Why didn't France attack Germany in 1939?
video description
First France had to mobilize. In peace time, france had 22 full strenght divisions, the rest being obtained through mobilization, which took 2 weeks, the plan logically starting with defensive units.
France then advanced in front of the siegrid line into germany, but by then it was already too late and Poland was falling appart.
The issue then was that if France tried to pierce throught the siegfried line, it would have ammunition issues (we are in 39 then, and france wasnt ready purely on the material side. For example, artillery pieces had order to fire at maximum 3 rounds per day, in order to avoid emptying the stockpile.
Had the french forced their way through the siegfried, the germans would then turn back their forces on exhausted french forces and won the war by october 39.\r\n
Date: 2023-12-16
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Comments and reviews: 29
knowledgia
If the French invaded Germany on a full scale attack it would have reached Stuttgart in south right up to to Frankfurt in centre before they would even meet Resistance. the generals admitted this after the war, everthing was sent to Poland and German army in September 39 was not as big as they made out to be. If you imagine the territory they would have taken, factories, agriculture, roads and rail and communication centres Germany would have taken 2-3 weeks to mount an offensive and with help of the British and Belgium they would have been a mighty foe to deal with, peace treaties and territory gains would probably have been France's reward.
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If the French invaded Germany on a full scale attack it would have reached Stuttgart in south right up to to Frankfurt in centre before they would even meet Resistance. the generals admitted this after the war, everthing was sent to Poland and German army in September 39 was not as big as they made out to be. If you imagine the territory they would have taken, factories, agriculture, roads and rail and communication centres Germany would have taken 2-3 weeks to mount an offensive and with help of the British and Belgium they would have been a mighty foe to deal with, peace treaties and territory gains would probably have been France's reward.
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knowledgia
Hey there, i think you just forgot to mention the West Wall (or Seigfred Line, the german version of the Maginot Line, that they had been building since some time before the war, and had plenty of bunkers, trenches, and dragon theeth (a trap for tanks. And you also forgot to mention that the allies slowed down when they invaded Germany in 1944-1945 because of that line, even with France liberated, the US army in the allies side and with the Nazis fighting the USSR (worst than invading Poland)
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Hey there, i think you just forgot to mention the West Wall (or Seigfred Line, the german version of the Maginot Line, that they had been building since some time before the war, and had plenty of bunkers, trenches, and dragon theeth (a trap for tanks. And you also forgot to mention that the allies slowed down when they invaded Germany in 1944-1945 because of that line, even with France liberated, the US army in the allies side and with the Nazis fighting the USSR (worst than invading Poland)
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-raghunandan9290
So Germany used all its Defence forces on Poland and had little forces on Western front.
The French were sitting idle. Didn't respond. Didn't fight strongly in Polish theater. Now USSR occupied east Poland.
- What were these allies and French thinking?
After Poland was occupied, Germany used all its Defence forces in Western Front.
Is France happy now? to face 100 German divisions?
- Or France indulging in Wishful thinking
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So Germany used all its Defence forces on Poland and had little forces on Western front.
The French were sitting idle. Didn't respond. Didn't fight strongly in Polish theater. Now USSR occupied east Poland.
- What were these allies and French thinking?
After Poland was occupied, Germany used all its Defence forces in Western Front.
Is France happy now? to face 100 German divisions?
- Or France indulging in Wishful thinking
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-danieldsouza8205
Heck, if France and Britain had this size of a massive Army, they could surely punch through Germany and win the war.
The French Army had poor training, lack of discipline and poor leadership. The Luftwaffe could stop Allied counterattacks by carrying out bombing raids on Allied reinforcements.
If Poland had such a large army with enough war material and supplies, they could surely punch the Germans back to their borders.
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Heck, if France and Britain had this size of a massive Army, they could surely punch through Germany and win the war.
The French Army had poor training, lack of discipline and poor leadership. The Luftwaffe could stop Allied counterattacks by carrying out bombing raids on Allied reinforcements.
If Poland had such a large army with enough war material and supplies, they could surely punch the Germans back to their borders.
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-user-lg4mm3mf8i
The French lost a lot of soldiers in WW1 and were reluctant to start a new war unsupported. Meanhile Great Britain had focused entirely on its fleet and airforce, reducing the army to a very small force. So it is really that France did not want to take the full brunt of a land war on without British ground troops taking part in a sufficiently large capacity.
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The French lost a lot of soldiers in WW1 and were reluctant to start a new war unsupported. Meanhile Great Britain had focused entirely on its fleet and airforce, reducing the army to a very small force. So it is really that France did not want to take the full brunt of a land war on without British ground troops taking part in a sufficiently large capacity.
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-WJack97224
Politics is violence as Tolstoy pointed out in The Law of Love and The Law of Violence. Manmade political governments are the bane and pain of mankind no matter their makes, models or flavors; they are not Christian; they are Satan's acolytes. We don't need commie/socialist politicians to dictate how we must live; they are not Christians.
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Politics is violence as Tolstoy pointed out in The Law of Love and The Law of Violence. Manmade political governments are the bane and pain of mankind no matter their makes, models or flavors; they are not Christian; they are Satan's acolytes. We don't need commie/socialist politicians to dictate how we must live; they are not Christians.
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-markharder3676
Furthermore, there were fascists in high places in France in those times, as was shown by the subsequent collaboration of the Vichy regime. Many thought that fascism or Nazism would rid France of labor unions and Communists, and that this was a worthy goal. It's hard to win a war when your leaders aren't sure they want to.
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Furthermore, there were fascists in high places in France in those times, as was shown by the subsequent collaboration of the Vichy regime. Many thought that fascism or Nazism would rid France of labor unions and Communists, and that this was a worthy goal. It's hard to win a war when your leaders aren't sure they want to.
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-matix1256
Imagine being a France and delcare war on germany to -help- Poland. and litelary 7 days later ignore Destruction of Poland and just stand on maginota line. if they dont try help, why even bother to declare war?
France in 1939-1940 its was a JOKE. A BAD ONE
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Imagine being a France and delcare war on germany to -help- Poland. and litelary 7 days later ignore Destruction of Poland and just stand on maginota line. if they dont try help, why even bother to declare war?
France in 1939-1940 its was a JOKE. A BAD ONE
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-janesda
A better question is -Why didn't Poland attack Germany in 1938? - If the central European countries: Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland had been self-reliant and formed a defensive pact against Nazi Germany, so many, many lives might have been saved.
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A better question is -Why didn't Poland attack Germany in 1938? - If the central European countries: Czechoslovakia, Austria and Poland had been self-reliant and formed a defensive pact against Nazi Germany, so many, many lives might have been saved.
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-jannowak3127
As a polish guy want to say -thank you- our -dear alies- two face english and french. My nation suffer becouse of you, but now im happy becouse english scum and french will be minority in own coutry and muslim caliphat- so die in pain traitors!
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As a polish guy want to say -thank you- our -dear alies- two face english and french. My nation suffer becouse of you, but now im happy becouse english scum and french will be minority in own coutry and muslim caliphat- so die in pain traitors!
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-Blankenboom77
Love WW2 History but anyone else here sick of all the people who use these videos to fill their neo-nazi cravings and reflect on what could-ve been if Germany had been allowed to ethnically cleanse hundreds of millions of people?
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Love WW2 History but anyone else here sick of all the people who use these videos to fill their neo-nazi cravings and reflect on what could-ve been if Germany had been allowed to ethnically cleanse hundreds of millions of people?
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knowledgia
France did not attack Germany in 1939 because when France attacked Germany in 1914 beginning WW1 it did not go well for France and in 1939 Germany was much more powerful and invigorated, more indignant, more unified than ever.
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France did not attack Germany in 1939 because when France attacked Germany in 1914 beginning WW1 it did not go well for France and in 1939 Germany was much more powerful and invigorated, more indignant, more unified than ever.
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-KManXPressTheU
Obviously, Somebody is not giving all the Facts: France DID Attack, and Briefly hold, A Small section of German Territory; However, it was so short and insignificant that it's rarely mentioned in any History Accounts.
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Obviously, Somebody is not giving all the Facts: France DID Attack, and Briefly hold, A Small section of German Territory; However, it was so short and insignificant that it's rarely mentioned in any History Accounts.
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-Rustsamurai1
Mag e not line?
The British were broke after WW1, and underfunded their armed forces; not so much the 'massive power'.
The Spitfire was not replacing the Hurricane in 1939-1940, so much as working with it.
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Mag e not line?
The British were broke after WW1, and underfunded their armed forces; not so much the 'massive power'.
The Spitfire was not replacing the Hurricane in 1939-1940, so much as working with it.
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-Lascarnn
For me it's sad that highest rated comments are just some jokes, and so little people treat this problem seriously. We as the human race can easily underestimate the threat and that is very scary.
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For me it's sad that highest rated comments are just some jokes, and so little people treat this problem seriously. We as the human race can easily underestimate the threat and that is very scary.
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-UnholyWrath3277
This is why people pick on France for being defeated so quickly. France had it's golden opportunity to win and didn't take it. Then got steamrolled when they tried it their way
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This is why people pick on France for being defeated so quickly. France had it's golden opportunity to win and didn't take it. Then got steamrolled when they tried it their way
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-joedeleon1189
France was like a battered wife that can't find her way out of a paper bag wile having a better and bigger gun pointed out to the battering husband. Pathetic!
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France was like a battered wife that can't find her way out of a paper bag wile having a better and bigger gun pointed out to the battering husband. Pathetic!
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-EpicShotZz33
Why didn-t UK and France declare war to Ussr when they invaded Poland from the east? They were allied with Poland they should have declared them war as well
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Why didn-t UK and France declare war to Ussr when they invaded Poland from the east? They were allied with Poland they should have declared them war as well
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-charlesharris9965
France did, in fact, attack Germany in 1939. They pulled back into France after the collapse of Poland to await Germany's attack in 1940.
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France did, in fact, attack Germany in 1939. They pulled back into France after the collapse of Poland to await Germany's attack in 1940.
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-clovisra
France and the UK were in spectation that with the road opened in Poland Germany would fulfill their desire of a nazi atacking the USSR.
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France and the UK were in spectation that with the road opened in Poland Germany would fulfill their desire of a nazi atacking the USSR.
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-riskyabigael_0960
Poland: Actually we have blue in our flag, it stands for loyal allies.
France, UK: And where it is?
Poland: Exactly.
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Poland: Actually we have blue in our flag, it stands for loyal allies.
France, UK: And where it is?
Poland: Exactly.
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-qhasz9950
It really is sad how many people are defending Germany in this comment section and saying that Poland was at fault for world war 2
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It really is sad how many people are defending Germany in this comment section and saying that Poland was at fault for world war 2
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-BRHarvie
-mag-i-not- line? How does a guy who doesn't even know how to pronounce Maginot get 400k views on a video about this topic haha
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-mag-i-not- line? How does a guy who doesn't even know how to pronounce Maginot get 400k views on a video about this topic haha
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-seandezart8294
It was never going to be possible to defend Poland and the Spitfire didn't repalce the Hurricane, they flew in parallel.
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It was never going to be possible to defend Poland and the Spitfire didn't repalce the Hurricane, they flew in parallel.
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-yureiraida
Intelligence intelligence intelligence. thats what happened. So sad. If only they knew. WWII would have never occured
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Intelligence intelligence intelligence. thats what happened. So sad. If only they knew. WWII would have never occured
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-ladouleur6773
Basically a summary of the video is, the allies overestimated germany, government were too afraid to take actions.
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Basically a summary of the video is, the allies overestimated germany, government were too afraid to take actions.
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-treoui8739
The real opportunity was 1936, and we didn't for one thing: democracy.
Another reason why this notion is harmful
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The real opportunity was 1936, and we didn't for one thing: democracy.
Another reason why this notion is harmful
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-czakipk1
The Polish army was ready, even the army of Poznan invade the German border. France and UK -- they was not ready.
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The Polish army was ready, even the army of Poznan invade the German border. France and UK -- they was not ready.
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-l_taker1470
fun fact the french were so bad that when they invaded the saar land one machine gunner held out for 2 hours
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fun fact the french were so bad that when they invaded the saar land one machine gunner held out for 2 hours
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