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In September 1939, the French with the British declared war on Germany after Hitler invaded Poland. For several months, there was little or no activity on the Western Front. This period was known as the ‘Phoney War’'Phoney War. ' However, in the Spring of 1940, the Germans shifted their attention west and went on the offensive.

The Battle of France started on the invasion on May 10th, 1940 , and only lasted only 46 days. Paris fell to the Germans on the June 14th of June, after the virtual collapse of the French Armyarmy. French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud resigned on the June 16th during the catastrophe. His successor, Marshal Philippe Pétain, began negotiations to end the war. By July June 25th, France was forced to surrender.

The German army suffered 157,000 casualties during the invasion of France, but the Allies's lost losses were considerably worse. The Allies lost over twice as many men and overall had 360,000 casualties. A further two million men were captured. Some 300,000 British and French troops escaped the Germans after being evacuated by naval forces at Dunkirk. The Germans occupied the majority of France. In the south of France, the Vichy Regime established a semi-autonomous political entity. Vichy maintained control over the majority of the French Colonies. <ref>Bond, Brian, ''"[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0080377009/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0080377009&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=8c2293a2e966ba28b14946a14239a02d Britain, France , and Belgium, 1939–1940]''". (London, Brassey's, 1990), p.178</ref>