The Second World War is divided into many periods. At the very beginning of the conflict, despite the fact that Britain and France declared war on Germany, full-scale hostilities were not deployed. First in Western, and then in Russian historiography, this episode was called the “strange war”.
The appearance of the term
The term "strange war" is a free translation of the American journalistic cliche Phoney War. The phrase appeared in the US press in the early days of the European conflict. The literal translation of the phrase is a fake or fake war.
After Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany, he began a policy of unifying the lands on which the German-speaking majority lived. In 1938, the Third Reich merged with Austria. A few months later, the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia was occupied.
Hitler's aggressive actions frightened his neighbors. The next one under attack was Poland. Following the First World War, she received the former German provinces, which allowed the country to reach the Baltic Sea. The Fuhrer demanded the return of these lands. The Polish government refused to make concessions to its neighbor. For greater safety, the Warsaw authorities entered into an alliance with France and England. According to a new document, these countries were supposed to come to the aid of Poland in the event of German aggression.
It was not long to wait for the war. On September 1, 1939 , Germany attacked Poland. Two days later, France and Britain declared war on the Third Reich in accordance with their agreements with Warsaw. Poland hoped that the help of the Western Allies would divert as many German divisions as possible. In fact, everything turned out quite the opposite.
Siegfried Line
Polish diplomats in London and Paris called on the Allies to launch an immediate general offensive to prevent the Germans from taking control of the strategic initiative. It soon became clear that Britain and France had not even prepared a plan of action in the event of the onset of a large-scale conflict. The Strange War showed this in the most unsightly light.
The Allied generals in early September decided that a mobilization would be carried out for another two weeks, after which the French would launch an attack on the Siegfried Line. This was the name of the large-scale fortification system that was erected in the western part of Germany. 630 kilometers of the defense line were necessary in order to protect the country from the French offensive. There were concrete fortifications, as well as structures necessary for protection from tanks and infantry.
Maginot Line
France also had its own line of defense, built in case of war with Germany. It was called the Maginot Line. It was at these lines that the troops stood while the “strange war” was being waged. This went against the promises of the Poles for active assistance in the fight against the Germans.
The German command relocated 43 divisions to its western borders. They had to defend themselves until Poland surrendered. Germany rightly decided that a war on two fronts would be too difficult for the country.
Thus, for France, the only way to help Poland was to launch an offensive on a narrow section of the border with the Third Reich. In Paris, they could not give orders to the troops to move through Belgium and the Netherlands, because in this case it violated their declared neutrality. Therefore, the Germans located their main forces on a 144-kilometer stretch from the Moselle River to the Rhine. Siegfried's line here was surrounded by minefields. It was an almost impregnable line.
Allied Inaction
Until September 17, the “strange war” is local battles between the two countries in limited areas. They arose almost spontaneously and did not in any way affect the general state of affairs at the front. The mobilization of France dragged on due to the general obsolescence of the draft system. Recruits did not even have time to pass the initial courses of a fighter, necessary in order to survive in battle. Another reason to tighten the offensive for Paris was the inability of Britain to quickly deploy troops to the continent. The “strange war” continued while Poland surrendered city after city. On September 17, the USSR invasion also began, after which the republic finally fell, sandwiched between the two aggressors. During this time, the “strange war” on the Western Front did not bring Germany any problems: the Third Reich methodically engaged in the conquest of defenseless neighbors. After the occupation of Poland, operations began against Denmark and Norway.
Saar offensive
Meanwhile, the French finally launched an offensive, which became known in historiography as the Saar. It was part of the campaign, which was a "strange war." The definition of the plan of operation fell on the shoulders of Gustave Gamelin. French troops in the first week advanced only 20-30 kilometers.
The full-scale offensive of the French was to begin on September 20. However, on the 17th, it was decided to postpone it due to the hopeless situation of Poland. In fact, the Western Allies surrendered, never starting a serious war against the Reich, having untied hands to Hitler, who could calmly bring his affairs in other regions to a logical end. That was the result that the “strange war” led to. The definition of this indecisive campaign of the Allies was given in the USA, where the press was indignant at the passivity of France and Great Britain.
Gelb Plan
The Germans launched their first counterattack on October 16. During this operation, the French left all the few occupied positions and again found themselves at the turn of the Maginot line. Time passed, but the same “strange war” continued. What is this, many historians have tried to answer in peacetime. All of them came to the conclusion that the situation at the front had changed when the Wehrmacht began to implement the Gelb plan. It was a large-scale invasion operation in Belgium, the Netherlands and France. On the day of the German offensive (May 10, 1940), the "strange war" ended. This determination was entrenched in several months of inaction by the Allies. During this time, Germany was able to capture several European countries and secure its rear in order to begin decisive hostilities against France, which ended on June 22, 1940 with the signing of the Compiegne Armistice. According to this document, France was occupied.