Figure 1.--The Allies believed that the NAZIs would begin the War by launching an aaerial bombing campaign. This AP wirephoto of French school boys appeared on August 30, 1939, as Hitler was posed to launch World War II. The caption read, "While troop trains roll across Europe today, these Paris school boys, blanket rolls on their backs and valises in their hands, hurried to school to join playmates in a flight from the city and the dangers of air-raids. Evacution of nearly 50,000 children from Paris was begun ."

The successful NAZI conquest of Poland was followed by inactivity in the West. Hitler was ready to move west and scheduled several Western Offensives, but the General Staff managed to disuade him for a variety of reasons, primarily the insuitability of the weather. The press styled the inactivity "The Phony War"--a term originally coined by isolationist Senator Borah in America. The French Army refused to sally beyond the saftey of the Maginot Line. In actuality, it was a deadly race with Britain and France attempting to rearm so that they could meat the inevitable German Western Offensive. The Germans had to knock out the Allies before they could rearm with the support of American industry. To the surprise of many, Hitler after Poland did not unleash the Lufwaffe on the Allies--not yet. [Freidel, pp. 328-329.] The initial panic by civilians subsided. British children that had been evacuated began coming home, especially as Christmas approached.

Blitzkrieg: Poland (September 1939)

German Pamzers attacjed Poland (September 1). The new German weapons were on display in Poland and the German Panzers crossed the border and the Luftwaffe began bombing Polish cities. The British and French declared war (September 3). The invasion was made possible by a Non-Agression Pact that Stalin had approved with Hitler. The Luftwaffe destroyed the obsolete Polish Air Force on the first day. Wehrmacht armored units using a new tactic called blitzkrieg or lighting war breached the Polish frontier and sliced deep into the country.

British Evacuate Children

The British began evacuating London and other large cities even before declaring war. The British were not prepared for war, but one area they had prepared for was a German aerial bomving attack. This was the result of German Zephin and bomber attacks during World War I. The first step was to get the children out of London and the other large cities.

Inactivity in the West

The British and French expected a disaster after they declared war. They thought that Hitler would order the Luftwaffee to bomb British and French cities and as in World War I, another huge German Army would again invade Belgium and France. This did not materialize. The successful NAZI conquest of Poland, however, was followed by inactivity in the West. The Germans were at first concentated in Poland with only minimal forces in the West. Neither the British or French were willing to launch an invasion of Germany or bomb Germay.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF)

The British sent a relativelt small Expeditionary Force to France. The Belgians also braced for another attack, but did not enter the War. The BEF was thus deployed along the French-Belgian border. RAF squadrons were also deployed to France. The French complained that the British commitment was inadequate and that they were not taking thec situation seriously enough.

Diplomacy

There were dipolmatic contacts. German diplomats contacted the Allies through the Netherlands. Hitler was not yet convinced that the Aliies he had so successfully bullied at Munich would actually fight. He wanted time to digest Poland. It is not known what Hitler would have done had the Allies not declared war. Almost certainly he would have attacked France. He had a Non-Agressiin Pact with the Siviet Union and Hitler never would have attacked the Soviets with the French Army in tact on his western border. He knew only to well whatvhad occurred during World war I. The British insisted that the Germans should withdraw from Poland and Hitler rejected this out of hand. Thus no diplomatic solution was possible.

German Offensives

Hitler was ready to move west and scheduled several Western Offensives, but the General Staff managed to disuade him for a variety of reasons, primarily the insuitability of the weather.

The Press

The British press styled the inactivity "The Sitzkrieg". I'm not sure that this term was used in Germany. Isolationist Senator Borah in America called in the Phoney War. Churchill called it the "Twilight War".

Actual Situation

It is not entirely accurate to refe to this period as the Phoney War. There were in fact quite a number of things that were hppening. The NAZIs were in the process of instituting a horendous occupation regime in Poland. The German concentration camp system was being extended to Poland. The Germans were arresting Polish officials and intelctuals. Many were shot outright and others faced a slow death in the concentration camps. And the horrific suppresion of Polish Jews begun as they were hearded into ghettos. Further east the Soviets were conducting an even more extensive series of aggressions. The Soviets in cooperation with the Germans also invaded Poland. They also put in motion the occupation of the Baltic Republics, the Winter War with Finland, and the seizure of eastern Romania. After the defeat of the Polish Army, the Germans began moving west to prepare for their western offensive.

The Maginot Line

The French Army refused to sally beyond the saftey of the Maginot Line. France's defensive line was named after the War Minister Andre Maginot who began building it. The idea was first proposed by French World War I commander Joseph Joffre and Construction began in 1930. It was a massive system of defences, most of which was built underground. There were three interdependent fortified belts with anti-tank emplacements and pillboxes protecting bombproof artillery casements. These concrete and steel emplacements stretched between Luxembourg and Switzerland. Artilery emplacements and interlocking strong points were designed to stop a German invasion. The Maginot Line has gone diwn in history as a gigantic military failure. In fact it did prevent a German break through, but the Germans went around it. Plans were in place to continue the Maginot Line to the Channel. The War broke out before this project began. Thus the Maginot Line stopped at the Belgian frontier. While the Maginot forced the Germans to go around it, criticism over the cost is valid. It cost 7,000 million francs and adsorbed a substantial share of French fedense spending. Drench military olanners believed that the Ardennes, the heavily wooded and hilly area to the north of the Maginot Line, was impassible to tanks and thus could be lightly defended.

Siegfried Line

The Germans had also fortified their border. The Siegfried Line in western Germany, however, was much less elaborate than the Maginot Line.

Allied Preparations

It was a deadly race with Britain and France attempting to rearm so that they could meat the inevitable German Western Offensive. The Germans had to knock out the Allies before they could rearm with the support of American industry.

America

The Allies turned to America for assistance. Aginst the background of war in Europe, President Roosevelt who did see the dangers from the NAZIs and Japanese militaists, with great skill and political courage managed to not only support Britain in its hour of maximum peril, but with considerable political skill managed to push through Congress measures that would lay the ground work for turning American into the Arsenal of Democracy, producing a tidal wave of equipment and supplies not only for the American military, but for our Allies as well in quantities that no one especially the AXIS believed possible. President Roosevelt saw American national interest differntly fom most Americans who determined to avoid involvement in another world war. From the onset of war in Europe, President Roosevelt set out to transform America from an isolationist neutral nation into a technically non-beligerant country waging an undeclared naval war in the North Atlantic.

The Luftwaffe

To the surprise of many, Hitler after Poland did not unleash the Lufwaffe on the Allies--not yet. [Freidel, pp. 328-329.] The Germans coukld have struck France from their bases, but Britain was for the most part beyond the range of the Luftwaffe. In actuality, the Luftwaffe was a tatical force designd to support the Wehrmacht, not a strategic bombing force.

U-Boats

The principal German military action in the west was launching the naval war--the Battle of the Atlantic. The U-boats first victim was the Athenia, a passanger liner (September 3). The German action suggested that the Germans were not going to limit the U-boat attacks as in World War I. Actually this was not true. He did place limits on U-boat operations. He never wanted a wat against Britain. He wanted to defeat France, but his principal focus was on the East. Before Churchill became Primeminister he hoped that the British could be convinced to join his anti-Bolshevick campaign or at least forced to remain neutral. But even more practically, he was thinking about America. Neither he or others at the time were fully aware of just how significant America would be, but Hitler did realize that America was very important. And he also realized that the Kaiser's dimissive attitude toward America and the decesion to resume unrestricted submarine warfare had brought America into World War I. He was determined not to make the same mistake this time. (Ironically he would later declare war on America.) The U-boat attacks on Bfitish merchantmen was follow by the most dramatic U-boat attack of the War. U-boat captain Günther Prien managed to take the U-47 into the main Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow (October 14). Prien succeeded in defeating the elaborate defenses and sank HMS Royal Oak and because of the surprise there were heavy casualties. Prien was lauded in the German media and personally decorated by the Führer. Much of the British public were informed of the attack by Lord Haw-Haw's Berlin broadcasts. The Germany Navy was not ready for the War. The Navy of all the services was the least prepared for War. German's economy in the 1930s had limits. Thus Hitler gave priority to the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe. Only limited resources were made available to the Kriegsmarine. Thus only a small U-boat force could be deployed. Even so, they did considerable damage. The British had thought that the invention of sonar (asdic) during Wotld war Ihad made U-boats obsolete. This proved not to be the case.

British Evacuee Children Return Home

Following the declaration of war, the Germans did not launch Luftwaffe raids on British cities. In fact, the Luftwaffe was a tactical force and did not have the capability for any extesive air campaign against Britain from German bases. The fighting was largely restricted to Poland. The Allies made no real effort to suppot Poland besides declaring war and instituting a naval blockade of Germany. The fighting in Poland was over by early October. There was little fighting on the Western front. The press took to calling the war "The Phony War". There were no important German bombing raids on Britain. The children for the most part were understandably unhappy and wanted to come home. And the Government began requiring that parents make a small monetary contribution. As a result, many parents began bringing their children home. There was of course a great desire on the part of the children by Christmas 1939 to come home. Some children stayed put, but parents brought most of them home. Many children, about 75 percent, had returned home by January 1940. The Government launched a campaign to persuade parents to leave the children where it was safe. The poster here is an example (appendix 1). Thgey also made cheap railroad day fairs available to parents so they could visit their children. The Phony War, however did not last, The Germans finally launched their long anticipaed Western Offensive. And after the fall of France, the German bombers would come. The children had to be evacuated again.

Allied Leadership

The most widely held opinion is that Allied leaders were lackluster and the military beset with a defeatist attitude, especially the French. Some believe that French defeat was inevitable, in part because of the stunning, rapid German victory. Some historians, however, argue that the military disaster that occurred was not preordained. One British author argues that the Allies were prepared and had the military resources to resist the Germans. [Smart]

Denmark and Norway (April 1940)

The beginning of the end of the Phoney War occurred in Denmark and Norway. The one Allied offensive in the first year of the War was planned to secure Norway. The Germans responded with an offensive north on April 9, invading Denmark and Norway. It was a rapidly organized invasion to counter a planned British attempt to move into Norway to cut off iron shipments. The German Krriegsmarine suffered severe losses, especilly of destroyers. The British fough on in northern Norway for 3 weeks, but the superiority of the Luftwaffe finally forced them to withdraw. The loss of Norway not only provided access to raw material, but meant that the U-boats could not br bottled up as they were in World war I. It also mean later in the War that supplying Russia would be very difficult.

Sources

Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: Rendezuous with Destiny (Little Brown: Boston, 1990), 710p.

Smart, Nick. British Strategy and Politics during the Phony War: Before the Balloon Went Up (Studies in Military History and International Affairs).

Created: 12:48 AM 11/24/2006
Last updated: 7:00 PM 1/24/2008