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Why did France surrender so quickly in WWII?
In 1940, Germany occupied the northeastern region of France. Under the constant attack of Germany, the French army has been passively beaten. After a period of time, the government organized by Renault began to collapse.
And Petain is the newly appointed ruler and leader. He soon signed a treaty with Germany. A large part of France’s territory was ruled by Germany, so many people began to wonder, since Germany has such a powerful ability Why did Hitler allow the Pétain government to exist instead of directly occupying France?
Germany should have this ambition at that time, so why did Hitler allow the Petain government to exist?
Why Hitler allowed the Pétain government to exist can be discussed from the following two aspects. First of all, he occupied most of France to prepare for attacking Britain. Northwestern France is an important political center of the country, and it is also very important. A wealthy place, so it is very important for both France and Germany.
France is a very large country, and it takes too much manpower and material resources to occupy all its territory, so it is very important to retain a puppet government.
In addition, another reason Hitler allowed the Petain government to exist is because France still has a very powerful fleet. When the armistice contract was signed, this warship stayed in the Mediterranean area. If all France was occupied by Germany, then this powerful fleet would be It would also be a fleet that no one would rule, and Britain would take advantage of it.
Germany’s maritime military capabilities were not very strong at that time, and it certainly would not benefit Britain, so the existence of the Petain government could make Britain lose the possibility of owning this fleet.
General Petain performed very well during the First World War, and the victory of the Battle of Verdun also made him a well-known hero. He was respected and worshipped by many people for a while, but many people called him not long after A traitor to France, and this title has accompanied him for a long time, all because he once surrendered to Germany.
Many people are very puzzled about why Petain surrendered to Germany during World War II, because France is also a relatively powerful country, and he was a great general and hero before, so why did Petain surrender to Germany in World War II?
Why Petain surrendered to Germany during World War II began in 1940. At that time, Germany launched a feat to France, and the Maginot Line, which was very defensive, was quickly broken, and the French army began to continue. The failure of the country led to chaos within the country.
In order to stabilize the situation, the prime minister at that time began to call for the unity of the whole nation, and combined the two organizations of the country. At this time, Petain was asked to reconvene the cabinet and assume the position of deputy prime minister. However, opinions on the war within the country were not unified. Some people supported the Prime Minister’s opinions, while others hoped that Petain could become the head of state.
At this time, Petain expressed his opinion to the people, and officially announced the cessation of the war, and agreed to sign a treaty with Germany. In other words, Petain decided to surrender to Germany.
In Pétain’s view , the armistice was not a punishment for losing the war, but a new beginning and a way for France to survive . This is why Pétain surrendered to France.
