Hitler's Attack On The Western Front By Karen Horne

As we know now, Hitler and the German forces started their attack on France on May 10, 1940, but Hitler had wanted to attack sooner. Hitler wanted to attack once Germany had full control over Poland in November 1939, but he decided against it because his generals were convinced they did not have the tanks or the manpower. Since France was not in attack mode, Germany had another seven months to shore up their tanks and manpower for the full invasion of France. Hitler knew that Belgium would be key in taking down France. Horne describes the German idea of Manstein Plan and how the German General Staff argued and discussed their strategy at length. The proposal moved from an initial aim to forge through Belgium to an armed thrust through the south Belgian border. Horne credits luck to the Germans on this part, because France had committed their weakest units to the southern border of Belgium. This later led to France’s best men seeing little to no action until they were cut off or even surrounded.

Horne looks at Germany, how Hitler has set up a demanding training program designed to instill obedience and confidence. This leads to a new generation of superb physical specimens and a generation that really wanted to fight. France’s downfalls in World War I it left a generation feeling defeated and unsure of what their roles would be in the future. Hitler had created an environment where men knew and liked and respected their commanders, who were chosen based on their ability. France imploded with last-war thinking and used men that had not see action since World War I to lead and command troops. They had no experience with the fluid, fast-moving war taking place in the East where Germany was fighting Russia. This led to the commanders being out of touch with their men and the men feeling like they did not have to respect their