Beginning of the „Western Campaign“

On 10 May 1940 the Wehrmacht’s attacks on the neutral nations of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg initiate the German assault in the West. The „Western Campaign“ becomes a broader „Blitzkrieg“: Within two weeks the Wehrmacht succeeds in driving a wedge between the French and British troops on the one side and Belgian and Dutch troops on the other.

Source: Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge e.V. French prisoners-of-war during the Western campaign

The British Expeditionary Corps is forced to withdraw to the French coastal town of Dunkirk. From there, with the aid of an improvised transport fleet, ca. 370,000 Allied soldiers are evacuated to England starting on 26 May 1940. All their military equipment has to be left behind. Following an intense air raid on Rotterdam, the Netherlands capitulate on 15 May 1940. The capitulation of Belgium follows 13 days later. By 10 May of that year, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns. His successor is Winston Churchill who also assumes the office of Minister of Defence. Churchill had always vehemently opposed Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement toward Hitler.

© Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin German paratroopers during the invasion near Rotterdam, May 1940