Osprey's Fall Gelb 1940 (1)

Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) was the plan for invading Holland, Belgium and France in 1940. After assessing the invasion of Poland and allowing units to reequip if needed and to replace losses, Hitler and his generals needed to plan for expanding westward. It was pretty obvious that the French and the British were not going to make any moves on Germany so the only way to continue the war was for German forces to take the initiative.

Like all plans, the ones for Case Yellow ere modified time and time again as commanders provided input and the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy were evaluated. It was pretty well assumed that the Belgians and Dutch would not be capable of stopping the German Army, especially after the Luftwaffe gained control of the air. For sure there were areas where the going would be difficult, such as getting around the forts of Eban Emael in Belgium, but the main concern was the French.

On paper, the French had an army that was superior to that of the Germans. However, the French still thought in terms of WWI tactics and strategy whereas the Germans had embraced a strategy of a hard initial punch at one area and then swift movement using their tanks and motorized infantry. It was important to get across the Meuse River as that was a major waterway. Once across that, the way would be open to head north to the Channel in order to trap Allied troops. It also left open the way to the Atlantic coast and south towards Paris.

In this first volume, author Douglas Dildy provides a look at this first part of this campaign from the initial planning, through the various changes and finally into implementation. As is frequent with plans, they never seem to go exactly as one wishes, but in this case for the most part, they went better than hoped for the Germans and not as well as desired by the defenders. The Germans had difficulty holding back some of its panzer generals while the French had their issues holding units together under the onslaught. Once it became obvious that the Germans could not be stopped, units started to retreat. Some in an orderly fashion and others, well, less organized. The RAF pulled out early as losses became more than they could handle. Allied bombing was generally ineffective and while fighters had relatively good success, it was not enough and eventually they were worn down as attrition took its toll.

Eventually the Allies were either being routed to the south towards Paris or into a ever closing pocket around Dunkirk, and this is where this volume ends. It all makes for a great read and thanks to the fine selection of period photos and the art work and maps of Peter Dennis, it becomes more understandable to the reader. I very much enjoyed the book and look forward to the second volume. 

September 2014

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