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France in WW2
The French participation in World War 2, in both the European and Pacific theaters of the war. Questions regarding the Vichy government are also welcome here.
3,918 Questions
Code name for Allied invasion of France?
The code name for the invasion of France was Operation Overlord. This was used for the Battle of Normandy during World War 2.
Jacques Cartier's voyage and how long did it last?
On April 20, 1534, Jacques Cartier set sail from St. Malo in Brittany with 2 ships and 61 men. He had been commissioned by King François of France to search for a passage to Cathay (the Orient), either around or through the New World. If no route could be found, then Cartier was to seek out riches, especially gold, as the Spanish had found in South America.
On May 10, Cartier arrived in Newfoundland and discovered a barren, uninviting land. Newfoundland offered few opportunities for settlement.
Cartier continued southwest and discovered the fertile land of Prince Edward Island which, he believed, was part of the mainland. On Îles aux Oiseaux (Islands of the Birds), he and his crew shot over 1,000 birds, including many Great Auks which eventually would be hunted to extinction.
Continuing on to the Strait of Belle Isle near Newfoundland, Cartier discovered and charted the Gulf of St. Lawrence for the first time which he thought was just another large bay. However, dense fog forced him to turn back.
On July 7, as Cartier was sailing past Baie de Chaleur, he encountered a fleet of 50 canoes filled with Micmac Natives. The Natives seemed excited to see them and their celebrations aboard the canoes helped to assure Cartier that they wished only to be friendly with the new-comers. With some reservation and hesitation, Cartier met with the leader of the group. Small items were exchanged in friendship which would be historically recorded as the first trading action between Europeans and the Natives of the New World. However, when the other canoes began to approach the ship with unknown intent, Cartier had 2 cannon shots fired to scare them away.
Why did Britain and France give up the policy of appeasement?
The UK were obliged to take part in appeasement as much of the interest at the time was in the empire and so were not in an easy position to take part in Europe, known as imperial over-stretch. The other reason that they took an appeasement policy is the international population felt the reparations from WW1 had been too much, so were sympathetic towards Germany.
What is one of the arguments that some people have against the Patriot Act?
it violated the civil liberties of u.s citizens.
What was France involvement in world war 2?
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.
What happened to the French who were evacuated at Dunkirk?
They were formed into a new force, "the free french" and led by De Gualle. I think there were two divisions formed, both of which being armored division. The first of the divisions entered Paris with degualle
Why did France and Britain enter World War 2?
France & Great Britain enterred WW 2 because of treaties with Poland. The treaties with Poland indicated that if Poland were to be attacked, then France & Great Britain would come to Poland's aid. Germany launched an unprovoked attack upon Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. France & Great Britain declared war upon Germany within a few days. Richard V. Horrell WW 2 Connections.com Answer Both countries tried appeasement in the 30s. This policy failed. Hitler continued to violate each and every accord signed. After the Sudetenland crisis and the absorption of the rest of Czechoslovakia, the two governments realized you could not appease Nazi Germany. They told the world that they would support Poland and if necessary go to war over it. Hitler did not believe the Allies would do it. So Britain and France in a way had backed themselves into a corner. The ironic point of it all is that if during the Anschluss with Austria or the Sudetenland crisis, either country had responded militarily and forcefully, the German generals would most likely have overthrown Hitler. They were the ones that cautioned it was to risky and the Wehrmacht was not ready. But by their lack of action, they strengthened Hitler's hand. There is a very famous quote that I am paraphrasing, "For evil to win all good men need do is nothing" Answer The first answer given is perfectly correct, reading the question in its most obvious sense. But there is another possible answer: Britain and France did fight against each other in WW2. Over a thousand French sailors were killed by the British navy shelling French ships at Mers El Kébir, when terms to prevent them falling into German hands (after the French capitulation) were rejected. Elsewhere, Vichy French forces fought the allies in North Africa, Syria, Lebanon and Madagascar.
Britain and France had a defence agreement with Poland. On 1 September 1939 German troops attacked Poland. Britain and France demanded that the German forces withdraw and when that didn't happen, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. However neither country truly went to war until Germany invaded France on May 10, 1940.
What was life like in Vichy France during World War 2?
This question is a bit broad, but maybe a question about "life" should start with food. Food was a serious issue, b/c there were serious shortages. The Vichy gov't instituted a rationing system to keep the prices down. People who lived through this time say that food was an overriding concern for them. It was very difficult to get meat, for instance, especially if you lived in the city. Country people were luckier, being closer to the source of food; there was a thriving black market, and some farmers made a lot of money. Other people went for barter systems, sending, for instance, clothing to their relatives in the country, in exchange for food which was more abundant there. The Vichy gov't, under Marshal Petain, was under the thumb of the Germans but tried not to make this too obvious. They instituted a program called the National Revolution, the idea being that France had turned morally degenerate (through the influence of, among others, Jews and Communists) and that was why it had lost the war; and the National Revolution was meant to bring back moral purity and strength and traditional values. I don't know what all the features of this "revolution" were, but one major one was youth camps; I think they were a sort of toned-down reflection of the Hitler Youth, with French national pride (and no doubt some racism and chauvinism) in place of Nazi ideology. Vichy was essentially a fascist government; Petain as "Head of State" had the powers of a dictator, though I don't think he used them for any flagrant abuses; he was given the right to write a new constitution, but never got around to it! The ideology of his government was very much a fascist, hyper-nationalist one; a little strange for a defeated nation, but it seems to have been something that Vichy France clung to as a way of restoring pride. The police situation under Vichy is probably the one I'm the least qualified to address, but I'll give a stab at it... I know this: Vichy collaborated in the arrest and deportation of Jews. The S.S. were around, doing their work, but there was also the Milice, the French "special police", who were feared and hated by their fellow Frenchmen (and many of whom got lynched after the liberation); they pursued and arrested both Jews and resistance fighters. Also, in the latter part of the war, able-bodied men of certain ages (mostly young men I think) were drafted by the Germans into "Service Travail Obligatoire"--basically means forced labor--and sent to Germany to work in armaments factories. I hope putting all this together gives you some picture of what life must have been like. For many people it was a time of "every man for himself"; for everyone, I think, it was when your true character came out. You could get rich on the black market or by collaborating with the Germans and the Milice, informing on your neighbors, you could focus on strategies for getting more food than the next guy, you could be a good citizen and revere Petain and be safe, you could risk your life for what you believed in, either joining the Maquis or an underground resistance network, or one of the rescue networks that hid and protected Jews. People probably didn't talk as much as they used to; you didn't know what your neighbor was involved in!
== == The above answer fails to recognize the the USA was NOT involved in WW2 for more than TWO YEARS, from September of 1939 until December of 1941, and it did not have actual ground combat troops on the soil of Europe until 1943, the invasion of Italy. D-Day started on June 5 when American paratroopers dropped in to Normandy and raised hell the next day there was a battle for the beach heads of Normandy.
Who was the commander of the allied forces in Europe?
Winston Churchill; General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
When did the German occupation of France end?
No one is sure of the exact date in which the entirity of France was liberated, but Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944.
How do you say 'I am 6 years old' in french?
J'ai six ans.
This translates literally to "I have six years" but it is the proper way to say it in French.
Why did France surrender to the Germany?
France Surrendered because they wanted to save the Eiffel Tower!
It really was not France that surrendered it was the leader of the French who surrendered. The French were furious with him and at the end of the war they tried him in a court for doing what he did. The French wanted to drive the Germans out of their country. During the war they had an exceptionally strong Underground Resistance and the Free French in Britain helped to win WWII.
Some of this information is available from the British Ministry of Defence or the US Defense Department. (see related link)
Technically, one does not invade a city, once invades a country but captures a city. Hitler invaded France partly to gain revenge for Germany's defeat in World War I and also because he knew that Britain and France would try to stop him from his aim of conquering vast territories in Eastern Europe. Thus they had to be defeated first. He captured Paris because it was the capital of France and when it was shown that they couldn't even defend their own capital the french quickly lost whatever stomach they had for a fight and sued for peace. Michael Montagne AnswerGermany invaded France officially because France had declared war upon Germany when Germany invaded Poland, an ally and friend of France. But Germany was deeply revanchiste and her foreign policy was to reclaim the areas lost in the previous war, which would have led to war with France sooner or later anyway. Germany wanted the war with France (unlike the war with the British, but it sort of came in the bargain).
Technically, when Paris was lost, the French no longer had very much stomach left to lose, since they had already lost more men than the USA would do in the entire war to follow.
Germany directed her full power at France. France 1940 was no peripheral "second" front with only a minimalistic German presence like Normandy 44, with 70% of Germanys power on a primary East Front, and 20% equally divided between UK and US (the rest on occupation duties or in Italy).
France was Germanys only front in 1940. France was alone, with only the BEF to aid her, and the BEF consisted of five divisions, a parenthesis of no significance.
The forces that hit France were the same that hit the Soviet Union the following year, and the Soviets lost over 5 000 000 men before they could stop this rolling horror and turn the course of events. In fact they lost 10 000 000 troops killed before it was all over.
France had a total population of just 50 000 000 all souls counted. Her army was slightly smaller than the number of Soviet troops that died in the battle of Stalingrad.
Hopefully this will enlighten some on the scale and proportions of things. The French didn't suddenly lose stomach when finding they could not "even" defend their capitol. Nobody asked how they felt about it, they were overrun and crushed, stepped on like a bug.
Cheerio Tommy
Whilst broadly I would agree with this answer it is worth noting that the figures for French deaths in the fighting were 90000, the BEF lost 66000 - hardly "a parenthesis of no significance" NB Source; taken from part of a record for the British War Office in 1940.
Where is The D-Day beaches of Normandy?
D day June 6th 1944. 5 beaches: Gold Juno Sword Omaha & Utah. The largest amphibious operation in history.
Why did Germany invade France during World War 1?
Germany had been drawing up their plan for war, the Schlieffen plan, since 1897. It worked on the basis that they would be at war with Russia and France at the same time. The Germans thought that France would be weak and easy to capture, whereas Russia would be much stronger, but very slow to mobilise. So in essence the Germans could nip over to France, defeat it, and then come back and finish off the Russians. However, this plan started to go wrong on the 30th of July 1914, when Russia mobilised its army, but France didn't. In a panic, on August 3rd 1914, Germany was forced to invent a pretext to go to war with France. It's very difficult to actually find out what that pretext was, but the most I can gather is that the Germans said that the French attack was "imminent" on their Western Border, and that they were merely pre-empting it.
Who was the allied commander in the European theater?
During World War II, the Allied Commander in North Africa and then later in Europe was Dwight D. Eisenhower. A career officer who had never seen combat until World War II, Eisenhower's humility, commitment to teamwork, and general strategic "smarts" proved invaluable for the Allied victories which occurred from 1942 onwards in the European Theater of Operations.
I love you to death in french?
Je t'aime beaucoup means "I like you a lot" in French. It can also mean "I love you a lot" - in French the verb aimercan mean either to like or to love.
Where did the Maginot Line extend from?
The Maginot Line (in use from 1932 to 1969) was a barrier in northern France, that was built to hold off (mainly) the German Army in case of attack. (EVERY country feared the German Army) It basically surrounded France from the rest of Europe - but had MANY, MANY faults. For starters - the Lufuwaffe simply flew over it!!! And the supply line was so poor - many of the installations simply ran out of ammunition!!! Although the fortifications of the Maginot line were based on very outdated World War I fortifications - some did hold the attacking German Army - but only for a few days.
