WWI Zone Rouge In France

[Donger]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

My recollection was that Germany had more soldiers than France at the outset of WWII but I'd have to look that up somewhere to confirm.

But what I don't need to look up was that Germany was the aggressor that had begun in/around 1935 in re-armament with the intent of eventually kick-starting another European war. So while France may have had troops, they weren't out there building massive armored divisions, a Navy that could compete with Great Britain and probably the most formidable air force in the world at the time.

Again, Germany was taken over by a totalitarian state and had essentially created a wartime economy 4-5 years before the war actually started.

France began re-arming around 1936 as well, and in 1940, her army was well-equipped and considered to be one of the best in the world, including armored forces. The issue is that the French made a number of strategic blunders before the Battle of France. They still had a hard-on for infantry. They didn't believe that the Germans would be able to push through the Ardennes and go around the Maginot Line. Basically, they weren't ready for a new kind of warfare (Blitzkreig). Some of them actually fought really well and did help slow the Germans going after the Brits.

Yes, people give the French shit over it, and deservedly so. But, I think what really makes people sick is that they not only surrendered very quickly, but that many of them also actively collaborated with the Germans thereafter and did some pretty nasty things of their own volition.