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The fall of France

May 1940, British troops await evacuation on the beach at Dunkirk.

May 1940, British troops await evacuation on the beach at Dunkirk.
©Imperial War Museum NYP068075

Although the war at sea began immediately after Britain announced war with Germany, the period from September 1939 until May 1940 was marked by few military operations and termed 'phoney'.

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Search using British Expeditionary Force Fall of france Invasion of Denmark

Further reading

Barnett, C., Engage the enemy more closely: the Royal Navy in the Second World War (London: Penguin Classics, 2000)
Caddick-Adams, P., Phoney war and Blitzkrieg: the Territorial Army, 1939-1940 In RUSI Journal, 143 (2), pp.67-74 (1998)
Collier, B., The defence of the United Kingdom (London: HMSO, 1957)
Horne, A., To Lose A Battle: France 1940 (London: Penguin, 1990)
Parker, R.A.C., Britain, France and Scandinavia, 1939-40 In History, 61 (203), pp. 333-506 (1976)
Terraine, J., Business in great waters: the U-boat wars, 1916-1945 (Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 1999)
Terraine, J., The right of the line: the Royal Air Force in the European war, 1939-1945 (Ware: Wordsworth Editions, 1998)

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