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[[File:Stuka file.jpg|thumbnail|300px|-Stuka dive bomber, 1940]]

France had been fearful of Germany ever since the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. In this war, the Prussians had quickly defeated the French and occupied much of the country. In World War I, The Germans had come very close to defeating the French and without allied assistance the country would have once again been occupied by the Germans. Despite, being among the victors in WWI the French still dreaded the Germans and they were vociferous in their demands that Germany was neutralized during the negotiations on the Versailles Treaty. The French initially led by Prime Minister Clemenceau, adopted a hard line towards the Germans in 1918-1919. There was a thaw in the Franco-German relationship in the mid-1920s and there was hope of a genuine rapprochement between the two greatest powers in continental Europe. However, the Great Depression and the rise of Hitler meant that the French were suddenly faced with a potentially aggressive regime in Germany. The French adopted a diplomatic policy of appeasement and sought to placate Hitler by offering him concessions, such as allowing him to re-militarize the Rhineland. The French took no chances and began to prepare their defences.

The French devoted a huge level of resources to the construction of the Maginot Line. This defensive line was named after a French Defence Minister. The French constructed a long line of fortifications along their eastern border with German. It stopped at the Belgian border. The French stationed all their forces behind the Maginot Line and adopted a defensive posture. In September 1939, the French with the British declared war on Germany. For a period of some months, there was little or no activity and this was the period known as the ‘Phoney War’. However, in the Spring of 1940, the Germans’ went on the offensive. The Battle of France lasted only 46 days, from the German invasion on the 10th of May to the surrender of France on the 25th of June 1940. Paris fell to the Germans on the 14th of June, after the virtual collapse of the French Army and the French Prime Minister Paul Reynaud, resigned on the 16 June. His successor, Marshal Philippe Pétain, began negotiations to end the war. The German army approximately suffered 157,000 casualties in the invasion of France. The Allies lost over twice as many men, with 360,000 casulaties. A further two million 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, and still controlled the majority of the French Colonies <ref>Bond, Brian Britain, France and Belgium, 1939–1940. (London, Brassey's, 1990), p.178</ref>