don't talk about). The French First Army would continue to fight and penetrate deep into German territory by the end of the war.
We can say that the French were "unimportant" in winning the war as a whole, but then again we can say that of any Ally aside from the Big Three. But imagine if the French and all the other underdogs of the war were not a part of the fighting; how many more American, British, and Soviet lives would have been lost?
Oh, and just to add, there were about 1,250,000 French soldiers fighting the Axis by the end of the war. That's about the same number of troops as the American military has today.
250,000 French Allied soldiers died in WW2. 400,000 American Allied soldiers died in WW2. Seems like a big difference until one realizes that at the time period, France only had 17% the amount of people the United States did.
France's role in the war is seriously underplayed. The situation is even worse because the media and particularly dim people enjoy ridiculing and making fun of France, falsely stating things like France never fought. As if WW2 was a joke.
to help! XD
Germany invaded France during World War II.
France was on the Allies side during the second world war. However, Germany invaded France early in the war.
France.
Isolationists and America Firsters
Increased involvement in the war
the cause
1941
There was none....
they were a allie.
invasion of ethiopia, invasion of greece, incursions into north africa, declaration of war agains france
The involvement of Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Russia/USSR, and the United States. Also, Europe was the main theater of war in both conflicts.
How_did_the_us_involvment_in_World_War_2_escolate
Victory.
1945
Supplying Allies with weapons
The Japanesse surrender.