Links

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Well, there isn't all that much around the Web on the 1940 Battle of France. Here are some links to the sites I have found. There are probably more out there...

General Sites [ Top of Page ]

• La Campagne de France.  The general part of Jean-Philippe Milde's site focussing on the air battles of the 1940 campaign. See also under Air War. In French and English.

• There are a few pages on the Invasion of the Low Countries and The Humiliation of France on this World War Two site. In English.

Unit Histories [ Top of Page ]

• Historique du 46e Régiment d'Infanterie. This regiment was assigned to the IIe Armée and the Second World War page contains a detailed account of operations in May and June 1940. This seems to have been written from the official regimental history. In French only. This link is not working for the moment

• A Tale Of Two Legions by Edward L. Bimberg, a History Net article on the French Foreign Legion in Norway, France and the Mediterranean. In English.

The Maginot Line [ Top of Page ]

• The Maginot Line, an excellent site about the Maginot Line. In English.

• A la ligne Maginot is also a very good guide to the little-known southern extension the Line facing Italy, the Secteur Fortifié des Alpes Maritimes. In French only.

• Visite virtuelle d'un ouvrage de la ligne Maginot offers you a virtual tour of a Maginot Line fort. This site is in French, English and German.

• The Musée du fort St-Roch in the Alps section of the Maginot Line is online. In French.

• The "Tiburce" association has a site about the Ouvrage Immerhof in Lorraine. In French and English.

• La Ligne Maginot. Yet another fan's site. In French.

Orbats and TO&Es [ Top of Page ]

• Dr. Leo Niehorster's Armed Forces of World War 2 site is an electronic Mecca for anyone looking for OB information. In English.

• Rogier Peeters' Royal Dutch Army Order of Battle, 10 May 1940 site has an excellent OB for the Dutch ground and air forces. In English.

• The Pre-World War Two Organisation page on the SOTCW's website has some information on French organisation. Although it is for the thirties, there wasn't much change before 1940. In English.

• As the name implies, the TO&E's page is full of TOEs, including some French and Belgian ones. Some of the French ones seem to be inaccurate but it is a useful page nonetheless. In English. This link is not working for the moment

• Of course, the George Nafziger Collection has orbats galore in the WW2 catalogue.  In English.

Tanks and other vehicles [ Top of Page ]

• There is an excellent page with interior photos of a B1 bis on Mike Kendall's AFV Interiors page.

• Gray's AFV page has photos of a Char B1 bis, a Somua S 35 and a BEF Mark IV A13 Cruiser. In English.

• Claus H. Bonnesen's excellent On Armour site also has profiles and photos of a Somua S 35 and a FCM 36. In English.

• The IPMS Houston's Armor Gallery has nice shots of a Somua S 35. In English.

• Heavy Metal: The Tanker's Home Page has a gallery with shots of a Char B1 bis, a Somua S 35 and a FCM 36 contributed by Claus Bonnesen. In English.

• The 1/76 & 1/72 Scale AFV Museum has a page for WWII French tanks featuring models of a Char B1 bis, a Somua S 35, a Renault R 35 and a Hotchkiss H 39. In English.

Scale Plans :

• George R. Bradford of AFV News has several 1/35 scale plans of French AFVs for sale. These sell for $2.00 each and cover  : Char Renault D1 (ST2 Turret), Char Renault D2 (w. SA34 47mm gun), Panhard 178 B, FCM 36, AMC Renault 1935 type ACG 1, Renault R-35, Char B1 bis, AMD Panhard 178, Renault FT 17 and Lorraine 1938L APC. In English.

• The Bovington Tank Museum also has quite a few very affordable (£0.50 to £2.00) plans of French tanks for sale. These include the Char 2 C, Char D 1, Char D 2, Hotchkiss H 35, Hotchkiss H 39, Renault FT 17, Renault R 35, Renault AMR 1933 VM and SOMUA S 35. In English.

• Mick Bell has no less than 133 1/76 scale plans of French vehicles and artillery pieces for sale at £0.60 a sheet. In English.

Gunnery data :

Guns vs Armour 1939 to 1945 provides information on gun accuracy and penetration, ammunition types and armour characteristics. Data is corrected to allow comparisons of weapons from different nations. In English.

The Navy [ Top of Page ]

• La Royale en 1939. Bertrand Daubigny's excellent site covers all of the French fleet's warships and has to be seen. In French and English.

The Air War [ Top of Page ]

• Air Elements. Jean-Philippe Milde's page focussing on the aircraft in use by the various belligerents in 1940. In French and English.

• Czech Ace of WWII. An interesting interview on The History Net of Czech fighter ace Frantisek Perina and his service in G.C. I/5 during the Battle of France. In English.

 
• The French Air Force in 1940, Was It Defeated by the Luftwaffe or by Politics ? An article from Air Chronicles by Lt-Col. Faris R. Kirkland, US Army (Ret).  Interesting although the author's thesis is a bit far fetched, his conclusion can make you wonder whether he's writing about the French Air Force of the 1940s or the US Air Force of the 1980s !  In English.

• Les Ailes de la Royale. An excellent site about the aircraft of the Aéronavale since its creation. The 1936-40 page illustrates all the aircraft deployed during the period. In French only.

• Aviation. An "old  warbirds" site from France with some info on the Morane-Saulnier MS 406 and Dewoitine D 520. In French only.

• Fandal's WWII Aviation Images Archive has a French aircraft page with photos of a Caudron C 714, two Dewoitine D 520 (1 and 2) and one of Polish pilot C. Glowczynski with his Morane-Saulnier MS 406.

• Emmanuel Gustin's Military Aircraft Database has short descriptions of all the French military planes of the era. In English.

• Uncle Ted's ADC Collection is an excellent site is devoted to GD Webster's Fighting Wings series of WW2 air combat boardgames with a focus on the smaller air forces. There are data cards for most French aircraft along with a lot of useful info on his minor nation air forces page. In English.

The British Expeditionary Force [ Top of Page ]

• Alexei Mcdonald's Travesty of an Armoured Division is a good site dealing with the British 1st Armoured Division in the French campaign of 1940. Also has several photos of BEF tanks taken at the Bovington Museum. In English

• The Destruction of 12th Division, 20th May 1940. An article by Pete Gill from the Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers's publication The Journal available in Magweb's sample area. In English.

• Sacrifice At Calais by John Latimer, another article from The History Net on the BEF's defence of Calais. In English.

• Dr. Leo Niehorster has a full BEF Order of Battle on his Armed Forces of World War 2 site. In English.

Bibliographies [ Top of Page ]

• The US Army Military History Institute has some useful bibliographies available as Word format documents : these cover the twenties and thirties, 1940, the Maginot Line and World War 2. Go to the in its the French army directory for a complete list. In English. 

Boardgames [ Top of Page ]

• The Maginot Line in Wargames and in Reality by Ville Hurmalainen. In English and German.

• A comparative review of "Blitzkrieg 1940" (Command #42) and "Victory in the West" (GMT) by Daniel Thorpe.

• A list of boardgames covering the France 1940 Campaign by Randy Moorehead Eric Pass.

• A preview and English rules translation (Word file) for Abbeville 1940 (Vae Victis #7 - HC).

• A review and replayfor Blitzkrieg 1940 (Command #42 - XTR).

• A review of Dynamo: Dunkirk 1940 (The Wargamer #53 - 3W).

• An article index for France 1940 (AH).

• English rules translation (Word file) for Meuse 1940 (Vae Victis #19 - HC).

• A review of Rommel at the Meuse (Simulations Workshop).

Museums [ Top of Page ]

• The Musée de L'Armée in Paris is currently undergoing major restoration with a new WW2 wing under contruction (should be completed by the year 2000 !). In French only for the moment, is seems that they're still working on the English pages.

• The Musée de l'Air in Le Bourget is pretty good, although lack of space means that the exhibits tend to be crowded.

• The Musée des Blindés in Saumur has an awesome collection of tanks and will soon (!) have its own official site. There's nothing there right now but in the meantime have a look at the Tanker in Wonderland page on Mario Paesani's WW2 Tanks site, it should give you a good glimpse of what it's like. In English.

Early or Weird War Sites [ Top of Page ]

Soviet-Japanese border clashes in Mandchuria, 1939

• Soviet Fighter on Three Fronts is a History Net interview of Evgeny Stepanov, a Russian fighter pilot who flew in Spain and Mandchuria. In English.

• Dan Fox has some notes on the air fighting between the USSR and Japan during the 1939 Nomonhan Incident in Mandchuria. In English.

Poland 1939

• Poland 1939 is a general site that covers mainly the ground war. In English.

• The subject of the excellent Polish Aviation History Page is obvious. In English.

• Anatomy of Defeat: The Polish Army in the September 1939 Campaign is an excellent article on the fall of Poland. In English.

The Winter War between Finland and the USSR, 1939

• The IPMS FI-1877 site has picures of tanks and uniforms from the Finnish War Museum in Helsinki. In English.

• The Armour at Parola Armour Museum page is similar with a focus on AFVs. In English.

• The Finnish Army in the Second World War and Summary of Finland in WWII are also worth a visit. Both are in English.

Other Weird Wars

• Danny O'Hara, a.k.a. The Arch-Anorak, has a great site somewhat aptly titled Danny O'Hara's Weird Wars page. which even includes some pages on the Franco-Thai war of 1940-41. In English.