Fall Rot
| Fall Rot | |
|---|---|
| Part of The Battle of France | |
 Fall Rot (Case Red) |
|
| Location |
France |
| Objective | |
| Executed by | German army |
| Outcome | German victory |
During World War II, Fall Rot (Case Red) was the plan for the second phase of the conquest of France by the German Army and began on 5 June 1940. It had been made possible by the success of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France in the Battle of France and the encirclement of the Allied armies in the north on the Channel coast. Powerful forces were also to advance into France.
Fall Rot consisted of two sub-operations, a preliminary attack in the west began on 5 June, over the river Somme in the direction of the Seine and the main offensive by Army Group A started on 9 June in the centre over the river Aisne.
By the end of May 1940, the best and most modern French armies had been sent north and lost in the resulting encirclement; the French had also lost much of their heavy weaponry and their best armoured formations. Overall, the Allies had lost 61 divisions in Fall Gelb. Weygand was faced with the prospect of defending a long front (stretching from Sedan to the Channel), with a greatly depleted French Army now lacking significant Allied support. Weygand had only 64 French and the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division available. Weygand lacked the reserves to counter a breakthrough or to replace frontline troops, should they become exhausted from a prolonged battle on a front of 965 km (600 mi). The Germans had 142 divisions to use and total control of the air except over the English Channel.
The French also had to deal with millions of civilian refugees fleeing the war in what became known as L'Éxode (The Exodus); automobiles and horse-drawn carts carrying possessions clogged roads. As the government had not foreseen such a rapid military collapse, little planning existed. Between six and ten million French fled, sometimes so quickly that they left uneaten meals on tables, even while officials stated that there was no need to panic and that civilians should stay. The population of Chartres declined from 23,000 to 800 and Lille from 200,000 to 20,000, while cities in the south such as Pau and Bordeaux rapidly grew in size.
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