Education · basic · 10 min
Six weeks in 1940: how France fell
The Maginot Line, the Ardennes gap and the race to the sea. Watch the front line move on the map and see why the Allies lost so quickly.
Step 1 / 4
10 May 1940
Germany attacks the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The 'Fortifications' layer shows the Maginot Line ending at the Belgian border — the main blow comes north of it, through the Ardennes.
Event: Battle of France
The map opens in a new tab — this lesson stays here.