The Allied Surrender

Following Germany's success at Dunkirk, the Germans wheeled around and headed south towards Paris. On June 12, 1939, the French government was forced to relocate to Bourdeaux and declared Paris an open city.

Meanwhile, Italy had begun making moves of her own. Mussolini declared war against France and Great Britain. They would invade southern France as well as French and British Somalia before moving hesitatingly into Sudan from Ethiopia and gradually pushing into Egypt from Libya. Save for Somalia, all Italy's advances bogged down. Their African campaigns achieved little more than establishing armed camps stretching into enemy territory. Weak as the forward operating bases were, the state of affairs in Europe left Britain and France unable to counter.

With Italy entering the war and Germany driving south, the French government sued for peace. When Adolf Hitler received word from the French Government that they wished to negotiate an armistice, he selected Compiègne Forest near Compiègne as the site for the negotiations. As Compiègne was the site of the 1918 Armistice ending the Great War with a humiliating defeat for Germany, Hitler saw using this location as a supreme moment of revenge for Germany over France.

In the very same railway carriage in which the 1918 Armistice was signed (removed from a museum building and placed on the precise spot where it was located in 1918), Hitler sat in the same chair that Marshal Ferdinand Foch had sat in when he faced the defeated German representatives. After listening to the reading of the preamble, Hitler - in a calculated gesture of disdain to the French delegates - left the carriage, leaving the negotiations to his OKW Chief, General Wilhelm Keitel.

The armistice terms imposed on France were far harsher than those France had imposed on Germany in 1918. They provided for German occupation of three-fifths of France north and west of a line through Geneva, Tours and the Spanish border so as to give the German Navy access to all French Channel and Atlantic ports. All persons who had been granted political asylum had to be surrendered and all occupation costs had to be borne by France. A minimal French Army would be permitted. As one of Hitler's few concessions, the French Navy was to be disarmed but not surrendered, for Hitler realized that pushing France too far could result in France fighting on from French North Africa. The unoccupied third of France was ostensibly left free to be governed by the French, until a final peace treaty would be negotiated.

The French delegation - led by General Charles Huntziger - tried to soften the harsher terms of the armistice, but Keitel replied that they would have to accept or reject the armistice as it was. Given the military situation that France was in, Huntziger had "no choice" but to accede to the armistice terms. The cease-fire went into effect on June 28, 1939, 0:35. Britain now fought on alone.

The magnitude of the loss at Dunkirk weakened Britain's grip on its empire and drew unwanted attention from all corners of the globe. Arab and Indian nationalists throughout the Orient began pressing for greater independence. Meanwhile, Japan increased their scrutiny of Britain's Far Eastern possessions. Pressuring France to allow Japanese inspectors in Indochina to staunch the flow of arms to chinese Nationalists, the Japanese became emboldened and started making demands of the British to allow them entrance to Burma and Hong Kong. Franco saw potential for Spanish expansion into Morocco and the reclamation of Gibraltar to finally complete the Reconquista. Even Turkey and Argentina saw possibilities in the wavering British Empire, drawing up plans for the seizure of Mosul and the Falkland Islands, respectively.

The loyal Commonwealths of South Africa, Canada, and Australia began edging away, quietly evaluating their own security positions if England were no longer capable of protecting them. Australia was especially worried with the growing presence of Japan.

Prime Minister Wood (Lord Halifax), reluctantly assumed the role of leader of a fraying dominion when no other suitable candidate could be found. With the BEF in Hitler's hands, most of the Army's heavy equipment lost, and the damage suffered by the Royal Navy and RAF not readily replaceable, he found his options limited. He did not possess the forces needed to push the Italians out of Egypt or Sudan (the South African government proved very reluctant to send troops and unrest spread throughout the Middle East and India tying up local forces) nor could he raise the flagging morale of the nation which overwhelmingly wanted peace. Overtures made to the United States proved futile as President Garner adamantly opposed any intervention in the European conflict, even materiel.

As July came, tension mounted throughout the Empire. Iraq revolted, Arab nationalists seizing power with arms supplied by the Japanese. Turkey rapidly entered and occupied the Mosul area to protect their claim. Egypt, seeing this development and realizing the weakness of British forces as well as fearing the possibility of the Italians conquering their nation, began a revolt aimed at dislodging British forces. Turkey and Greece began to make voiced claims on Cyprus, preparing their forces to seize the island should the opportunity present itself. These events prompted the Italians to recommence their drive into Egypt and Sudan more aggressively. To make matters worse, the Luftwaffe commenced aerial assaults on Britain itself.

With allies either conquered or turning their back on him, an economy facing bankruptcy, no army to speak of, and the threat of invasion of Britain itself, PM Wood was forced to begin negotiations through Swedish intermediaries. This would worsen the British situation as Indian nationalists, wishing their concerns included in the talks, began a nationwide revolt once news broke of the British peace feelers. The Japanese would invade and overrun Burma and Hong Kong. Finally, Franco would finally act on this sign of weakness, declaring war on Britain and laying seige to Gibraltar.

Preapring for the worst, Lord Halifax went to negotiate with the Reich. Hitler's terms shocked Halifax as they proved less draconian in comparison to France's terms. The British were forced to cede Malta, British Somalia, and the southern third of Sudan to the Italians. The Suez Canal was to be "internationalized" with German and Italian troops stationed in the Canal Zone alongside British troops. The status of Gibraltar and Cyprus were to be settled in future negotiations between Britain and the parties involved. Germany would regain its old colony of Tanganyika and its rights to the Belgian Congo, Iceland, and Greenland were to be recognized. Turkey's rights to Mosul were likewise recognized. As for the Arab and Indian nationalists, their claims were ignored.

The treaty would also limit the British armed forces though not as heavily as the Versailles Treaty did to Germany. The British were allowed to build their army back up to its prewar level with restrictions on the number and weight of British tanks. The RAF was allowed to maintain its current fighter force levels but could not build any new heavy bombers. As for the Royal Navy, Germany was allowed an increase to 40% of the RN's tonnage.

The British would agree to allow German and Italian inspectors into their country to ensure they were complying with the treaty. The British government would also have to pay for any damages to German property incurred during the war and to cover expenses related to the above inspectors. The British would finally have to dismantle tariffs and restrictions on investment between them and Germany.

This treaty would bring about the conclusion of war on Germany's western border. Britain would attempt to consolidate the remainder of its empire as well as to shore up its economic base. Economically, the United Kingdom would never recover. German business would gradually move into British markets. The British economy continued to deteriorate as Halifax struggled to quell the rebellions in India and the Middle East as well as pay war reparations. As English factories and corporations went bankrupt or neared such a state, German businessmen were quick to buy them up. With finances dwindling, military expenditures began to decline along with the size of the armed forces. Britain found itself unable to keep its forces at their current level let alone to modernize them leading to further erosion of British might. Eventually Britain would find itself relegated to the position of a German dependency.

France fared little better. With Germany seizing numerous banks throughout the country, numerous loans were called up leading to a large percentage of French businesses declaring bankruptcy; their fate, to be purchsed by German business.

Italy would turn its eyes to Albania as a future conquest whereas Germany's eyes would turn eastward. The Soviet Union's poor showing against the Finns in the Winter War (Sept. 1938 - March 1939) served to embolden Hitler's plans for lebensraum.

SOURCE: Reich Historical Database