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In September 1939, the Nazi War Machine invaded Poland and World War II began. France was Allied with Britain against Nazi Germany in 1939. The French army was in theory as strong as the Germans, it had a vast Empire and a sophisticated arms industry. It had established a series of fortifications in the east of the country, known as the Maginot Line, which was designed to keep German forces out of France. France looked more than capable of matching the Germans and had a strong ally in Britain and its Empire. However, in a period of weeks in the late Spring and Early Summer of 1940, France was to suffer a humiliating defeat and was occupied by Nazi Germany. The reasons for this include a divided French political elite, poor French military tactics and a superior German army with better tactics.
[[File:French Prisoners1940.jpg|thumbnail|200px|-French Prisoners,1940]]
==Background==