Phoney War
Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The Phoney War (French: Drôle de guerre; German: Sitzkrieg; Polish: Dziwna wojna) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front.
Two days later, the "Phoney" period began with declarations of war by the United Kingdom and France against Germany, but with little actual warfare occurring.
Although the Western Allies did not conduct major military actions during the Phoney War, they did implement economic warfare, especially a naval blockade of Germany, and they shut down German surface raiders.
The Allied discussions about a Scandinavian campaign triggered concern in Germany and resulted in the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940.
Fighting there continued until June, when the Allies evacuated, ceding Norway to Germany in response to the German invasion of France.
[2] This term gained currency in the British Empire and Commonwealth in large part to avoid confusion with the South African conflict.
Knowing their enemy would be more prepared and have land and air superiority, the Allies' strategy was to contest any specific German aggressive actions, but to essentially maintain a defensive posture.
This would allow time for Britain and France to build up their own military resources and eventually attain economic and naval superiority over Germany.
Within 48 hours, in fulfillment of their treaty obligations to Poland, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Germany.
On 7 September, the French commenced the limited Saar Offensive, but withdrew when their artillery could not penetrate German defenses.
[16]During the September Campaign in Poland, the British government under Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain still hoped to persuade Germany to agree to peace.
On 3 September, the British liner SS Athenia was torpedoed off the Hebrides with the loss of 112 lives in what was to be the start of the lengthy Battle of the Atlantic.
[15] After World War II, it was discovered that Nazi Germany's armed forces were vulnerable throughout the September Campaign.
Since the Wehrmacht was occupied in the attack on Poland, the French soldiers enjoyed a decisive numerical advantage along their border with Germany.
It decided all offensive actions were to be halted immediately as the French opted to fight a defensive war, forcing the Germans to come to them.
General Maurice Gamelin ordered his troops to stop no closer than 1 km (0.62 miles) from German positions along the Siegfried Line.
The following day, the commander of the French Military Mission to Poland, General Louis Faury, told the Polish Chief of Staff—General Wacław Stachiewicz—that the major offensive on the Western Front planned from 17 to 20 September had to be postponed.
[26][27][28] When British Member of Parliament (MP) Leopold Amery suggested to Kingsley Wood, the Secretary of State for Air, that the Black Forest should be bombed with incendiaries to burn its ammunition dumps, Wood amazed the MP by responding that the forest was "private property" and could not be bombed; neither could weapons factories, as the Germans might do the same to England.
Public opinion, particularly in France and Britain, quickly sided with Finland and demanded action from their governments in support of "the brave Finns" against the much larger Soviet aggressors.
[31] As a consequence of its attack on Finland, the Soviet Union was expelled from the League of Nations, and a proposed Franco-British expedition to northern Scandinavia was debated.
On 20 March, shortly after the Moscow Peace Treaty concluded the Winter War, Édouard Daladier resigned as Prime Minister of France, in part due to his failure to come to Finland's defense.
[34] The Allies openly discussed a possible expedition to northern Scandinavia (even though they had not received a request or consent from the neutral Scandinavian countries) and the occupation of Norway.
Such an expedition would threaten their iron ore supplies and gave a strong argument for Germany to secure the Norwegian coast.
[35] The debacle of the Allied campaign in Norway, which was actually an offshoot of the never-realised plans to aid Finland, forced a heated debate in the House of Commons during which Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was under constant attack.
Churchill formed a new coalition government that included members of the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Party, as well as several ministers from a non-political background.
Among the notable incidents were: British war planning had called for a "knockout blow" by strategic bombing of German industry with the RAF's substantial Bomber Command.
