History
Why was France so Useless in World War II?
World War II was not the French military's finest hour. The French collapse in the face of Hitler's war machine has left it the butt of cheap jokes ever since.
It was only six weeks from the first German tanks crossing the border to France signing away its freedom and dignity. The fall of France was as astonishing then as it is now.
The whole world was expecting it to put up much more of a fight including the Germans themselves. France was believed to have one of the strongest militaries in the world – in World War I it had held out for four years against the Germans, but in World War II it collapsed in days.
It would be easy to assume that the Nazis won due to overwhelming military superiority, greater numbers of men or better quality gear – that is not the case. The French collapse was in fact much more complicated and more interesting than that.
