Editing Fall Rot (section)

==Battle==
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 121-0427, Französische Kriegsgefangene.jpg|thumb|[[French POWs in World War II|French prisoners]] are marched into internment.]]
[[Army Group B]] attacked either side of Paris; in its 47 divisions it had the majority of the mobile units.{{sfn|Healy|Prigent|2008|p=84}} After 48 hours, the Germans had not broken through the French defence.{{sfn|Alexander|2007|p=248}} On the Aisne, the XVI {{lang|de|Panzerkorps}} (General [[Erich Hoepner]]) employed over 1,000 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) in two panzer divisions and a motorised division against the French. The assault was crude and Hoepner lost 80 out of 500 AFVs in the first attack. The German 4th Army had captured bridgeheads over the Somme but the Germans struggled to get over the [[Aisne]] as the French defence in depth frustrated the crossing.{{sfnm|1a1=Alexander|1y=2007|1p=245|2a1=Maier|2a2=Rohde|2a3=Stegemann|2a4=Umbreit|2y=1991|2p=297}} At [[Amiens]], the Germans were repeatedly driven back by powerful French artillery concentrations, a marked improvement in French tactics.{{sfn|Alexander|2007|p=249}}

The German Army relied on the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} to silence French artillery as the German infantry inched forward, only forcing crossings on the third day.{{sfn|Alexander|2007|p=249}} The {{lang|fr|[[Armée de l'Air]]}} (French Air Force) attempted to bomb them but failed. German sources acknowledged the battle was "hard and costly in lives, the enemy putting up severe resistance, particularly in the woods and tree lines continuing the fight when our troops had pushed past the point of resistance".{{sfn|Alexander|2007|p=250}} South of Abbeville, the French Tenth Army (General Robert Altmayer) had its front broken and it was forced to retreat to [[Rouen]] and southwards over the Seine river. The 7th {{lang|de|Panzer}} Division headed west over the [[Seine]] river through [[Normandy]] and captured the port of [[Cherbourg]] on 18 June, forcing the surrender of much of the 51st (Highland) Division on 12 June.{{sfn|Healy|Prigent|2008|p=85}} German spearheads were overextended and vulnerable to counter strokes but the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} denied the French the ability to concentrate and the fear of air attack negated their mass and mobile use by Weygand.{{sfn|Alexander|2007|p=240}}

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-126-0350-26A, Paris, Einmarsch, Parade deutscher Truppen.jpg|thumb|German troops in [[Paris]]]]
On 10 June, the French government declared Paris an [[open city]].{{sfn|Shirer|1990|p=738}} The German 18th Army advanced on Paris against determined French opposition but the line was broken in several places. Weygand asserted it would not take long for the French Army to disintegrate. On 13 June, Churchill attended a meeting of the [[Anglo-French Supreme War Council]] at [[Tours]]. He suggested a [[Franco-British Union#World War II (1940)|Franco-British Union]], which the French rejected.{{sfn|Maier|Rohde|Stegemann|Umbreit|1991|pp=300–301}} On 14 June, Paris fell and the Parisians unable to flee the city found that in most cases the Germans were extremely well mannered.{{sfn|Healy|Prigent|2008|p=85}}

The [[air superiority]] established by the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} became [[air supremacy]], with the {{lang|fr|Armée de l'Air}} on the verge of collapse.{{sfn|Hooton|2008|p=86}} The French had only just begun to make the majority of bomber sorties; between 5 and 9 June during [[Operation Paula]], when over 1,815 sorties were flown, 518 by bombers. The number of sorties flown declined as losses became impossible to replace. The RAF attempted to divert the attention of the {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} with 660 sorties flown against targets over the Dunkirk area but lost many aircraft; on 21 June, 37 [[Bristol Blenheim]]s were destroyed. After 9 June, French aerial resistance virtually ceased and some surviving aircraft withdrew to French [[North Africa]]. {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} attacks concentrated on the direct and indirect support of the army. The {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} attacked lines of resistance which then quickly collapsed under armoured attack.{{sfn|Hooton|2008|pp=84–85}}

===Maginot Line===
[[File:Maginot Line ln-en.svg|thumb|The Maginot Line]]
[[Army Group C]] in the east was to help [[Army Group A]] to encircle and capture the French forces on the [[Maginot Line]]. The goal of the operation was to envelop the [[Metz]] region, with its fortifications, to prevent a French counter-offensive from Alsace against the German line on the Somme. The XIX {{lang|de|Panzerkorps}} (General [[Heinz Guderian]]) was to advance to the French border with [[Switzerland]] and trap the French forces in the [[Vosges Mountains]] while the XVI {{lang|de|Panzerkorps}} attacked the Maginot Line from the west, into its vulnerable rear to take the cities of [[Verdun]], [[Toul]] and Metz. The French had moved the 2nd Army Group from the Alsace and Lorraine to the Weygand line on the Somme, leaving only small forces guarding the Maginot Line. After Army Group B had begun its offensive against Paris and into Normandy, Army Group A began its advance into the rear of the Maginot Line. On 15 June, Army Group C launched Operation Tiger, a frontal assault across the [[Rhine]] into France.{{sfn|Romanych|Rupp|2010|p=52}}

German attempts to break the Maginot Line prior to Tiger had failed. One assault lasted for eight hours at the north end of the line, costing the Germans 46 dead and 251 wounded for two French were killed at {{lang|fr|[[Ouvrage Ferme Chappy]]}} (Chappy Farm shelter) and one at {{lang|fr|[[Ouvrage Fermont]]}}. On 15 June, the last well-equipped French forces, including the Fourth Army, were preparing to leave as the Germans struck; only a skeleton force held the line. The Germans greatly outnumbered the French and could call upon I {{lang|de|Armeekorps}} of seven divisions and 1,000 guns, although most were First World War vintage and could not penetrate the thick armour of the fortresses. Only 88&nbsp;mm guns were effective and 16 were allocated to the operation; {{nowrap|150 mm}} guns and eight railway batteries were also employed. The {{lang|de|Luftwaffe}} deployed {{lang|de|[[5th Air Corps (Germany)|Fliegerkorps V]]}}.{{sfn|Romanych|Rupp|2010|p=56}}

The battle was difficult and slow progress was made against strong French resistance but the fortresses were overcome one by one.{{sfn|Romanych|Rupp|2010|pp=56–80}} {{lang|fr|[[Ouvrage Schoenenbourg]]}} fired 15,802 {{nowrap|75 mm}} rounds at German infantry. It was the most bombarded of all the French positions but its armour protected it from fatal damage. The same day that ''Tiger'' began, {{lang|de|Unternehmen Kleiner Bär}} started. Five assault divisions of the VII {{lang|de|Armeekorps}} crossed the Rhine into the [[Colmar]] area with a view to advancing to the Vosges Mountains. It had 400 artillery pieces including heavy artillery and mortars. The French 104th Division and 105th Division were driven back into the Vosges Mountains on 17 June. On the same day, XIX {{lang|de|Korps}} reached the Swiss border and the Maginot defences were cut off from France. Most units surrendered on 25 June and the Germans claimed to have taken 500,000 prisoners. Some main fortresses continued the fight, despite appeals for surrender. The last fort did not surrender until 10 July and then only under protest and after a request from General [[Alphonse Joseph Georges|Alphonse Georges]]. Of the 58 big fortifications on the Maginot Line, ten were captured by the German army.{{sfn|Romanych|Rupp|2010|pp=90–91}}