The French fought hard. The problem was twofold: 1. The German army in 1940 was utterly unstoppable. They didn't just conquer France, they conquered half of Eu

The French fought hard. The problem was twofold: 1. The German army in 1940 was utterly unstoppable. They didn't just conquer France, they conquered half of Europe. The French army was seen as the best army in the world at the time, but they were utterly unprepared for the new way of warfare the Germans introduced. 2. Petain.