Weygand line

The Weygand Line was a military reception facility created in May 1940 for the French army and ran south of the Somme , Crozat Canal , Ailette and Aisne rivers .

In May 1940, after most of the British and French troops had been encircled in the Dunkirk area during the western campaign , General Maxime Weygand ordered the establishment of a defensive position south of the German front in order to be able to repel an attack in the French heartland. This position is known as the Weygand Line. The new Army Group 3 (6th, 7th, and 10th Army) was deployed in deep echelons; but she had hardly any armored forces. On June 5, 1940, Army Group B began its attack. She got stuck for two days with heavy losses; the French put up bitter resistance. After the breakthrough, the German troops advanced quickly; on June 9th they reached the Seine near Rouen . On June 10, the government at the time ( Paul Reynaud's cabinet ) declared Paris an open city; thus the campaign in the west was practically decided. On June 22, 1940, the Armistice of Compiègne , which was similar to surrender for France .

→ Main article : Western campaign # Fall Rot

Web links

• http://www.389id.de/Personen/Christian%20Wilhelm%20Neuhaus/Weygandlinie.htm
• http://www.chars-francais.net/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1312&Itemid=71
• http://dvole.free.fr/quierzy/87.htm

Individual evidence

1. ↑ John Keegan : Teine maailmasõda (Tallinn: Varrak, 2004), p 90
2. ↑ http://www.389id.de/Personen/Christian%20Wilhelm%20Neuhaus/Weygandlinie.htm