French Defensive Strategies Essay

Soviet powers were coming nearer and nearer to the Fatherland from the east, and in the west Allied strengths had crossed the German fringe. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler proposed to dispatch an unexpected assault in the west that would isolate and dampen the Western Allies and, maybe, persuade them to join Germany in its war against the communists of the Soviet Union. In May 1940, he had bet on an unexpected assault through the thick Ardennes Forest into Belgium and France and had won a shocking triumph. Presently he anticipated history to rehash itself: again German defensive player would progress through the hiding woods of the Ardennes to strike his foes off guard.

After Germany conquered France’s 800,000 man army, they could go after the British. The germans had and issue going after Great Britain, Great Britain’s Army had a great defense system. When Adolf Hitler planned to send a fleet of fighter planes to Britain, the British found out and had a plan to stop them. Great Britain’s plan was to be prepared to fight in the sky. So when the German Luftwaffe came to attack the British Royal Air Force was already there to fight them. It was a struggle for both sides for many months and was the first major battle fought completely in the air. Adolf Hitler’s plan was to win air superiority over Southern Britain by destroying the British Air Force and aircraft industry. (The

Going back: on May 10, 1940, the Phoney War ended when Germany invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium in a blitzkrieg attack. With superior air forces and exceptionally mobile ground forces, supported by Panzer tanks, all three of the invaded countries surrendered quickly; the Germans occupied Luxembourg on May 10, the Netherlands on May 14, and Belgium by the end of the month.

The rapid advancement into Poland by the German Army in September 1939 proved to be surprisingly successful. Dubbed the “Blitzkrieg,” Germany’s use of combined-arms warfare was “a race against time…on the tactical, operational and strategic levels” for the Wehremacht and would result in several dramatic successes throughout the war. Despite these successes, Germany was not able to exploit the tactical victories at the operational level of war. This was primarily due to a lack of confidence in the tactic by many German Generals and by not allowing subordinate leaders to exercise initiative in the absence or orders. In order to understand why the Blitzkrieg did not prove to be a war-winning innovation for Germany, one must first understand how it was initially employed and why it proved so successful.

Also in 1915, French staged an attack at a place called Neuve Chapelle on the 10th March. The British had no shells, so there was no preliminary bombardment - so the attack on the Germans was a complete surprise and initially a success. However French continued to fail from here as the British hesitated to fill the gap they had made in the German lines in a wait for re-inforcements: by which time the Germans had filled the gap. A pointless battle which lasted only three days.

Germans used ingenuity to thwart allied forces sustainment efforts by using aerial, communications, and biological attacks to name a few. The Germans did not achieve enough success with their strategic operations to win the war, but the lack of major success did not deter the efforts. The Allied forces were superior on the battlefield because of the vast amount of resources it could receive. The Germans felt the fingers tighten on their throats because of the lack of supplies to sustain their forces. Since this was a problem for the German forces they wanted to ensure that the allied forces had the same issue. Many of the attack by German forces attacks of supplies it did not stop supplies from reaching the allied forces.

The German response to D-Day, when it came, was slow and confused thanks to a complex command structure and the successful Allied deception plan, which held open the threat of a landing in the Pas de Calais even into July. The Allied plan for a broad, phased advance was overtaken by events, and the final breakout was

Leading into the Fall of 1914, tactics on both sides of the line involved the rapid mobilization, maneuver and envelopment of the opposing side.10 Pre-1914 doctrine took little into account the effects of emerging new technology and their impact on both defensive and offensive operations. This disconnect between doctrine and technology contributed to the failure of early offensive operations in the Fall of 1914 and resulted in staggering casualties.11 Both sides developed doctrine that took into effect the unique terrain and technology that had been developed prior and during World War I. However by the end of the war, a combination of flexibility, decentralized control, and counterattack at every echelon made the German defensive system the most effective.12 This “elastic defense” had three unique characteristics; dedicated counter-attack force at all levels, decentralized command and control, fluid defensive belts and integrated artillery support at the Division level. Under this new doctrine, Corps headquarters had the role sustaining subordinate units, but not directing their actions during battle.13 This defense-in-depth and the lessons learned during the Verdun battles of 1918 were so successful that British forces adopted many of the German tactics with a special emphasis on their counterattack capability.10 Utilizing the new doctrine, by August 1918, Germany had made substantial gains, however had

Prior to the invasion of France there had been 7 months of “Phoney war”; However the French had anticipated the attack and established “The Maginot line” which was a line of defence designed to hold the German army back. Despite this the Battle of France began on the 10th May 1940 when German Army group B subdued Holland and advanced rapidly westwards through

Although the Germans had superior technology, they released the technology too early and did not know how to properly use it; the Soviet Union in contrast was able to create the new technologies and innovations and use them properly which aided in their efforts against Germany. Consequently, the french were unable to create new technology which is one factor that leads to their downfall. In addition, the Soviet Union was able to move their factories by train in order to save their production while the french factories were among the first seizes of the German army. The Soviet Unions innovation and creativity allows them to increase their production at a very difficult time within the war, allowing them to revive their lost resources and aid their armies: “” (161). The raid production is another factor that allowed the Soviets to push back against the Germans in contrast the French were unable to innovate due to the lack of support and time.

Where Germany surprise attacked the Allied forces. Patton and his forces brawned through the casualties and came to overcome and proceeded to defeat the German counterattack. Before hand, Patton mapped out a large area of France and proceeded to lead a highly successful, rapid armoured drive throughout France that allowed German groups to be mopped up one at a time.The defeat of the counter attack relieved the U.S. of even higher casualties to the main effort.

With a strong backup, the Allied troops were able to advance through the enemy-occupied countries with lightening speed. Therefore, the attack not only led to the French people’s freedom, but also to the quick downfall of Nazi Germany. (Naval History and Heritage- D-Day, the Normandy Invasion, 6 - 25 June 1944)

     After America entered the war, Germany did not have much of a chance. The Americans joined the Allied Forces for Operation D-Day, on which the Allied Forces invaded France on the beaches of Normandy. Soon the Allied Forces even had Rommel, the Desert Fox, on the run. Rommel abandoned his prized post of Tobruk without hesitation, fleeing across the dessert. At the same time General Macarthur was leading the battle on the islands

Next came the German Blitzkrieg in France. On May 10, 1940 the Germans attacked Belgium and the Netherlands to surpass the Maginot line. However, the main attack came through the supposedly impassable Ardennes Forest. “In two days, May 13 to 15, the Germans forced two crossings of the Meuse River and tore a 50 mile gap in the French front.” On June 10, Italy entered the war on Germanys side and attacked France in the South. On June 14, the Germans entered Paris, and on June 22, France surrendered to Germany.

The French while perhaps not the most successful Resistance movement did in fact contribute the most to an allied victory due to the invasion of Normandy and the European continent. The French Resistance did help provide information and intelligence to the Allies that proved especially to the planning of the D-Day operation. Also, sabotage operations help slow German response to the Allies’ invasion. While these activities may not have won the invasion single handedly they did help contribute to its eventual conclusion of victory over the Nazis. Some reasons for the success of the Resistance is that the supported the French Resistance extensively with training and weapons so that Resistance could support operations for the invasions.