In April 1940, an invasion of Denmark saw the country conquered within hours. Paratroopers claimed key areas of Norway in just over a single day, which placed the German army in a commanding position to claim even more of Europe. By May 10, assaults on the Netherlands and Belgium began, and by May 28, both nations had been taken. That day, King Leopold III of Belgium surrendered.
On June 5, following Case Red, the assault on France began. The defenses of the formidable Maginot line were largely overrun, and the push into the country was, again, so swift and decisive that the French couldn’t stand against it. Within two weeks, Paris was lost. The armistice was made official on June 22, and it was with an added vindictive pleasure that the German leaders arranged for this to occur in Paris, where the 1918 treaty had been signed.
While all of this was happening, the Allies did not simply sit back. The sinking of the Blücher by Norwegian defenders, the legendary Dunkirk rescue of Operation Dynamo (almost 350,000 Allied troops were successfully evacuated), and the combined French and British assault on the 7th Panzer division at Arras in May all contributed to the fact that the Allies were not taking the opposition’s gains lying down. There’s no denying, though, that the formidable German panzer divisions shaped these successes and the face of the war at this stage.
