Hi to all, just a little question about a forgotten period (and front) of WWII.
Which German Unit/s took the brunt (if any) of the offensive (limited) carried out by the French Army on september 1939?.
Does somebody in the forum has reports about it (german side) or at least maps/skechts?
Thanks in advance. Regards. Tigre.
West Front 1939
Moderator: sniper1shot
West Front 1939
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
I remember that the french were having some kind of a picnic trip over the border with no real engagement. They retreated a few days later.
But since you are looking for an Oob, the first thing that comes to my mind would be to use Shadow's excellent work: http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6464
This should answer all your questions...
best regards,
Nibelung
But since you are looking for an Oob, the first thing that comes to my mind would be to use Shadow's excellent work: http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6464
This should answer all your questions...
best regards,
Nibelung
There are no desperate situations, there are only desperate people. - Heinz Guderian
-- Sine doctrina vita est quasi mortis imago. --
-- Sine doctrina vita est quasi mortis imago. --
A
Hello Tigre,
The German units which defended Saar against the French attack (called offensive "Sarre") were parts of the 1. Armee. Here are the divisions (some others could have been in reserve or in rear area), from West to East :
- under XXX. Armeekorps command :
--- 79. Infanterie Division.
--- 34. Infanterie Division
--- second line : 214. Infanterie Division.
- under XII. Armeekorps command :
--- 15. Infanterie Division.
--- 52. Infanterie Division.
--- 6. Infanterie Division.
--- second line : 75. Infanterie Division.
- under XXIV. Armeekorps command :
--- 36. Infanterie Division.
--- 9. Infanterie Division.
--- 71. Infanterie Division.
The French attackers were the following :
- under IIIème Armée (3rd Army) command :
--- Corps d'Armée Colonial (Colonial Army Corps) :
----- 12ème Division d'Infanterie Motorisée (DIM : 12th Motorized Infantry Divisionà.
----- 3ème Division d'Infanterie Nord-Africaine (DINA : 3rd North African Infantry Division).
--- 1er Corps d'Armée (1st Army Corps) :
----- 12ème Division d'Infanterie (DI : 12th Infantry Division --> NB : it's a typo, because there is only a 12th Motorized Infantry Division, see above. This unit might have been a serie-A active infantry division, but not the 12th).
----- 42ème Division d'Infanterie.
- under IVème Armée command :
--- 9ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 6ème Division d'Infanterie Coloniale (DIC : 6th Colonial Infantry Division).
----- 4ème Division d'Infanterie Nord-Africaine (DINA).
--- 20ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 11ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 21ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 9ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 23ème Division d'Infanterie.
--- 5ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 15ème Division d'Infanterie Motorisée.
----- 3ème Division d'Infanterie Coloniale.
Source : "Blitzkrieg à l'Ouest", Jean-Paul Pallud, Heimdal, Bayeux, 2000.
Cheers,
Loïc
The German units which defended Saar against the French attack (called offensive "Sarre") were parts of the 1. Armee. Here are the divisions (some others could have been in reserve or in rear area), from West to East :
- under XXX. Armeekorps command :
--- 79. Infanterie Division.
--- 34. Infanterie Division
--- second line : 214. Infanterie Division.
- under XII. Armeekorps command :
--- 15. Infanterie Division.
--- 52. Infanterie Division.
--- 6. Infanterie Division.
--- second line : 75. Infanterie Division.
- under XXIV. Armeekorps command :
--- 36. Infanterie Division.
--- 9. Infanterie Division.
--- 71. Infanterie Division.
The French attackers were the following :
- under IIIème Armée (3rd Army) command :
--- Corps d'Armée Colonial (Colonial Army Corps) :
----- 12ème Division d'Infanterie Motorisée (DIM : 12th Motorized Infantry Divisionà.
----- 3ème Division d'Infanterie Nord-Africaine (DINA : 3rd North African Infantry Division).
--- 1er Corps d'Armée (1st Army Corps) :
----- 12ème Division d'Infanterie (DI : 12th Infantry Division --> NB : it's a typo, because there is only a 12th Motorized Infantry Division, see above. This unit might have been a serie-A active infantry division, but not the 12th).
----- 42ème Division d'Infanterie.
- under IVème Armée command :
--- 9ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 6ème Division d'Infanterie Coloniale (DIC : 6th Colonial Infantry Division).
----- 4ème Division d'Infanterie Nord-Africaine (DINA).
--- 20ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 11ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 21ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 9ème Division d'Infanterie.
----- 23ème Division d'Infanterie.
--- 5ème Corps d'Armée :
----- 15ème Division d'Infanterie Motorisée.
----- 3ème Division d'Infanterie Coloniale.
Source : "Blitzkrieg à l'Ouest", Jean-Paul Pallud, Heimdal, Bayeux, 2000.
Cheers,
Loïc
"On ne relève pas Picardie !" (Picardie Regiment is not relieved !)
Hey friend Nibelung,Nibelung wrote: But since you are looking for an Oob, the first thing that comes to my mind would be to use Shadow's excellent work: http://www.axishistory.com/index.php?id=6464
This should answer all your questions...
Shadow's excellent Order of Battle concerns German deployment on September 1st 1939, whereas the French offensive was launched on September 8th 1939, and there were changes during this week.
That's why I thought useful to give additional information to Tigre
All the best,
Loïc
"On ne relève pas Picardie !" (Picardie Regiment is not relieved !)
West Front 1939
Skarn and Nibelung thanks to both of you. Cheers. Tigre
Serás lo que debas ser o no serás nada. General José de San Martín.
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von_noobie
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They took Saarbruken, which was right on the border and outside the still not complete Siegfried lines which were mostly 2-10 miles from the French border. The French troops were under orders not to go into the range of the fixed German guns, as they didn't want to provoke an attack. The troops were withdrawn soon after when Gamelin detected what he thought were signs of an impending blitz against the French nation. Actually, the French intelligence of the German strength and ability along the front was pretty pathetic. The movements they saw were some minor emergency upgrades in response to General Leeb's report that his units were so weak they could not hold a French attack for even a day.von_noobie wrote:from what i know the french seized control of a town and some vital bridge needed to support there tanks other than that thay didnt go any deeper into germany
The initial characterization of the attack by Gamelin and Georges was totally out of proportion to what actually took place. Some media reports of the period mention mammoth tank forays all along the 90-mile front. When the withdrawal was actually revealed, some members of the French parliament and media became upset for a time.
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von_noobie
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von_noobie
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Laurent Daniel
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THE PHONEY WAR
Fall Weiss allowed testing some Blitzkrieg principles at the tactical level and the German HQ wanted to upscale this concept. The Germans did more than replace losses between the Polish and French Campaigns. They created new divisions and improved their army in terms of equipments, chain of command and doctrine. The 8 months of the phoney war gave them the time to adapt and develop the German army. In September 1939 on the western front, France + BEF + Belgium + Netherlands together could align 125 divisions. The Heer with its 105 divisions had to increase its size and power.
• At the eve of Fall Gelb there are 153 Heer Divisions (instead of 105 divisions for Fall Weiss) and also 2 Waffen-SS ID (mot). The Leichten Divisionen had been transformed into Panzerdivisionen. Created in 1936, these Leichten-Divisionen were based on the model of the French DLM. In Germany like in France, the cavalry wanted its own tanks because it was frightened to loose influence. After Poland, the 1., 2., 3. and 4. Leichten-Divisionen became the 6., 7., 3. and 4. Panzer-Divisionen and the 5. PzD had been created. The German army in May 1940 had therefore 10 Panzer Divisionen, 6 ID (mot) and 1 newly created Kavalerie division. The armored units were better armed (more tanks were armed with 3.7cm and 7.5cm guns (16% - 452 tanks - in Poland and 36% - 955 tanks - in France) and also better armored (for example more Panzer IV Ausf. A/B in Poland and more Panzer IV Ausf.C/D in France, more early and lightly armored Panzer III in Poland and more Panzer III E/F in France).
• The 3. and 4. Wellen Infanterie Divisionen from the Polish campaign were largely improved, younger men were enlisted and the equipment was modernized. In 1940, 15 of these divisions were frontline units.
• The chain of command is also modified and modernized. During Fall Weiss, the German army lacked some specific HQ especially for armored units, the chain of command was still very traditional. For Fall Gelb a new, more flexible chain of command was developed and could already be used during operation Weserübung.
During the Phoney war the French and German armies didn't remain completely inactive. The French attack on the Sarre, indeed very limited, was launched on 7th September 1939, 4 days after France declared war to Germany. France needed 15 days to fully mobilize. If France was to have launched a full scale offensive 15 days after it declared war this would have been around 18th September 1939. This was 4 days after the Polish government had opened negotiations on the terms of its flight to Romania and the same day that it and its military High Command fled their own country and ordered all their forces to head for neutral borders. The rapid collapse of Poland left France in a very exposed position. It was facing a Germany with nearly twice its metropolitan population virtually alone (Germans from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland etc.). The British could put only 4-5 divisions into Europe in September 1939 and would take 2 years to field a continental-scale army. The French were very cautious in September 1939, but one can see why.
Concerning the air forces, between September 1939 and April 1940, several 176 German aircrafts were lost for 82 British and 57 French ones (= 139 aircrafts for the allies). The German "Stosstruppen" and the French "corps francs" launched many deep reconnaissance patrols, prepared ambushes, took prisoners etc. behind the enemy lines. There were also artillery battles etc. The so-called Phoney War was not a completely quiet period of time and had its number of killed and wounded
Source: David Lehman
Fall Weiss allowed testing some Blitzkrieg principles at the tactical level and the German HQ wanted to upscale this concept. The Germans did more than replace losses between the Polish and French Campaigns. They created new divisions and improved their army in terms of equipments, chain of command and doctrine. The 8 months of the phoney war gave them the time to adapt and develop the German army. In September 1939 on the western front, France + BEF + Belgium + Netherlands together could align 125 divisions. The Heer with its 105 divisions had to increase its size and power.
• At the eve of Fall Gelb there are 153 Heer Divisions (instead of 105 divisions for Fall Weiss) and also 2 Waffen-SS ID (mot). The Leichten Divisionen had been transformed into Panzerdivisionen. Created in 1936, these Leichten-Divisionen were based on the model of the French DLM. In Germany like in France, the cavalry wanted its own tanks because it was frightened to loose influence. After Poland, the 1., 2., 3. and 4. Leichten-Divisionen became the 6., 7., 3. and 4. Panzer-Divisionen and the 5. PzD had been created. The German army in May 1940 had therefore 10 Panzer Divisionen, 6 ID (mot) and 1 newly created Kavalerie division. The armored units were better armed (more tanks were armed with 3.7cm and 7.5cm guns (16% - 452 tanks - in Poland and 36% - 955 tanks - in France) and also better armored (for example more Panzer IV Ausf. A/B in Poland and more Panzer IV Ausf.C/D in France, more early and lightly armored Panzer III in Poland and more Panzer III E/F in France).
• The 3. and 4. Wellen Infanterie Divisionen from the Polish campaign were largely improved, younger men were enlisted and the equipment was modernized. In 1940, 15 of these divisions were frontline units.
• The chain of command is also modified and modernized. During Fall Weiss, the German army lacked some specific HQ especially for armored units, the chain of command was still very traditional. For Fall Gelb a new, more flexible chain of command was developed and could already be used during operation Weserübung.
During the Phoney war the French and German armies didn't remain completely inactive. The French attack on the Sarre, indeed very limited, was launched on 7th September 1939, 4 days after France declared war to Germany. France needed 15 days to fully mobilize. If France was to have launched a full scale offensive 15 days after it declared war this would have been around 18th September 1939. This was 4 days after the Polish government had opened negotiations on the terms of its flight to Romania and the same day that it and its military High Command fled their own country and ordered all their forces to head for neutral borders. The rapid collapse of Poland left France in a very exposed position. It was facing a Germany with nearly twice its metropolitan population virtually alone (Germans from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland etc.). The British could put only 4-5 divisions into Europe in September 1939 and would take 2 years to field a continental-scale army. The French were very cautious in September 1939, but one can see why.
Concerning the air forces, between September 1939 and April 1940, several 176 German aircrafts were lost for 82 British and 57 French ones (= 139 aircrafts for the allies). The German "Stosstruppen" and the French "corps francs" launched many deep reconnaissance patrols, prepared ambushes, took prisoners etc. behind the enemy lines. There were also artillery battles etc. The so-called Phoney War was not a completely quiet period of time and had its number of killed and wounded
Source: David Lehman
Regards
Daniel Laurent
Daniel Laurent
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Panzermeyer
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- Joined: Wed Nov 13, 2002 4:51 am
- Location: France
A more complete version
Fall Weiss allowed testing some Blitzkrieg principles at the tactical level and the German HQ wanted to upscale this concept. The Germans did more than replace losses between the Polish and French Campaigns. They created new divisions and improved their army in terms of equipments, chain of command and doctrine. The 8 months of the phoney war gave them the time to adapt and develop the German army. In September 1939 on the western front, France + BEF + Belgium + Netherlands together could align 125 divisions, but the Dutch and Belgians were still neutral ! The Heer with its 105 divisions had nonetheless to increase its size and power.
• At the eve of Fall Gelb there are 155 German divisions available (136 engaged), including 2 Waffen-SS motorized divisions instead of 105 divisions (63 engaged) in September 1939. The Leichten-Divisionen have been transformed into Panzerdivisionen. Created in 1936, these Leichten-Divisionen were based on the model of the French DLM. After Fall Weiss, the 1., 2., 3. and 4. Leichten-Divisionen became the 6., 7., 3. and 4. Panzerdivisionen and the 5. PzD had been created. The German army in May 1940 had therefore 10 Panzerdivisionen, 6 motorized infantry divisions and 1 newly created cavalry division. The armored units were better armed (more tanks were armed with 3.7cm and 7.5cm guns (16% - 452 tanks - in Poland and 36% - 955 tanks - in France) and also better armored (for example more Panzer IV Ausf. A/B in Poland and more Panzer IV Ausf.C/D in France, more early and lightly armored Panzer III in Poland and more Panzer III E/F in France).
• The 3. and 4. Wellen Infanterie Divisionen from the Polish campaign were largely improved, younger men were enlisted and the equipment was modernized. In 1940, 15 of these divisions were frontline units.
• The chain of command is also modified and modernized. During Fall Weiss, the German army lacked some specific HQ especially for armored units. The chain of command was still very traditional. For Fall Gelb a new, more flexible chain of command was developed and could already be used during operation Weserübung.
During the Phoney war the French and German armies didn't remain completely inactive. France declared war to Germany after the invasion of Poland.
The French attack on the Sarre, indeed very limited, was launched on 7th September 1939, 4 days after France declared war to Germany. The Sarre area was the single area where the probe could be launched. The neutrality of Luxembourg, Belgium etc. made this 180 km border (from the Rhine to Luxembourg) the single area were French and Germans were in direct contact. The Germans let only active rearguards units and a huge number of AT and AP mines everywhere.
The combats were not intense; they looked more like traps, ambushes, a bit like guerrilla warfare against the cautiously advancing French troops. All the reports insist on the numerous mines hidden everywhere even AP mines in the trees. It was not intense but there were losses anyway and the French captured also German troops. The French 21e DI alone for example had 329 losses.
In front of the French troops in the sector of the Moselle the reinforcement of the German front is also a reality :
• 28th August 1939 : 6 divisions
• 6th September 1939, after France declared war and just before the French move : 12 divisions
• 12th September 1939 : 14-16 divisions
• 20th September 1939 : 18-20 divisions
So yes the German moved additional troops (about 14 divisions) to this part of the border against the French troops but of course it was far from sufficient to help the Polish troops.
This French move was before all political. Later operations were intended (e.g. an attack was planned on Sarrelouis on 22nd September 1939) but had no justification at all since Poland was already defeated. The Polish collapse was faster than initially believed (the French HQ thought that Poland would resist at least 6 months).
Concerning the ground operations during the Phoney War, except the Sarre limited actions, they consisted in ambushes and deep patrols behind enemy lines. The German "Stosstruppen" and the French "corps francs" launched many deep reconnaissance patrols, prepared ambushes, took prisoners etc. behind the enemy lines. There were also artillery battles etc. The so-called Phoney War was not a completely quiet period of time and had its number of killed and wounded men.
The Polish wanted before all aerial support and allied bombings. At that time nothing could be done for that. Even around Sedan on the 14th May 1940 only about 30 French bombers could be engaged ! On 3rd September 10 British light bombers dropped propaganda tracts over Germany and on 4th September there is the first British bombing mission with several planes over the naval base at Heligoland. 5 Blenheim were lost. The first combat involving fighters takes place on 8th September 1939 between French H75s and German Me109s with 2 German aircrafts reported shot down. The same day a Mureaux 115 (observation aircraft) is lost over Karlsruhe. During September 1939, 24 German aircrafts, 27 British aircrafts and 30 French aircrafts were shot down.
Concerning the air forces, between September 1939 and April 1940, 176 German aircrafts were lost for 82 British and 57 French ones (= 139 allied aircrafts).
Concerning the French Navy in 1939 there were several small actions :
• German freighter "Chemnitz" : captured by the submarine "Poncelet" on 28th September 1939
• German submarine U-49 : heavily damaged by torpedo boat "Siroco" on 20th November 1939
• German merchantmen "Halle" (scuttled) and "Santa Fe" (captured) : found by a joint Franco-British group including "Dupleix" cruiser, counter-torpedo boat "Le Terrible" and counter-torpedo boat "Le Fantasque" on 25th November 1939
• German freighter "Trifels" : captured by French auxiliary cruiser "Koutoubia" in November 1939.
France needed 15 days to fully mobilize but launched the operations in the Sarre 4 days after the declaration of war. If France was to have launched a full scale offensive 15 days after it declared war this would have been around 18th September 1939 at the earliest. This was 4 days after the Polish government had opened negotiations on the terms of its flight to Rumania and the same day that it and its military High Command fled their own country and ordered all their forces to head for neutral borders.
The French army itself was preparing a big clash for 1941, not 1940 and for sure not 1939. Before the war there were discussions with the Soviets to isolate Germany but they choose a pact with the German side and there was discussion about a possible intervention in Finland ... which happened finally later in Norway in 1940.
The rapid collapse of Poland left France in a very exposed position. France remained in 1939 roughly alone to face Germany, which had nearly twice its metropolitan population (including Germans from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland etc.). Germany had at that time a pact with the Soviets (which led to strikes and some sabotages organized by communists in France to target the French military industry).
The Belgian and Dutch neighbours were at that time neutral, they did not allow the French troops to deploy on their territory before an invasion and had rather tiny armies. The British could put only 4-5 divisions into Europe in September 1939 and would take 2 years to field a continental-scale army. The French were very cautious in September 1939, but one can see why.
Regards,
David Lehmann
Fall Weiss allowed testing some Blitzkrieg principles at the tactical level and the German HQ wanted to upscale this concept. The Germans did more than replace losses between the Polish and French Campaigns. They created new divisions and improved their army in terms of equipments, chain of command and doctrine. The 8 months of the phoney war gave them the time to adapt and develop the German army. In September 1939 on the western front, France + BEF + Belgium + Netherlands together could align 125 divisions, but the Dutch and Belgians were still neutral ! The Heer with its 105 divisions had nonetheless to increase its size and power.
• At the eve of Fall Gelb there are 155 German divisions available (136 engaged), including 2 Waffen-SS motorized divisions instead of 105 divisions (63 engaged) in September 1939. The Leichten-Divisionen have been transformed into Panzerdivisionen. Created in 1936, these Leichten-Divisionen were based on the model of the French DLM. After Fall Weiss, the 1., 2., 3. and 4. Leichten-Divisionen became the 6., 7., 3. and 4. Panzerdivisionen and the 5. PzD had been created. The German army in May 1940 had therefore 10 Panzerdivisionen, 6 motorized infantry divisions and 1 newly created cavalry division. The armored units were better armed (more tanks were armed with 3.7cm and 7.5cm guns (16% - 452 tanks - in Poland and 36% - 955 tanks - in France) and also better armored (for example more Panzer IV Ausf. A/B in Poland and more Panzer IV Ausf.C/D in France, more early and lightly armored Panzer III in Poland and more Panzer III E/F in France).
• The 3. and 4. Wellen Infanterie Divisionen from the Polish campaign were largely improved, younger men were enlisted and the equipment was modernized. In 1940, 15 of these divisions were frontline units.
• The chain of command is also modified and modernized. During Fall Weiss, the German army lacked some specific HQ especially for armored units. The chain of command was still very traditional. For Fall Gelb a new, more flexible chain of command was developed and could already be used during operation Weserübung.
During the Phoney war the French and German armies didn't remain completely inactive. France declared war to Germany after the invasion of Poland.
The French attack on the Sarre, indeed very limited, was launched on 7th September 1939, 4 days after France declared war to Germany. The Sarre area was the single area where the probe could be launched. The neutrality of Luxembourg, Belgium etc. made this 180 km border (from the Rhine to Luxembourg) the single area were French and Germans were in direct contact. The Germans let only active rearguards units and a huge number of AT and AP mines everywhere.
The combats were not intense; they looked more like traps, ambushes, a bit like guerrilla warfare against the cautiously advancing French troops. All the reports insist on the numerous mines hidden everywhere even AP mines in the trees. It was not intense but there were losses anyway and the French captured also German troops. The French 21e DI alone for example had 329 losses.
In front of the French troops in the sector of the Moselle the reinforcement of the German front is also a reality :
• 28th August 1939 : 6 divisions
• 6th September 1939, after France declared war and just before the French move : 12 divisions
• 12th September 1939 : 14-16 divisions
• 20th September 1939 : 18-20 divisions
So yes the German moved additional troops (about 14 divisions) to this part of the border against the French troops but of course it was far from sufficient to help the Polish troops.
This French move was before all political. Later operations were intended (e.g. an attack was planned on Sarrelouis on 22nd September 1939) but had no justification at all since Poland was already defeated. The Polish collapse was faster than initially believed (the French HQ thought that Poland would resist at least 6 months).
Concerning the ground operations during the Phoney War, except the Sarre limited actions, they consisted in ambushes and deep patrols behind enemy lines. The German "Stosstruppen" and the French "corps francs" launched many deep reconnaissance patrols, prepared ambushes, took prisoners etc. behind the enemy lines. There were also artillery battles etc. The so-called Phoney War was not a completely quiet period of time and had its number of killed and wounded men.
The Polish wanted before all aerial support and allied bombings. At that time nothing could be done for that. Even around Sedan on the 14th May 1940 only about 30 French bombers could be engaged ! On 3rd September 10 British light bombers dropped propaganda tracts over Germany and on 4th September there is the first British bombing mission with several planes over the naval base at Heligoland. 5 Blenheim were lost. The first combat involving fighters takes place on 8th September 1939 between French H75s and German Me109s with 2 German aircrafts reported shot down. The same day a Mureaux 115 (observation aircraft) is lost over Karlsruhe. During September 1939, 24 German aircrafts, 27 British aircrafts and 30 French aircrafts were shot down.
Concerning the air forces, between September 1939 and April 1940, 176 German aircrafts were lost for 82 British and 57 French ones (= 139 allied aircrafts).
Concerning the French Navy in 1939 there were several small actions :
• German freighter "Chemnitz" : captured by the submarine "Poncelet" on 28th September 1939
• German submarine U-49 : heavily damaged by torpedo boat "Siroco" on 20th November 1939
• German merchantmen "Halle" (scuttled) and "Santa Fe" (captured) : found by a joint Franco-British group including "Dupleix" cruiser, counter-torpedo boat "Le Terrible" and counter-torpedo boat "Le Fantasque" on 25th November 1939
• German freighter "Trifels" : captured by French auxiliary cruiser "Koutoubia" in November 1939.
France needed 15 days to fully mobilize but launched the operations in the Sarre 4 days after the declaration of war. If France was to have launched a full scale offensive 15 days after it declared war this would have been around 18th September 1939 at the earliest. This was 4 days after the Polish government had opened negotiations on the terms of its flight to Rumania and the same day that it and its military High Command fled their own country and ordered all their forces to head for neutral borders.
The French army itself was preparing a big clash for 1941, not 1940 and for sure not 1939. Before the war there were discussions with the Soviets to isolate Germany but they choose a pact with the German side and there was discussion about a possible intervention in Finland ... which happened finally later in Norway in 1940.
The rapid collapse of Poland left France in a very exposed position. France remained in 1939 roughly alone to face Germany, which had nearly twice its metropolitan population (including Germans from Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland etc.). Germany had at that time a pact with the Soviets (which led to strikes and some sabotages organized by communists in France to target the French military industry).
The Belgian and Dutch neighbours were at that time neutral, they did not allow the French troops to deploy on their territory before an invasion and had rather tiny armies. The British could put only 4-5 divisions into Europe in September 1939 and would take 2 years to field a continental-scale army. The French were very cautious in September 1939, but one can see why.
Regards,
David Lehmann