Battle of France

Article abstract: Type of action: Ground and air battle in World War II. Result: A German Blitzkrieg leads to the defeat of France in six weeks, resulting in a four-year occupation of the country.

On May 13, 1940, German forces, led by Gerd von Rundstedt and General Heinz Guderian, crossed the Meuse at Sedan, fighting under an aggressive offensive doctrine known as Blitzkrieg—a maximum concentration of mobile armored units coordinated with air power in the role of artillery—for which their defensive-minded adversaries were ill-prepared. The attackers, pouring...

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