The Second World War - Order Of Battle - World War Two - Battle Of France

The Relics

The Opposing Armies

For the Offensive in the West the Germans had 136 divisions at their disposal. The Germans had just completed the subjugation of Poland, their troops had battle experience and they knew what they could and couldn't do with their equipment.

The French on paper was the best army in the world. France deployed 94 divisions on its northern borders with Germany and Belgium. It was in reality very short of manpower; a low birthrate and the losses of the First World War had made a massive negative impact on the population of France. Added to this were 22 Belgian divisions, 10 Dutch divisions and 10 British divisions.

The Germans had around 2,400 tanks against about 3,000 that the Allies possessed. The German tanks, however, were grouped into self contained armoured units that included mobile infantry, artillery and support units. The Allied tanks were mainly dispersed amongst the infantry units apart from a few new armoured divisions. The Allied tanks, were on aggregate, better armed and better protected but some had only a four man crew, which tended to put the commander under too much strain during combat, having to load the gun and direct the tank at the same time.

The Germans possessed two fighters: the Messerschmitt bf109e and the Messerschmitt bf110 twin engine heavy fighter. These were better than anything the Allies possessed except the British Hawker Hurricane, which was slightly inferior to the bf109e but more than a match for the bf110. The German air force, the Luftwaffe, was integrated with the army to provide support and had practiced this role in Poland.

A critical factor in the forthcoming campaign was communications. German tanks each had a radio that allowed the units to act in a co-ordinated manner, controlled by a mobile headquarters. German units also had air units at their disposal that, using radio, could be called into action to overcome any stiff resistance within 45 minutes or so. As few as one fifth of the Allied tanks had radios. This gave the German army a huge advantage and allowed them to dictate the battle to their benefit.

The French and German armies faced each other across the neutral Low Countries in May 1940

Allied Order of Battle

The Allied command was divided into three army groups, the independent British contingent being under the nominal command of the French First Army Group. The First Army Group was responsible for the line from the end of the Maginot line to the Channel coast; this army group would bear the brunt of the German offensive. The Second army Group and Third Army Group were responsible for covering the Maginot line.

German Order of Battle

For Fall Gelb the German forces were organised into three army groups: Army Group B to create a diversionary attack in the north to lure the allies into the Low countries and Belgium; Army Group A to exploit the weakness in the allied center and slice through the rear of the allies in the Low Countries and Army Group C to pin the French armies in the Maginot Line.

 Italian Order of Battle

The Italians came into the Battle of France as it was about to draw to a close. Mussolini intended to take advantage of the French defeat but his forces were held up in the Alps by the French.