The Fighting in Europe - 1940
German troops march down the Av. des Champs-Élysées, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background, summer 1940. The French were defeated in just seven weeks.
The year 1940 saw a major expansion of the Second World War. Germany invaded Denmark and Norway in April, and followed with the invasion of France and the Low Countries in May. France was defeated by June 24th and Germany prepared for the seaborne invasion of Great Britain with the start of the Battle of Britain in July, and the Blitz (the bombing of British cities) in September. Italy entered the war in June on the side of the Axis Powers and, by autumn, was trounced by the British in North Africa.
The Battle of France
June 5 - 25, 1940
June 5 - 25, 1940