Phoney War

During the period preceding the German offensive both the French and the Germans kept their positions along the border. France had invaded the Saar "country but retreated after the Polish capitulation. War was then an affair of recon patrols, brutal …

1940-01-01

HB01

During the period preceding the German offensive both the French and the Germans kept their positions along the border. France had invaded the Saar "country but retreated after the Polish capitulation. War was then an affair of recon patrols, brutal ambushes and coup de mainson outposts. On this day, at dawn, the Germans attempted to eliminate a French advanced base, taking advantage of a thick fog. Unfortunately, French Corps Francs were just returning from a night operation and joined the battle to rescue their comrades.

Forbach, France

The Phoney War was an eight-month period at the start of World War II, during which there was only one limited military land operation on the Western Front, when French troops invaded Germany's Saar district. Nazi Germany carried out the Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939; the Phoney period began with the declaration of war by the United Kingdom and France against Nazi Germany on 3 September 1939, after which little actual warfare occurred, and ended with the German invasion of France and the Low Countries on 10 May 1940. Although there was no large-scale military action by Britain and France, they did begin some economic warfare, especially with the naval blockade, and shut down German surface raiders. They created elaborate plans for numerous large-scale operations designed to cripple the German war effort. These included opening an Anglo-French front in the Balkans, invading Norway to seize control of Germany's main source of iron ore and a strike against the Soviet Union, to cut off its supply of oil to Germany. Only the Norway plan came to fruition, and by April 1940, it was too little, too late.

Wikipedia: Phoney War

France

Germany