European traditional military power strategy

France has always been a great power in continental Europe. In the era of Napoleon and World War I, the French army showed considerable combat effectiveness. Their army troops, in particular, are a kind of existence that scares the enemy. However, in World War II, in the face of Nazi Germany's attack, the proud French army was beaten unprepared. France also surrendered less than 40 days after the war.

Then, when Napoleon and World War I were invincible, why couldn't the French defeat them in World War II? What happened in the middle? During the Napoleonic period, only Russia and Britain in Europe were not controlled by France. Under Napoleon's command, the French army destroyed almost everything. If it weren't for the Russian winter and the supply problem of the French army, I'm afraid Napoleon could unify the whole European continent. Of course, the French army can have such performance, and Napoleon's command is inseparable. Napoleon was a born commander in chief. Tactically, he emphasized the cooperation between cavalry and artillery, which was the invincible magic weapon of the French army. Napoleon especially liked to use column tactics while using weapons.

Column tactics can make the army change different formations at any time, so as to maximize the impact of cavalry and the lethality of artillery. Napoleon used this tactic many times in the war, and the final effect was also very ideal. In the first world war, facing the invasion of millions of Germans, the French army effectively used three magic weapons: trenches, barbed wire and Maxim machine guns, which made it difficult for the Germans to advance. In addition, the French army has a strong sense of defending the country, and it broke out with amazing willpower and fighting capacity, while Germany was caught in the dilemma of fighting on both sides. So at the end of the war, German troops never crossed Verdun.

After World War I, the French army was called "the strongest army in Europe". This is a very high evaluation. But in World War II, the French army became very weak. What's going on here? Compared with Napoleon and World War I, the French army at this time had three shortcomings: first, there was no outstanding commander; Second, there are problems with strategic policies; Third, there is widespread war-weariness Due to the successful experience of World War I, the French head of state, Petain, who was born in the army, paid insufficient attention to the German army. In Petain's view, Germany can't make a comeback in a short time.

Of course, in order to prevent the war from breaking out in half a century or in the future, Petain also suggested building an impregnable defense line between France and Germany. 1928, the French officially built the maginot line with an investment of 5 billion francs. 1940, maginot line was formally established. On the defense line, artillery, trenches, forts, power stations, hospitals and other equipment are readily available. Even in Oyamaguchi, there are tramways. However, this line of defense is only to defend the Franco-German border. Like the Ardennes area on the border between France and Belgium, no fortifications have been built. The reason why it was not built in the Ardennes Heights is that the Ardennes Heights is rugged and not suitable for large-scale sports operations.

Second, because of Belgium's strong opposition. Unexpectedly, the Germans invaded France from the Ardennes. After the completion of maginot line, Petain was quite confident in resisting the Germans. As we all know, Petain is a master of defense, and he always thinks that defense is the best way to attack. This also helped France win the First World War. However, Petain didn't realize that the war he was familiar with had already undergone earth-shaking changes in more than 20 years.

During World War I, tanks were just invented and did not enter the battlefield. Therefore, trench warfare promoted by soldiers has become the main form of war. However, with the rapid development of heavy industry in Germany after Hitler came to power, the German army established armored forces mainly with tanks in just a few years. This means that although maginot line will become a nightmare for the Germans in trench warfare, maginot line's power will be greatly reduced under the attack of tanks and armor. Then the Germans didn't attack maginot line at all, which made France's proudest defensive weapon a decoration. In addition to leadership incompetence and strategic and tactical mistakes, the poor performance of the French army was also affected by other aspects.

After World War I, war-weariness pervaded France. From national leaders to soldiers in the army, they are all affected by this emotion. From the soldiers' point of view, French soldiers lost their fighting spirit because they yearned for peace during World War I, and their fighting capacity was not as good as before. On the other hand, the German army was eager to wash away the shame of World War I. In this situation, the war became one-sided. From the point of view of national leaders, because the whole people are anti-war, peaceful politicians have won the votes.

Since the peace faction came to power, it has always adopted a cautious "appeasement policy." Let Germany run amok around and ignore it. After the fall of Austria and Czechoslovakia, France also signed a "forever friendly" peace treaty with Britain, Germany and Italy in the name of mediation. When Stalin foresaw the threat of Germany and made an alliance at home. France hoped to cause trouble from the East and rejected the alliance. This incident led to the signing of a treaty between the Soviet Union and Germany to carve up Poland, which eventually led to great disaster. (Reference:

The history of World War II, etc. )