The Defense Of Germany
...of was hindered as much by Allied strategy, as it was by Germany’s own leadership structure and flawed internal propaganda campaigns.
Prior to the outbreak of World War II, with a standing army of 800,000 men, France was believed to have had the most powerful military in Europe. More than half of French army divisions were stationed along the heavily fortified Maginot Line in the east of France. The Maginot Line was intended to form an impenetrable barrier between France and its aggressive Germanic neighbors to the east. This fortified defensive line, stretched from the southeastern border of France with Switzerland and extending north along its margin with Germany, ended just south of Belgium, in the heavily forested Ardennes region of France. Because the Ardennes region was so heavily wooded and passage through the region was so difficult, it was believed by the French to be impassable to tanks, and therefore an invasion attempt through this territory was unlikely. Unfortunately for the French, this sparsely populated, and poorly defended region provided the perfect opportunity for the German army as it up its war machine to mount a surprise invasion of northern France. Having perfected their blitzkrieg, or lighting war tactics during the invasion of Poland, the communicational and organizational proficiency necessary to coordinate the movement of an enormous, armored, invading force through the “impassable” Ardennes region had already been achieved.
The Germans used three main army groups in the blitzkrieg invasion of France. The two largest of these groups, Army Groups A and B were to invade France from the northeast through the low countries of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Prior to and during this main assault, General Wilhelm von Leeb’s Army Group C was to remain facing the Maginot Line to deter the French from diverting forces from...
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