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[[File:French Prisoners 1940.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|French Prisoners,1940]]
The fall of France in 1940 was sudden and shocking. French leaders believed that they had prepared for a potential war with Germany and were well prepared. Tragically, they were not. Within months of the German invasion, France collapsed. Why did France surrender so quickly?
In September 1939, the German war machine invaded Poland, and World War II began. France and its Britain declared against Germany in 1939. The French army was in theory as strong as GermanysGermany's. It had a vast Empire and a sophisticated arms industry. It had also established a series of fortifications along the country's eastern border along with Germany, known as the Maginot Line. The Line was designed to keep German forces out of France. Initially, France and Great Britain appeared to be a match for Germany.
However, in weeks in the late spring and early summer of 1940, it became clear that France was woefully unprepared for the German onslaught. France suffered a humiliating defeat and was quickly occupied by Germany. Its failure was a result of a hopelessly divided French political elite, a lack of quality military leadership, rudimentary French military tactics. On the battlefield, France faced a vastly more prepared German army that utilized both more advanced weapons and sophisticated tactics. It was a mismatch.
