Fall Gelb Research Paper

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The Fall of France during the Second World War was a two-part operation by the German Army to defeat France and cutoff the Allied Forces. During the first part of the operation, Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), German armored units pushed through the Ardennes Forest to surround Allied Forces. The intent of the mission was for the 19th Panzer Corp to secure the crossing at Sedan in order to allow freedom of movement of German Forces into France. At the completion of the mission, German Army Group A would have destroyed all Allied Forces in the vicinity of Sedan and crossed the Meuse River in order to secure the Channel Coast. British Expeditionary Force (BEF) would have been expelled from the continent and German Army Group A would be positioned for…show more content…
Guderian made decisions and directed action through the operation based on his understanding of the situation. Guderian stripped his Panzer divisions of artillery assets to support the Luftwaffe attacks on the Gaulier crossing. Guderian allocated resource based on opportunities and threats and accepted the risk to his armor units. On May 10, the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg at dawn. This diversionary attack drew the stronger Allied Forces north into Belgium and the Netherlands. The remaining Belgian and French forces tasked to delay the German advance were unsuccessful. On May 11, The French 5e DLC were positioned beyond the support range of adjacent and artillery units. The German 1st Panzer Division was able to break through and reach the last obstacle before the Meuse river. On May 12, the Germans defeated the 5e DLC and 55ID to reach the Meuse River. On May 13, Guderian directed the Luftwaffe to begin the rolling raids on Sedan. Guderian ordered the 1st Panzer Division to cross the Meuse and secure the bridgehead despite the lack of infantry. The ability to speak directly to the armored units through signal and visual communications allowed Guderian to direct his forces effectively and support adjacent units. Accurate information reported from forward elements enabled his situational awareness to assess the battle on multiple

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