France

[German Born]

Hitler says that his invasion of France was a payback and indeed was a success,but was there any other reason such as strategical or otherwise?When I see the docos about the occupation of France all I seem to see are the Germans partying.
Was this just a PR exercise to demonstrate the might of the Werhmacht,like a warning to other countries?Afterall things seemed to be coming together for AH at that stage.

[John W. Howard]

The 1940 invasion of France was far more than just pay-back for 1918 or a publicity stunt; it was a necessary prelude to Hitler's campaign against Communist Soviet Russia, Naziism's and Hitler's mortal enemy. The French campaign secured Hitler's western flank right up to the English Channel, allowing him to turn east and focus on the Soviet Union. Best wishes.

[Hans]

It was hardly a party. Especially when up against some of the Colonial troops eg. the Senegalese. After the fighting was over it was certainly better. However France tended to be a prelude to a not so pleasant trip to the Eastern Front - a good reason to get a bit on the tipsy side.

[German Born]

Ok I need to go back to my source of information again but I'm pretty sure I heard that the invasion/occupation of France was purely a payback for the defeat of ww1 when AH served in that conflict himself.Whatever the reason was we all know that the times ahead were going to be challenging to say the least and the heavy lifting was required now more than ever.Cheers All.GB.

[German Born]

According to Adolf Hitlers book "Mein Kampf" (my struggles) he clearly stated what he called his "missions".
As one of the embittered veterans of the 1st world war his 1st mission would be to crush France,to wipe out the humiliation of the treaty of Versailes that had stripped Germany of it's army and part of it's territory inb 1919.Cheers all GB.