Why France FAILED to Halt Germany in 1936
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 4 май 2024
- Question : why France did not stop Germany in 1936 during the remilitarization of the Rhineland? How come France did nothing in order to stop it?
Audio:
"Scott Buckley - Legionnaire" is under an Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0)
Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:
• 💣 Copyright Free Military Music - "Le...
Ephemera by / @scottbuckley
Noah Sorota - Nordscapes
Satie - Gymnopedie
Justin Allan Arnold - Huntress
NCPM - Lacrimosa
Do you think France could have intervened?
I wish all the countries in that pact had acted as one,it seems they cowered before the Germans.
Personally, I don't think that the civilian leadership had the will to intervene and the military leadership would have been too old and set in its ways to be effective if it had.
With Popular Front goverment in charge of France during remilitarization of Rhineland , I do not see how much political and public commitment could be gathered for a military intervention. During 1920'ies a series of Cordon Sanitaire alliances were signed between France and Eastern European counties and these could be helpful if any military intervention by French Army (far more stronger than eight German battalions that marched in initial wave of crossing Rhineland in March 1936) happened but there was little or no political will. Among Cabinet Ministers only Georges Mandel advocated military counter measures against remilitarisation of Rhineland by Germany. At the other hand General Maurice Gamelin, for instance, informed the French government that challenging Germany in the Rhineland would require full mobilisation, costing 30 million francs per day and possibly escalating into a full-blown war. The French intelligence service, the Deuxième Bureau, overestimated German troops in the Rhineland, further complicating matters.
In addition, France was facing a financial crisis in late 1935 to early 1936, which made devaluation of the franc politically unacceptable. This crisis was exacerbated by the German remilitarisation, causing a massive cash flow out of France due to investor concerns about war with Germany.
The state of the French Air Force was another concern, as it was considered inferior to the Luftwaffe ( due to lack of investment and labour issues that derailed French aviation industry during inter war years, ) and issues with productivity in the French aircraft industry hampered its ability to replace losses in case of war. France's dependencies on the states of the "cordon sanitaire" further complicated its response, as only Czechoslovakia was firmly committed to war with Germany if France acted in the Rhineland. Most French newspapers also advocated League of Nations sanctions against Germany instead of war. Third Republic was a democracy that had to take people's and popular will and media opinion into consideration unlike Third Reich which was a dictatorship one one man. Same with Britain too. There was little or no will to get entagled another European war in Britain , nor they had any land army to participate it ( till conscription in 1939) and unlike Hitler , British statesmen like Chamberlain or Baldwin were democratically elected statesmen , had to take popular opinion and public trends and media which was scared of another war.
In 87 years hindsight yes France should have reacted with military measures to expel German military march on Rhineland but back then French goverment had no crystal ball to look on and how things would turn out.
@@merdiolu Thanks for your comment, and every historian / wannabee historian should keep this last sentence in mind. Perfect conclusion!
Always love when historytuber post original content for us.
Thank you!
Booom! Amazing content my friend. Was very pleasantly surprised to see this be original content!
11:00 - Those numbers are just unfathomable.
I think we often neglect to consider the impact on society after the wars. Not just that massive amounts of certain generations were gone, but also the mental scars on the survivors. Must have had an immense impact on society and culture in the after war years.
For an outsider like me with only a superficial knowledge of France at the time your analysis sounds pretty much spot on. It was some very unique circumstances grounded in the post WWI era that led to the defeat.
It is hard not to try to compare the Franco-Prussian War to the initial WWII defeat. Id say it would be easier to predict the loss to Prussia than to the Third Reich in the sense that it was really much more of a coin toss in the later if France was to be a paper or real tiger.
I dont see France in the 1870-s having the structural capacity to resist in the same way the 19th century one would have had if just a few details changed
Also dude, you must do Sabaton's the last battle at some point 😅😅
@@StoriesFromHistory-rv4oi Thank you dude!!! Yes I do want to make original content in addition to my react formats. I want to go further and create my own original content and I've had a lot of fun doing it.
Damned you're right I screwed up the 5 May date because I was so absorbed in my ideas for new content.
Your comments on the content are very accurate. France did not make up for the demographic losses between the two wars. Structurally, the country's demography is weaker than that of Germany. In 1870 and 1940, France was overtaken by a neighbour that had changed its approach to war and was structurally stronger on many levels (military, economic, industrial, demographic, etc.). And it all happened in more or less the same place: Sedan in the Ardennes. The irony of fate!
Thank you once again mate!!!
This was always a bit of a blank spot for me, I appreciate you filling it in😊
Thank you very much!
This was very interesting, the perfect storm was definitely present. The pictures were amazing, I literally had a physical, sick reaction to the madman looking off at the tower, I can't even begin to understand how the french felt. I know hindsight is 20 20 but all any can do is do everything in our power to see that nothing like this war ever happens again, I actually learned alot, thank you as always, I love the variety of content here.
Thank you I am very glad you enjoyed it! Let's pray for peace, indeed
Fascinating video my friend,love the information.
One if my favourite movie,it's a trilogy,the new planet of the apes movies,they say one thing,Apes Together strong,that always stuck with me,if when Germany attacked Poland,we should if all rose up,an sent troops to there assistance,that way we would of had time to send armies against Germany.
But people will just say that's hindsight.
That's when I hear Apes together strong,force must be met with force,if not things fall apart really quickly.
Fantastic video my friend.
Thank you very much I also very much like this trilogy. I think that sound people tend to be reluctant to enter war as long as it is possible that's maybe the why of no "together strong" at least until 1941. Cheers my friend :)
A very well put together video, thank you
Thank you very much!
Always appreciate your perspective; I like this format as well! Are you a history enthusiast or is it something you focused on in university?
Thank you, I am only a history enthusiast :)
❤
Great video and very informative. The post assassination clip on the French foreign minister and King of Yugoslavia was truly jarring.
The most credible deterrent to renewed German aggression was a return to war by a willing and capable Entente. But this time peace would require an unconditional surrender. No new treaty could be trusted again. Failing that France would have to return to war on its own. But the political turmoil and economic devastation of France meant that would be impossible. No matter how good the French army might be on paper there was no way France could be willing and able to fight the Great War again alone. Many diplomatic schemes to deter aggression were tried but all failed based on disagreement on things like reparations and tariffs among countries who were all dealing with national hardships. So the failure to respond by France to the reoccupation of the Rhineland was not a surprise.. it was…as correctly seen by Adold H. .. inevitable. Damnable skilled gambler that he was.
The only real failing I feel France must accept is writing a military guarantee to the countries of the “Little Entente”. France should have been able to more honestly understand its ability or lack of ability to act in their defense. French economic and commercial development done there could be no substitute to being able to honor a call for aid. But again these same failures could also be laid at the feet of nations like the UK and the US. But those are lessons no one wants to learn. Thank you again for a very thoughtful video.
How could they be laid at the feet of the USA? Wilson offered 14 points in Germanys surrender of WWI. Britain and France immediately wholeheartedly rejected these. In favor of a PUNISHING peace. Would Hitler have been able to rise in Germany if the Weimar Republic was allowed to function amid economic stability?
Diplomatic influence of the United States in European affairs was in 1917-39 nowhere like it is now. Poland in 1939 had a larger…and more modern, combat ready, armed forces…than the UNITED STATES. Poland ranked something like 5th. The USA ranked about 15th.
Thank you very much, I also think France's greatest weakness was a bad situation of the geopolitical and military situation: an ambitious diplomatic strategy to ensure peace in Europe while having to resort to a very defensive and conservative military doctrine. Disconnection between the military leaders, the political class and the reality
At some point,you should do something about John Rabe,he shouldn't be forgotten.
Oh very interesting topic, thank you!
Should have, could have, would've, but didn't. The will in leadership wasn't there. Appeasement was gathering speed.
Probably too much instability to create a real, consistent and coherent willingness to create a real opposition to the new threat. Thank you!
I obviously in retrospect say France and the UK should have intervened, but it was not realistic in 1936.
I may make jokes like the average American about France; however, given basically none of the US (much less the former Entente) wanted war, 1936 is too big an ask.
Perhaps by 1939 going into 1940 would make for a better debate (Phony War aside), but I think even the most Anti-French American should not have expected French intervention in 36.
Yes, thank you. We should have, but we just couldn't. Cheers!
Short answer, they're french.
👋
UniFirst, MP. #Prado
- , gfpR. PR. #3409