Phoney War

• 1. Origins And Terminology

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  An 8-inch howitzer sat silent in France during the autumn of 1939. This image captures the stillness that defined the first eight months of World War II. The period began on the 1st of September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war but took no major military action on land. British newspapers initially called this quiet phase a Bore War. They likely meant it as a pun on the Boer War from four decades earlier. American journalist U.S. Senator William Borah coined the phrase Phoney War instead. He spoke about the Western Front inactivity in September 1939. Borah stated there was something phoney about the situation. The term gained currency across the British Empire to avoid confusion with South Africa. Print records show the spelling Phoney War appeared in an American newspaper in September 1939. Winston Churchill referred to the time as the Twilight War. French press described it as drôle de guerre or funny war.

• 2. Pre-War Strategic Planning

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  Britain and France formalized their defensive strategy in March 1939. Their plan assumed Nazi Germany would hold land and air superiority. The Allies intended to contest specific aggressive actions while maintaining a passive posture. This approach allowed them time to build military resources for future economic and naval dominance. Britain committed two divisions to France immediately and promised two more eleven months later. The Polish Army expected a significant Western Front offensive to relieve pressure on their eastern forces. Plan West relied on Allied intervention that never arrived. German military commander Alfred Jodl admitted at the Nuremberg trials that his army might have collapsed in 1939. He noted approximately 110 French and British divisions remained inactive against only 23 German divisions. General Wilhelm Keitel expressed surprise that no attack occurred during the Polish campaign. He believed a French assault would have met only a weak military screen rather than real defenses. General Siegfried Westphal claimed the German army could have held out just one or two weeks if attacked in force.

• 3. The Saar Offensive

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  French Armed Forces launched the Saar Offensive on the 7th of September 1939. It marked their only major action during the Phoney War period. Soldiers crossed into the France-Germany border region near Saarbrücken. Eleven French divisions advanced along a front line against weak German opposition. They occupied twelve villages within eight kilometers of German territory by September 12. The operation aimed to assess the strength of the Siegfried Line fortifications. Hitler ordered Wehrmacht troops not to offer significant resistance to avoid a two-front war. Fighting broke out between Saarbrücken and the Palatinate Forest. On September 21, General Maurice Gamelin ordered troops to withdraw to the Maginot Line. The last French soldiers left German soil on October 17. Some generals like Henri Giraud viewed the retreat as a missed opportunity. The offensive failed to divert any German troops from the Polish Front. An Anglo-French Supreme War Council meeting at Abbeville on December 12 decided all offensive actions must halt immediately. Gamelin instructed his forces to stop no closer than 8 kilometers from German positions. Poland remained unaware that the planned assault for mid-September had been postponed.

• 4. Naval Warfare And Air Raids

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  Fighting on the seas proved real while land operations stayed quiet. A German submarine sank the British liner SS Athenia off the Hebrides on the 3rd of September 1939. The attack killed 112 people and started the lengthy Battle of the Atlantic. Britain announced a blockade of Germany on September 4 to prevent food imports. Germans declared a counter-blockade immediately after. The Luftwaffe began air raids on England in October 1939 when Junkers Ju 88s attacked warships at Rosyth. Spitfires from 602 and 603 Squadrons shot down two Ju 88s and one Heinkel He 111 over the Firth of Forth. The first Luftwaffe plane destroyed on British soil was a He 111 at Haddington on October 28. Archie McKellar became a principal pilot credited with shooting down five Bf 109s during the Battle of Britain. The British aircraft carrier HMS Courageous sank on the 17th of September 1939, losing 519 crew members including its captain. Another ship, the battleship HMS Royal Oak, went down in Scapa Flow on October 14, killing 833 men including Rear-Admiral Henry Blagrove. A German cruiser named Admiral Graf Spee fled to Montevideo after a battle on December 1939. It later scuttled rather than face a large British fleet.

• 5. The Winter War Debate

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  The Soviet Union assaulted Finland on the 30th of November 1939, starting the Winter War. Public opinion in France and Britain quickly sided with Finland against the larger Soviet aggressors. People believed defending Finns was more achievable than what had been done for Poland. The League of Nations expelled the Soviet Union following its attack. A proposed Franco-British expedition to northern Scandinavia entered debate stages. British forces assembled to aid Finland never reached them before the war ended. Instead, those troops redirected to Norway to fight Germany. The Moscow Peace Treaty concluded the Winter War on the 20th of March 1940. Édouard Daladier resigned as Prime Minister of France shortly after due to his failure to defend Finland. Allied discussions about a Scandinavian campaign triggered concern within Germany. These talks gave Germany a strong argument to secure the Norwegian coast. The Altmark incident in February 1940 made Norway a focus of attention. Allies openly discussed occupying neutral Scandinavian countries without their consent.

• 6. German Invasion Of Scandinavia

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  Operation Weserübung began on the 9th of April 1940 when German troops invaded Denmark and Norway. From April 14 onward, Allied troops landed in Norway but lost ground by month's end. Southern parts fell into German hands while fighting continued in the north until early June. Norwegian forces laid down arms at midnight on June 9. The debacle forced a heated debate in the House of Commons regarding Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. A nominal vote of confidence passed with 281 votes for and 200 against. Many supporters voted against him or abstained entirely. Chamberlain found it impossible to lead a National Government or form a new coalition. He resigned the premiership on the 10th of May 1940 but kept Conservative Party leadership. Winston Churchill became his successor and formed a new coalition government. This included Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Party members plus several non-political ministers. The Norway campaign failure shifted focus away from the Western Front. Fighting there continued until June 1940 when Allies evacuated ceding Norway to Germany.

• 7. Political Upheaval In Britain

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  The fall of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain marked a turning point in British politics. His resignation came after the Norway campaign disaster caused constant attacks in Parliament. Chamberlain retained party leadership despite stepping down as head of state. Winston Churchill assumed power on the 10th of May 1940, the same day German troops marched into Belgium. Churchill formed a coalition including Conservatives, Labour, and Liberals alongside independent ministers. Eight months had passed since war began before this political shift occurred. The German invasion of France started shortly after Churchill took office. Massive Dunkirk evacuation commenced sixteen days later on the 26th of May 1940. These events ended the Phoney War period definitively. Fascist Italy entered the European war on the 10th of June 1940 hoping for territorial gains. Thirty-two Italian divisions crossed the border with little success against five French defenders. The quiet phase concluded as real fighting resumed across multiple fronts simultaneously.