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Also, the British forces that were supposed to be guarding the Western route into France folded quickly and retreated. "Blood, Tears, and Folly" contains excep

by rodgerd 13y ago

Also, the British forces that were supposed to be guarding the Western route into France folded quickly and retreated. "Blood, Tears, and Folly" contains exceprts from contemporary sources noting that the British determination to retreat was such that they prevented French troops from redeploying to their Western flank so as to avoid the French defence impeding the British retreat.

vonmoltke 13y ago
Additionally, the Belgian fortifications were not nearly up to the level of the Maginot Line, nor the level the Belgians boasted. They proved to be little more than a speedbump for the Wehrmacht.
- pash 13y ago
  The Germans also devised novel tactics to overcome the Belgian fortifications. In the initial attack on Eben-Emael [0], for example, commandos descended on the fort in gliders in the black of night and used newly devised shaped charges to destroy the heavily bunkered Belgian guns. Blitzkrieg itself was a new tactic, but its success depended on surprise, which the Germans achieved by sending their main mechanized force through the rough, wooded terrain of the Ardennes while feinting an attack to the north, through the plain of Flanders, where the Belgians and French expected them. That was a hugely risky endeavor, and the offensive would probably have failed if the German movements had been discovered during the several days it took to cross the Ardennes Wood. 0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eben-Emael http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eben-Emael
- rodgerd 13y ago
  I should have mentioned the biggest problem, which is that the whole enterprise of the Vichy government was essentially a coup against the Republic, taking advantage of the German pressure to overthrow the government of the day - many members of the Vichy leadership had a history of involvement in anti-Republic groups (Monarchists, anto-secularists, and so on) and some were involved in planned coups in the 30s.

by rodgerd 13y ago

vonmoltke 13y ago

Additionally, the Belgian fortifications were not nearly up to the level of the Maginot Line, nor the level the Belgians boasted. They proved to be little more than a speedbump for the Wehrmacht.

pash 13y ago
The Germans also devised novel tactics to overcome the Belgian fortifications. In the initial attack on Eben-Emael [0], for example, commandos descended on the fort in gliders in the black of night and used newly devised shaped charges to destroy the heavily bunkered Belgian guns. Blitzkrieg itself was a new tactic, but its success depended on surprise, which the Germans achieved by sending their main mechanized force through the rough, wooded terrain of the Ardennes while feinting an attack to the north, through the plain of Flanders, where the Belgians and French expected them. That was a hugely risky endeavor, and the offensive would probably have failed if the German movements had been discovered during the several days it took to cross the Ardennes Wood. 0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eben-Emael http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Eben-Emael
rodgerd 13y ago
I should have mentioned the biggest problem, which is that the whole enterprise of the Vichy government was essentially a coup against the Republic, taking advantage of the German pressure to overthrow the government of the day - many members of the Vichy leadership had a history of involvement in anti-Republic groups (Monarchists, anto-secularists, and so on) and some were involved in planned coups in the 30s.