The Fall of the Low Countries and France 1940

Abstract

The Western Front burst into life on 10 May 1940. Hitler had imposed his preferences on his generals and forced them into an offensive plan, which General von Manstein had refined into one of great boldness, ‘Sickle Stroke’. The plan worked virtually flawlessly. German forces overran the Netherlands rapidly, reaffirming a reputation for terror-bombing when the Luftwaffe attacked Rotterdam. Parachute troops captured the Belgian frontier fortress of Eben Emael. The Belgian Army lost its best defensive positions, but fought bravely. As Sickle Stroke anticipated, the BEF and French forces moved forward to what proved to be an indefensible position, and they were soon separated from the Belgians, who surrendered on 28 May.