The simplicity of the Nazi victory must also be credited to the poor decisions made by the leaders of the Allied countries, in particular Britain and France. An example of a decision that the leaders took was to post troops in Norway, and from there, attack the USSR. This can only be considered a ridiculous idea as it is a clear case of biting of more than you can chew. The leaders were not thinking of the real problem at hand which was the imminent invasion of France by Germany. If they sent troops to Norway, it would leave them with very thin resources to protect France. They would also engage in an unnecessary war against future allies the Soviet Union. Another questionable decision was to stay out of Poland when it was being attacked by the Nazis. This shows a lack of commitment to their allies and as A.J.P. Taylor wrote, Hitler’s gamble that Britain and France would stay out of the war was wrong, but his expectation that they would not seriously go to war was correct. If some resistance had been put up, it could have changed the outlook of the war, and delayed Nazi plans for the rest of Europe.
The air of defeatism in France was another contributing factor to the effortlessness of the Nazi victory. From the very beginning of the war, the air of defeatism in France was everywhere. Most men were happy to accept defeat without putting up some kind of resistance to the German advances. This feeling in France was characterised when the French called for an armistice to be signed rather than continue to fight and keep the Germans at bay. Another feeling that was present in French society was an anti-Communist feeling. This played directly into the hands of the Nazis. There were many people in France at the time who were not totally against the idea of being under a right wing government. The anti-Communist feeling combined with the air of defeatism, meant France was really not prepared or up for a war. As a result, this helped the Nazis defeat France in such a short period of time.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons for the ease of the Nazi victory was their superiority with respect to tactics, equipment and leadership. Although the French may have had more man power and more tanks, this far from meant they had the military advantage over Nazi Germany. There was not a great difference in the number of tanks owned by each side, but the Nazi tanks were far superior to those of the French. It must also be said that the Luftwaffe was far better than any other countries air force. However, Nazi victory was not just down to the quality of the army and its supplies but was largely reliant on the tactics used by the commanders. The German commanders such as Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel were great leaders that adopted the extremely successful strategies using the principles of mechanised warfare. Using these tactics, the Germans were able to cut of major supply and retreat lines. The Germans also used a very effective strategy called Blitzkrieg or lightning war. This involved the use of tanks, supported from the air by the effective Luftwaffe. This tactic was extremely successful and was responsible for most of the German victories throughout the course of the war. In contrast to these highly successful commanders, the French and British commanders were extremely weak. The French commander, Gamelin, was guilty of using old fashioned methods that often made it extremely easy to intercept messages. The building he used for his headquarters was primitive. It had no form of communication and messages had to be sent by rider. As well as this, the French army used regular telephone lines to communicate which were extremely easy to intercept. French generals were still unconvinced of the power of the tank. They still believed it was better to back up infantry with a tank rather than attacking with groups of tanks as the Germans did. The French and Allied commanders also made key mistakes in the positioning of troops. Believing that the Ardennes was impassable, they placed very few troops there. This proved to be a fatal mistake as the Germans broke through and managed to encircle the troops fighting in Belgium. It must also be taken into account that the Allied commanders were often planning the defence of towns that, in the meantime, were taken over by the Germans. Perhaps the best thing the French had going for them, the Maginot line was completely bypassed by the Germans.
To put the ease of the Nazi victory down to solely one person, event or thing would be doing injustice to many others. The Nazis had many things going in their favour, and capitalised on the advantages they had to roll through France and capture Paris with ease. A lot of credit must be given to the Nazis and the Nazi commanders as it was their tactics that played a big part in the capture of France. However, the French aided their cause as they were extremely weak and unorganised. The withdrawal of the British troops from Belgium also left the French weakened. Although it could be argued the Germans could have easily invaded France, the political and military insecurities and weaknesses of the French made it even easier for the Nazis. This combination of items allowed for the Nazis to cruise through France with ease and occupy it in less than six weeks.
