WORLD WAR TWO COLOR PHOTOS :: The Blitzkrieg (II)

:: PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY ::

~ THE BLITZKRIEG ~

II

German soldiers during the invasion of France

German soldiers attack a French position with a small-caliber cannon.

French fighter aircraft destroyed in land during an attack performed by Stukas. The red aircraft on the foreground is an obsolete model from the First World War. The French Aviation was much less powerful than the Luftwaffe, either in numbers, quality of material and quality of training.

Filming the British retreat from Dunkirk

After the occupation of Dunkirk an operative of the German newsreel films the British retreat.

German armored forces advance towards the south of France while facing minimal resistance. Before being swept away by the Wehrmacht and the Luftwaffe, the French Army had been considered the most powerful one on the world. But the events showed that these forces were not prepared at all for the modern war (the blitzkrieg) that Germany put into practice.

The heavy tank Char B was in service with the French Army when Germany invaded France. Albeit not exempt of flaws, this tank was robust enough to endure the encounters with the German panzers.

While the Germans arrive to Paris, numerous fires destroy the fuel tanks located in the periphery of the city.

A German infantryman attacks with a flamethrower a French bunker on the Maginot Line. The obsolete mindset of the French strategists did not expect that the German mechanized forces could flank so easily their defensive belt. As a result, in a matter of few weeks France had been invaded.

German soldiers and howitzer crossing a pontoon

A howitzer crosses a bridge built over inflatable rafts installed by German engineers. The utilization of floating pontoons greatly facilitated the advance of the Wehrmacht into France and Belgium.

French destroyer destroyed by Stuka bombing

The remainings of a French destroyer bombed by a Stuka on the port of Dunkirk.

A column of Belgian soldiers on its way to a prisoners camp. Shortly after would be the turn of the French Army, long columns of humilliated soldiers walking towards the German rearguard camps.

A fort of the Maginot Line has been hit by a large-caliber projectile of the German artillery.

War allows no pause and personnel rests when they can, as these German soldiers do during a brief halt.

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:: PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY ::

~ THE BLITZKRIEG ~

II