The French Resistance in World War II

How They Changed the Outcome of the War

In France during World War II, a group of brave individuals banded together to free their country from the occupying German force. This group resisted the German army and showed courage in the darkest hour of their country's history. The French Resistance during World War II did many things that helped their country gains its freedom back as well as swing favor of the war toward the Allies.

Europe at this time was in turmoil, Hitler had come to power and with this Grand Marshall Henri-Philippe Petian of France signed an armistice with Germany (Dear 405). The Germans then divided France up into occupied and unoccupied zones with Germany controlling three-fifths of the country and the remaining part controlled by Petian under the French government (Simkin Online). The French army was then disbanded and the French were forced to pay $120,000,000 as a fine and France also had to pay two billion dollars a year as occupation costs (Polmar 302). The people of France were humiliated by the easy defeat of their country.
The French people had been assured by their government that the French army and the Maginot Line would be more than enough to stop any German offensive (Farah 609). The Maginot Line was a line of fortifications that ran along the border of France and Germany. The Maginot Line was built after World War I to protect the French from any more German attacks on their country. The Germans simply went around the Maginot Line using a new tactic called Blitzkrieg or lightening war. Blitzkrieg was when the German tanks attacked fast and hard, using speed to go around the Maginot Line through Belgium before the French could organize their defenses. Once this happened the French surrendered and the French people went into shock and no one resisted the Germans at first (Trueman Online).