Armistice of 22 June 1940
Between May and June 1940, the best French armies were sent north and lost in a massive encirclement. German forces threatened to occupy Paris by mid-June. The French government relocated to Bordeaux on the 10th of June to avoid capture. They declared Paris an open city the same day. Military losses for France reached 92,000 dead and over 200,000 wounded during this period. The British Expeditionary Force suffered 68,000 casualties with around 10,000 killed. Germany reported 27,000 dead, more than 111,000 wounded, and 18,000 missing. Paul Reynaud resigned as prime minister on the 16th of June after his proposal for a Franco-British Union split support. Philippe Pétain became prime minister instead. General Weygand served as commander-in-chief of the French Army.
Adolf Hitler selected Compiègne Forest as the negotiation site for revenge against Germany's 1918 defeat. He chose the exact rail carriage where the Germans had signed the Armistice of the 11th of November 1918. William Shirer stood fifty yards from Hitler that day. He described Hitler's face as afire with scorn, anger, hate, revenge, and triumph. On the 21st of June 1940, Hitler sat in the same chair Marshal Ferdinand Foch had occupied in 1918. After listening to the preamble reading, Hitler exited the carriage as Foch had done decades earlier. This calculated gesture left negotiations to General Wilhelm Keitel. The preamble stated that suffering for the German people began on the 11th of November 1918 in that very railcar. Drafters claimed this new armistice would re-establish justice and end Germany's deepest humiliation.
General Charles Huntziger led the French delegation during the signing process. He complained that terms imposed on France were harsher than those given to Germany in 1918. Keitel replied that they must accept or reject the armistice as it was. Huntziger had no choice but to accede due to the military situation. He discussed terms by phone with representatives who had fled to Bordeaux. These included newly nominated defence minister General Maxime Weygand. The negotiations lasted one day until the evening of the 22nd of June 1940. The cease-fire went into effect at 00:35 on the 25th of June 1940. Another armistice signed between France and Italy delayed the final implementation. Keitel gave verbal assurances regarding refugees who fomented the war. This phrase served as a euphemism for Jews, especially German Jews enjoying asylum in France.
German occupation covered three-fifths of metropolitan France north and west of a line through Geneva and Tours. All English Channel and Atlantic Ocean ports fell under this zone. The remaining two-fifths of southern and eastern France became an unoccupied region called Zone libre. A collaborationist government based in Vichy administered both zones under severe restrictions. Marshal Philippe Pétain headed this new regime. High occupation costs demanded approximately 400 million French francs daily from France. Nearly 1,000,000 Frenchmen spent five years in German POW camps. About a third of the initial 1,500,000 prisoners were released or exchanged via forced labour programmes. Article 19 required turning over any German national on French territory to authorities. These individuals frequently faced deportation to concentration camps. Hitler's only practical recourse was maintaining a formally independent French rump state.
Nearly one million French soldiers remained prisoners until hostilities ceased completely. They spent the next five years in German POW camps. About a third of the initial 1,500,000 prisoners taken were released or exchanged as part of Service du Travail Obligatoire. This programme functioned as a forced labour initiative by Germany. Casualty figures showed 92,000 dead and more than 200,000 wounded for France alone. The British Expeditionary Force lost around 10,000 men during the fighting. Germany reported 27,000 dead and more than 111,000 wounded personnel. Many refugees who had fomented the war faced deportation to concentration camps under the Surrender on Demand clause. Keitel made verbal assurances that this applied mainly to those responsible for starting conflict. Jewish refugees enjoyed asylum in France before these new orders arrived.
Hitler ordered the Armistice site demolished three days after the signing ceremony. The railway carriage went to Berlin as a trophy of war along with pieces of a large stone tablet. The Alsace-Lorraine Monument depicting a German Eagle impaled by a sword was destroyed. All evidence of the site was obliterated except notably the statue of Ferdinand Foch. Hitler ordered it left intact so it would honor only a wasteland. The carriage later exhibited in Berlin then moved to Crawinkel in Thuringia in 1945. SS troops destroyed its remains there and buried them. After the war, German POW labour restored the site and memorials. The free zone was invaded by Germany and Italy following Case Anton in November 1942. This invasion occurred after Allies attacked French North Africa. A final peace treaty was never negotiated between the warring parties.
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Common questions
What date did the Armistice of 22 June 1940 take place?
The negotiations lasted one day until the evening of the 22nd of June 1940. The cease-fire went into effect at 00:35 on the 25th of June 1940.
Who signed the Armistice of 22 June 1940 for France and Germany?
General Charles Huntziger led the French delegation during the signing process while General Wilhelm Keitel represented Germany. Adolf Hitler selected Compiègne Forest as the negotiation site and sat in the same chair Marshal Ferdinand Foch had occupied in 1918.
How many casualties occurred during the fighting before the Armistice of 22 June 1940?
Military losses for France reached 92,000 dead and over 200,000 wounded during this period. The British Expeditionary Force suffered 68,000 casualties with around 10,000 killed and Germany reported 27,000 dead plus more than 111,000 wounded personnel.
What zones did German occupation create after the Armistice of 22 June 1940?
German occupation covered three-fifths of metropolitan France north and west of a line through Geneva and Tours. The remaining two-fifths of southern and eastern France became an unoccupied region called Zone libre administered by a collaborationist government based in Vichy.
Where was the rail carriage from the Armistice of 22 June 1940 destroyed?
The railway carriage went to Berlin as a trophy of war along with pieces of a large stone tablet before SS troops destroyed its remains there and buried them in Crawinkel in Thuringia in 1945.