When the triumphant German Army marched through Paris on 14 June 1940, it added the final humiliation to an already shocked and defeated French nation. The unprecedented speed with which Germany defeated France in 1940 sent shock waves around the world. The first-rate military power had been completely defeated in just six weeks. In September of 1939, the French waited for the expected blow to come. While the German army was fully occupied in crushing Poland, the French launched …showed first 75 words of 2502 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2502 total…Germans had been surprised by the course of events. Even Guderian considered his successful crossing of the Meuse on 13 May almost a miracle. For the French there had been no miracles, only disasters. The Germans, using a bold, risky plan, which threw their massed panzer divisions at a critical point, had wrong footed their opponents, and using speed, initiative and hard fighting, the panzer commanders had never allowed the French the breathing space to recover.