Transcript

1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)

From The Rest Is History · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 4 min · 11,722 words · 154 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)", an episode of The Rest Is History published November 28, 2025 (1 h 4 min, about 11,722 words). It mentions 274 people, works and ideas, including Adolf Hitler, France, The Rest is History, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, The Second World War.

What this episode is about

The documentary explores the pivotal events of the 1940 Battle of France, detailing the rapid invasion tactics used by Hitler's forces, including Blitzkrieg strategies that overwhelmed Allied defenses. It emphasizes the struggle of the British and French forces to counteract the threat posed by the German military and the larger implications for freedom and democracy during World War II.

Key takeaways

  • Blitzkrieg was a racing car with no brakes; it ran fast but control was elusive.
  • Power is like gelato on a sunny day: easy to scoop, hard to hold.
  • Caesar's empire crumbled sans thermostats; Hive's empowerment could've kept the lights on.
  • Winter War's outcome: Finns skied, Soviets slipped, history cooked up Molotov cocktails.
  • Churchill, nine days as PM, faced an uphill battle worthy of a Shakespearean tragic hero.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Adolf Hitler, Iron Ore, France, Finland
  2. – 20:00: Norway, The Allies, Norwegian, Allies
  3. – 30:00: Norwegian, Germans, Norway, British king
  4. – 40:00: Adolf Hitler, French, France, British king
  5. – 50:00: French, Belgium, Adolf Hitler, Germans
  6. – 1:00:00: French, Germans, France, Belgium
  7. – 1:03:58: Adolf Hitler, British king, France, The Allies

Notable quotes from "1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)"

  • Hitler's armies invade Scandinavia. They launch their assault on Holland, on Belgium, on France, and catastrophe threatens for the Allies.
    about Adolf Hitler · at
  • A tremendous battle is raging in France and Fllanders.
    about France · at
  • So that Dominic it will stun you to learn was Winston Churchill and it was his first radio address as British prime minister delivered on the 19th of May 1940. And when he gave that address, he.
    about Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill · at
  • So my brother goes so far as to say surely the fastest conquest of a country in history.
    about World War II · at
  • We absolutely disgraced ourselves. To quote Max Hastings in his book on the Second World War, our campaign was characterized by utter moral ignability and military incompetence. So, that's a shame.
    about The Second World War · at
  • Get together in the early 1900s at the hunting lodge in Germany where Kaiser Wilhelm II great friend of the rest is history welcomed some of his top generals and among them was…
    about The Rest is History · at
  • That's what I'm all about. Now, meanwhile, two other generals, Eric von Mannstein and a Panza commander, Heints Gderian, had been working on a rival plan. And this plan, they said, Look, why don't we just pretend effectively to.
    about Guderian · at
  • Surely France is beaten. The entire British expeditionary force, 400,000 men are trapped in this pocket against the channel. The panzas are closing in on the channel ports of Bologin, Calala,.
    about Britain · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Adolf Hitler — Person · Historical figure · 28 mentions · first at
    Central figure in the discussion of World War II and the Nazi regime's strategies and invasions.
  • Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill — Person · Referenced historical figure / quoted speaker · 4 mentions · first at
    Central historical figure referenced throughout the episode as Britain's wartime leader; hosts quote his first radio address as prime minister to frame the narrative.
  • Guderian — Person · Referenced German armored warfare theorist/commander · 5 mentions
    Portrayed as the advocate of fast armored thrusts (blitzkrieg tactics) and co-originator of the plan to use concentrated armored formations to penetrate the Ardennes.
  • Manstein — Person · Referenced German general / strategist · 1 mention · first at
    Identified as a key architect (Erich von Manstein) of the Ardennes breakthrough and the operational plan (the sickle cut) that led to the rapid defeat of France.
    Manstein's a very kind of cold, arrogant Prussian aristocrat, the kind of person he's always distrustful of. But he listens to the plan. He says, I've been gagging to hear a plan like this.
  • Paul Reynaud — Person · Referenced political leader (French PM) · 46 mentions
    Prime minister of France who replaced Daladier; involved in decision-making during the Norway episode and the 1940 crisis; he directly communicates with Churchill about France's collapse.
    Finally, unbelievable, they've actually got their act together and decided to do something. So, the French have finally got rid of their dithering prime minister who was…
  • Gamelin — Person · Referenced French military commander · 5 mentions
    Named as the Allied (French) commander whose cautiousness and poor response are criticized as factors in France's rapid collapse.
  • Emma Chamberlain — Person · Referenced political figure / antecedent PM · 4 mentions · first at
    Immediate predecessor to Churchill; his handling of the Norway campaign and the 'Hitler has missed the bus' comment are used to explain political fallout leading to Churchill's appointment.
    But I guess the reason that he doesn't end up carrying the can is because Chamberlain on the 3rd of April.
  • General Maurice Gamalan — Person · Referenced senior Allied commander (mis-transcribed name) · 2 mentions · first at
    The transcript’s 'General Maurice Gamala' refers to Maurice Gamelin, French Commander-in-Chief at the start of the 1940 campaign, criticized for complacency and lack of strategic reserve.
    Frenchman, of course, because the French have by far the biggest troop contingent. is General Maurice Gamala and he's a very I think he's a very likable man in many ways Gamla…
  • Paul Reo — Person · Referenced Allied political leader (France) · 3 mentions · first at
    Discussed as France’s new Prime Minister who favors risky interventions (Norway, Baku) and later calls Churchill to announce France’s defeat.
    Right. A weeze. Yeah. So he's very keen on the idea of landing in Norway. And he also wanted to attack Soviet oil fields in Baku in Azabaijan.
  • Vidcon Quizling — Person · Referenced collaborator/traitor figure (Norway) · 1 mention · first at
    Presented as Hitler’s prospective Norwegian puppet leader; provides German planners with Norwegian defense details—source of the term 'quisling'.
    Local collaborator. And Raider, the admiral, says to Hitler, Look, I've got the perfect person. There's this bloke from Norway. He runs a fascist party called the National…
  • Hawain III — Person · Monarch under invasion (referenced; mis-transcribed) · 3 mentions · first at
    Refers to Norway’s King Haakon VII; his refusal to legitimize Quisling and his escape from Oslo are portrayed as pivotal moral-political resistance moments.
    Be referring listeners to some excellent films on this made in Norway. It's about 1:30 in the morning. An aid comes in to wake the king who is called Hawin IIIth.
  • King Hawin III — Person · Referenced monarch / symbol of Norwegian resistance (mis-transcribed name) · 3 mentions · first at
    The transcript’s 'King Hawin III' refers to King Haakon VII of Norway; central to Norway’s refusal to legitimize Quisling and to the government’s escape from Oslo.
    Be referring listeners to some excellent films on this made in Norway. It's about 1:30 in the morning. An aid comes in to wake the king who is called Hawin IIIth.
  • Vidkun Quisling — Person · Collaborator · 2 mentions · first at
    Norwegian politician who collaborated with Nazi Germany during its occupation of Norway.
    Party called the National Samling, I think. I don't know how my Norwegian pronunciation is. And this bloke's name is Vidcon Quizling. And Quizling, you'll be delighted to hear…
  • King Hawin IIIth — Person · Referenced head of state in Norway (mis-transcribed name) · 2 mentions · first at
    The transcript’s 'King Hawin IIIth' refers to King Haakon VII of Norway, depicted as refusing to legitimize a Quisling puppet government and symbolizing Norwegian resistance.
    Be referring listeners to some excellent films on this made in Norway. It's about 1:30 in the morning. An aid comes in to wake the king who is called Hawin IIIth.
  • General Gaston Billot — Person · Referenced military commander (France) · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as the French commander in Belgium whose despair and inability to coordinate response symbolize Allied command breakdown; dies after a car crash.
    When he was told you need to coordinate the Allied response to all this, he burst into tears, which I don't think is ever a good sign in your commanding officer.
  • King Haakon VII — Person · Referenced monarch / Norwegian national leader · 1 mention · first at
    Central to the Norway narrative: awakened to news of war, escapes Oslo, refuses to legitimize Quisling, and becomes a focal point of Norwegian resistance and legitimacy.
    And you have to approve it and the king says it's a very sort of stirring scene he says to his ministers look there's no way I'm going to accept this no way whatsoever he says…
  • General Maxim Weygand — Person · Referenced replacement commander · 1 mention · first at
    Introduced as the elderly retired general (Maxime Weygand) brought back to replace Gamelin, illustrating French desperation and command instability during the collapse.
    May. General Veon, a new French Supreme Commander, decided to visit Belot personally to steady his nerve. And he flew to a place called Betune on the Franco Belgian border. Vegon got there.
  • King Christian X of Denmark — Person · Historical figure referenced in context of Scandinavian history · 1 mention
    Clarifies the identity of the king in relation to Denmark's history
  • Maurice Gamelin — Person · Military leader · 15 mentions
    French general during the early stages of World War II, criticized for his leadership during the German invasion.
    Frenchman, of course, because the French have by far the biggest troop contingent. is General Maurice Gamala and he's a very I think he's a very likable man in many ways Gamla…
  • King Christian X — Person · Referenced monarch (Denmark) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a contrast case to Norway: Denmark’s rapid capitulation and Christian X’s symbolic resistance (daily rides; stance on Jews) illustrate different occupation experiences and moral leadership.
    Keen on the Nazis and all of this. And most famously he said to the Germans if you make the Danish Jews wear yellow stars then I will wear one too and basically all my people will wear them.
  • General Maxim Veon — Person · Referenced senior Allied commander (France) after Gamelin · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as Gamelin’s replacement who proposes counterattacks amid chaos; associated with the episode’s anecdote about delays and an 'omelette' meeting.
    It's not the first world war anymore. So maybe not. I don't know. Veon, he's got all these schemes for a great counterattack, French counterattack, but by now I think the allies are in such chaos that any.
  • General Paul von Falconhorst — Person · Referenced German operational planner (Scandinavia) · 1 mention · first at
    Shown as the general tasked by Hitler to draft the Norway/Denmark invasion plan on an absurdly short deadline, illustrating Hitler’s improvisational command style.
    That's outrageous. But the threat is still there. So on the 20th of February, Hitler summoned one of his generals who was called Paul von Falconhorst and said, I want you to…
  • Erich von Manstein — Person · Military leader · 8 mentions
    German field marshal who developed the sickle cut plan that led to the fall of France.
    That's what I'm all about. Now, meanwhile, two other generals, Eric von Mannstein and a Panza commander, Heints Gderian, had been working on a rival plan. And this plan, they said, Look, why don't we just pretend effectively to.
  • Sir Max Hastings — Person · Referenced expert · 3 mentions · first at
    Historian referenced in the discussion, providing analysis on WWII.
    We absolutely disgraced ourselves. To quote Max Hastings in his book on the Second World War, our campaign was characterized by utter moral ignability and military incompetence. So, that's a.
  • Charles de Gaulle — Person · Military leader · 3 mentions
    French general and later leader of the Free French Forces during World War II.
    Likable man in many ways Gamla he's kind of jaunty and jolly he loves art he loves philosophy he had been the protetéé of our old friend General from 1914 oh yes loves a long lunch yeah [snorts].
  • James Holland — Person · Referenced historian / cited source · 2 mentions · first at
    Cited as the source for iron ore statistics and narrative framing via his book 'The War in the West' (mentioned as the host’s brother).
    Because without iron ore, they can't build their planes and guns and all that kind of stuff. And so that puts an absolute premium on the one remaining guaranteed source of iron…
  • General Gaston Ori Bilot — Person · Referenced senior commander (France) · 2 mentions · first at
    Shown as demoralized and ineffective during the encirclement in Belgium; his breakdown and death after a car crash underscore Allied disarray.
    When he was told you need to coordinate the Allied response to all this, he burst into tears, which I don't think is ever a good sign in your commanding officer.
  • Admiral Lord Cork — Person · Referenced military commander (UK) · 1 mention · first at
    Anecdotal symbol of British incompetence in Norway; his attempt to lead troops ashore ends comically in a snowdrift, underscoring the campaign’s fiasco.
    They get into fights with local fishermen. My favorite moment. Admiral Lord Cork, who was a very short man, wants to inspire his men to get off their ships and advance on Narvik, and they're very reluctant to do so. And he.
  • General Otto Ruger — Person · Referenced Norwegian commander / voice of betrayal narrative · 1 mention · first at
    Cited for his bitter remark after Allied withdrawal, underscoring Norway’s sense of abandonment and the broader theme of Allied unreliability.
    Incompetence. And actually when the British finally did pull the plug and the Norwegian commander-in-chief, man called Otto Ruger, when he found out, he said very bitterly, So…
  • Gerd von Rundstedt — Person · Military leader · 1 mention · first at
    German field marshal who commanded Army Group A during the invasion of France.
    Math. They will go through Belgium and Holland. But this is a massive distraction exercise because the real action is going to come further south with GE von Runstet's army…
  • Heinz Guderian — Person · Military leader · 1 mention · first at
    German general known for his pioneering work in armored warfare and the Blitzkrieg strategy.
    That's what I'm all about. Now, meanwhile, two other generals, Eric von Mannstein and a Panza commander, Heints Gderian, had been working on a rival plan. And this plan, they…
  • General Uniger — Person · Referenced military commander (France) · 1 mention · first at
    Used to exemplify French complacency at Sedan/Meuse: dismisses German crossings as an opportunity for prisoners, highlighting doctrinal blindness.
    They're still vulnerable to a counterattack. But the amazing thing, the French are still so complacent. The commander of their second army was General Shal Uniger. And General…
  • Maxime Weygand — Person · Military leader · 1 mention · first at
    French general who replaced Gamelin, attempted to organize resistance against the German invasion.
    Yeah. But the first two at the beginning of the war were not right. Yeah. So 3 days later on the 19th, Reo sacked Gamla and he replaced him with General Veel.
  • Henry Pownall — Person · Historical figure · 1 mention · first at
    British general during WWII, known for his role in the Battle of France.
    Was badly injured, fell into a coma. Two days later, he died and that was the end of him. Do you know what the British Expeditionary Forces Chief of Staff, Sir Henry Powell, he…
  • Gaston Billotte — Person · Military leader · 2 mentions · first at
    French general during the Battle of France, known for his despair during the German invasion.
    That is the word. The French commander in Belgium is General Gaston Ori Bilot.
  • Fritoff Nansen — Person · Referenced historical figure connected to Quisling (mis-transcribed name) · 1 mention · first at
    The transcript’s 'Fritoff Nansen' refers to Fridtjof Nansen, cited to contextualize Quisling’s earlier career and connections before his fascist turn.
    Yeah. He'd got the highest marks in the history of the Norwegian military academy. This boat quizzling and he'd worked very closely with the explorer turned refugee campaigner…
  • David Lark — Person · Referenced Norwegian commander (comic anecdote) · 1 mention · first at
    Used in a humorous but telling anecdote about Norway’s initial mobilization confusion; likely refers to Norwegian commander-in-chief Kristian Laake (name distorted in transcript).
    [snorts] so there's a very comic side to the Norwegian resistance. So, this is my favorite bit. Norway's commander-in-chief was an elderly general called General Lark. I don't…
  • Laura Anne Nelson — Person · Historical comparison figure (referenced) · 1 mention · first at
    Invoked as a benchmark of British naval prowess and as a portrait in Churchill’s Admiralty office, contrasting with the Norway fiasco.
    In his office in the Admiral te opposite his desk, who do you think Churchill has a portrait of?
  • General Wilhelm Keitel — Person · Military leader · 1 mention · first at
    German field marshal and chief of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht during World War II.
    And they gather in front of Hitler's newly built bunker which he's going to be sharing with his agitant and with the head of the armed forces, Wilhelm Kitle.
  • Chief Thunder Bear — Person · Referenced French commander (late-stage) · 1 mention · first at
    Quoted for a retrospective judgment on France’s doctrinal mismatch; corresponds to General Alphonse Georges or (more likely given the quote) General Maxime Weygand/others, but the transcript says 'General Bear'—identity uncertain.
    And it's as though tanks have not yet been invented. And actually, General Bear, who takes command of the French armies on the 25th of May, by which point it's obvious that France is completely defeated, he said, We've.

Books & papers

  • The War in the West — Book · Referenced work · 4 mentions · first at
    Book providing insights into World War II's Western Front, referenced for historical context.
    Yeah. And listeners, here is some exciting iron ore stats and they come from the war in the west by my brother James Holland.
  • Achtung Panzer! — Book · 1 mention
    Basically sent Mannstein to East Prussia to shut him up, to get rid of him. But one person who doesn't is Gerion. He two years before had written the most German army titled…
  • Achtung Panzer! — Book · 3 mentions
  • The King's Choice — Book · 1 mention · first at
    And then he burst into tears and it's a very stirring scene. There's a Norwegian film of this called The King's Choice. I fell down a massive rabbit hole and ended up watching…
  • Blücher (film) — Book · 1 mention
  • Cher (biography/memoir) — Book · 1 mention
  • Murdoch: Death in the Family — Book · 1 mention

Companies & orgs

  • Allies — Company · 19 mentions · first at
    Launch their assault on Holland, on Belgium, on France, and catastrophe threatens for the Allies.
  • Luftwaffe — Company · 3 mentions
  • Army Group A — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    Yellow, the German operation in the West. Basically, there are two army groups. Army Group B is under Fedor Vonbach.
  • British Expeditionary Force (BEF) — Company · 2 mentions · first at
    Three French armies. It's the shattered remains of the Belgian army and the entire British expeditionary force. They are all encircled and surrounded trapped against the sea in…
  • Admiralty — Company · 2 mentions
  • Conservative Party — Company · 2 mentions
  • hivehome.com — Company · 1 mention · first at
  • National Samling — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Got the perfect person. There's this bloke from Norway. He runs a fascist party called the National Samling, I think. I don't know how my Norwegian pronunciation is. And this…
  • Norwegian Military Academy — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Yeah. He'd got the highest marks in the history of the Norwegian military academy. This boat quizzling and he'd worked very closely with the explorer turned refugee campaigner Fritoff Nansen. Anyway, there's only about 10.
  • Norwegian Map Institute — Company · 1 mention · first at
    His stuff as far as he can to the end of the line. And then he walked to the Norwegian Map Institute to see if they had a car that he could borrow to take him to meet his men.…
  • House of Commons — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Be invading Scandinavian countries useless. And so on the 7th of May, there was this famous debate in the House of Commons, the Norway debate. Probably the most famous, most celebrated debate in British parliamentary history.
  • We Have Ways — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Reading the war in the west, my brother's book, and listening to episodes on this in we have ways his podcast, I am left, kind of stupified by how hopeless the French are on this and the British complicit in as well because they're not.
  • Daily Mirror — Company · 1 mention · first at
    Of the Germans and he was painted by the Allied press as a traitor. The Mirror, Daily Mirror, ran the headline about him. I think a headline that no man wishes to read about himself, the face that every woman now despises.
  • The Rest Is History Club — Company · 1 mention · first at
    The Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And members of the Rest is history club can hear the next two episodes right now. And if you want to join them, go to the restistory.com.
  • Balliol College, Oxford — Company · 1 mention
  • Elverum Rifle Club — Company · 1 mention
  • Imperial General Staff — Company · 1 mention
  • Nazis — Company · 1 mention
  • restishistory.com — Company · 1 mention
  • Wehrmacht — Company · 1 mention

Products & tech

  • Panzer — Product · 12 mentions
  • Blücher — Product · 6 mentions
  • Asia (train) — Product · 2 mentions
  • smart thermostats — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Approach. It puts power where it belongs, in your hands. They started with smart thermostats and they've now gone much further. Solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, all…
  • heat pumps — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Belongs, in your hands. They started with smart thermostats and they've now gone much further. Solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, all working together so that you can power your home in your own way. That's genuine empowerment.
  • solar panels — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Belongs, in your hands. They started with smart thermostats and they've now gone much further. Solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, all working together so that you can power your home in your own way. That's genuine empowerment.
  • EV chargers — Product · 1 mention · first at
    With smart thermostats and they've now gone much further. Solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, all working together so that you can power your home in your own way. That's genuine empowerment.
  • Gliders — Product · 1 mention · first at
    And special forces had begun their operation. They'd been dropped by gliders and things. They'd seized the key bridges and forts on the German and Dutch borders by midm…
  • Amphetamines — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Hurry. They're told, you can't stop for 3 days, and they're issued with amphetamines to keep them going. You just have to keep going for 3 days.
  • Pontoon bridges — Product · 1 mention · first at
    Already crossing the river on rubber dingies. They're putting together pontoon bridges. The panzas are getting across. They're still quite vulnerable.
  • 19th-century cannons — Product · 1 mention
  • Amerika (train) — Product · 1 mention
  • Rubber dinghies — Product · 1 mention

Concepts & topics

  • The Allies — Concept · Core topic · 17 mentions · first at
    The Allies are central to the discussion of World War II, particularly their strategies, failures, and the threat they faced from the Nazis.
    Hitler's armies invade Scandinavia. They launch their assault on Holland, on Belgium, on France, and catastrophe threatens for the Allies.
  • The Nazis — Concept · Core topic · 5 mentions · first at
    The Nazis are the primary antagonists in the discussed World War II events, with their military strategies and invasions being a central topic.
    The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line.
  • Iron Ore — Resource · Key resource in Nazi war planning · 7 mentions · first at
    Highlights the strategic importance of iron ore from Sweden during WWII
    Their Nordic roots and Norse myths, but they never gave much thought to Scandinavia really. But we mentioned the iron ore in Sweden, which [clears throat] I'm very excited about.
  • Blitzkrieg — Concept · Military strategy · 3 mentions · first at
    Nazi Germany's rapid invasion strategy that was pivotal in their early WWII successes.
    The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line.
  • World War I — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions
    World War II is the overarching theme of the episode, with various battles and strategies discussed.
  • Iron Ore in Sweden — Concept · Discussed as a crucial resource for Nazi war efforts · 1 mention · first at
    The iron ore from Sweden was vital for the Nazi military machinery, impacting their ability to wage war.
    Their Nordic roots and Norse myths, but they never gave much thought to Scandinavia really. But we mentioned the iron ore in Sweden, which [clears throat] I'm very excited about.
  • Sickle Cut — Concept · Military strategy · 4 mentions · first at
    A key German military strategy used during the invasion of France.
    But they won't. They're going to turn sharp right at this point. Turn north and race for the channel. This is the sickle cut element of the plan which will leave the Allied armies trapped.
  • Maginot Line — Concept · Strategy · 11 mentions
    The Majino line is mentioned as the French defensive line that was bypassed by the German forces.
    Their plan in 1939 1940 was initially very similar. They would go through Belgium and Holland because they want to get around the Majino line which are these forts the French have built to defend Al-Sassan arrange further south.
  • The Molotov cocktail — Concept · Key term · 1 mention · first at
    The Molotov cocktail is mentioned as a weapon used by the Finns against the Soviet forces during the Winter War.
    So that this is the war that gives us the Molotov cocktail. And basically, Finland is clearly never going to completely win the war because it's tiny compared with Soviet Union.
  • The War in the West — Media Product · Referenced book · 3 mentions · first at
    Provides insights into the Nazi war planning and the significance of iron ore in WWII.
    Yeah. And listeners, here is some exciting iron ore stats and they come from the war in the west by my brother James Holland.
  • Majino line — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Their plan in 1939 1940 was initially very similar. They would go through Belgium and Holland because they want to get around the Majino line which are these forts the French have built to defend Al-Sassan arrange further south.
  • The Winter War — Concept · Key argument · 2 mentions · first at
    The Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union is discussed as a significant event that influenced Hitler's perception of Soviet military strength.
    And the result of this war, the winter war, is that the Red Army have lost about 125,000 men killed and another 300,000 have been incapacitated by wounds or they've basically got disease.
  • Molotov cocktail — Concept · Weapon · 1 mention · first at
    Improvised incendiary weapon used during World War II, mentioned in the context of the Winter War.
    So that this is the war that gives us the Molotov cocktail. And basically, Finland is clearly never going to completely win the war because it's tiny compared with Soviet Union.
  • The Phony War — Concept · Key argument · 1 mention · first at
    The Phony War is discussed as a period of inactivity on the Western Front before the German invasion of France and the Low Countries.
    Consequence of course is political because there is a general sense I think that has been gathering all through the phony war first France and then in Britain that the governments of peace time are just not up to the challenge. So as Paul.
  • Battle of Cannae — Concept · Historical reference · 1 mention · first at
    A historical battle referenced in the discussion of military strategies.
    And so this is the battle of Cannai.
  • The Great Terror — Concept · Key argument · 1 mention · first at
    The Great Terror is mentioned in the context of its impact on the Red Army's effectiveness during the Winter War.
    St. Petersburg. The Fins, to his great surprise, said no. Stalin sent in the Red Army. But the Red Army was useless at this stage because Stalin had killed all their generals…
  • The King's Choice — Movie · Film about the Norwegian King's response to the German invasion · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced as an excellent Norwegian film about the events described in the transcript
    8th, the Norwegians realize something is up. And the Norwegian side of the story is great actually. And I shall be referring listeners to some excellent films on this made in…
  • The King's Choice — Media Product · Referenced film · 1 mention · first at
    Depicts the events surrounding Norway's response to the German invasion.
    Resistance. The Germans have come up the Oslo fjord in this cruise at the Bluca with thousands of troops. There's a whole film about this called Bluca, a Norwegian film that…
  • The Social Dilemma — Media Product · Referenced documentary · 1 mention
    Highlights the impact of social media on society, relevant to discussions of propaganda during wartime.
    The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line.
  • French — Concept · 33 mentions · first at
    The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line.
  • Germans — Concept · 32 mentions · first at
    The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line.
  • British king — Concept · 27 mentions · first at
    Side by side, the British and French peoples have advanced to rescue not only Europe, but mankind from the foulest and most soul destroying tyranny which has ever.
  • Allies — Concept · 19 mentions · first at
    Launch their assault on Holland, on Belgium, on France, and catastrophe threatens for the Allies.
  • First World War — Concept · 7 mentions · first at
    Very hard to get him out of his tutu because rigamorus set in and as a result Europe was engulfed in the first world war. Goodness, if only they had E in the Kaiser's hunting…
  • Dutch — Concept · 6 mentions
  • Belgian — Concept · 5 mentions · first at
    Station signs, but actually they have arrived near the town of O Khan, which is about 30 miles from the Belgian border. And here there are cars waiting to take them through the…
  • Battle of Cannae — Concept · 4 mentions
  • Nazis — Concept · 4 mentions
  • Paratroopers — Concept · 3 mentions · first at
    Which is about 40 mi north of Oslo, and they're being pursued the whole time by German paratroopers who've been basically told, Get the Norwegian government and get the king.…
  • Führer — Concept · 3 mentions
  • Panzer — Concept · 3 mentions
  • Red Army — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    St. Petersburg. The Fins, to his great surprise, said no. Stalin sent in the Red Army. But the Red Army was useless at this stage because Stalin had killed all their generals…
  • German paratroopers — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    Which is about 40 mi north of Oslo, and they're being pursued the whole time by German paratroopers who've been basically told, Get the Norwegian government and get the king.…
  • Battle of Britain — Concept · 2 mentions · first at
    BlueArka and the Luft Fafa have lost almost 250 planes. And that will really matter later on in the Battle of Britain when every ship and every plane counts.
  • Division (military unit) — Concept · 2 mentions
  • Luftwaffe — Concept · 2 mentions
  • The Caesars — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    History has always been a story of power. Who seeks it? Who seizes it? and how easily it can all slip away. The Caesars, the Caiffs, the Sars, they conquered vast swaves of the…
  • Third Reich — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    In this episode. But first, somewhere we haven't discussed at all in the whole of this series on the Third Reich going back four seasons, and that is the North. And the irony…
  • Great Terror — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    Red Army. But the Red Army was useless at this stage because Stalin had killed all their generals as part of the Great Terror. He had purged them and they were completely…
  • British intelligence — Concept · 1 mention · first at
    By December 1939, British intelligence deduced that of the 22 million tons of iron ore imported in 1938, the equivalent of 9 12 million tons of that supply had come from sources now close.

Places & events

  • France — Place · Primary setting / belligerent nation · 18 mentions · first at
    Main theater of the 1940 campaign under discussion — French defenses, leadership changes, defeat and occupation are core to the episode's narrative.
  • The Second World War — Event · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    The overarching historical event being discussed throughout the episode.
  • World War II — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    The entire episode revolves around the events of World War II, particularly the early stages of the conflict in Europe.
  • Second World War — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    The Second World War is the overarching event discussed throughout the episode.
    We absolutely disgraced ourselves. To quote Max Hastings in his book on the Second World War, our campaign was characterized by utter moral ignability and military incompetence. So, that's a shame.
  • Britain — Place · Principal belligerent / homeland of host podcast · 12 mentions · first at
    One of the main parties under threat in the 1940 campaign; referenced in relation to Churchill, the BEF, and political leadership struggles.
  • Battle of France — Event · Historical event · 3 mentions
    A major battle during WWII where Germany defeated France.
    We will find out in our next two episodes to come on this series. The miracle of Dunkirk, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And members of the Rest is.
  • Ardennes — Place · Key geographic corridor / tactical focal point · 2 mentions · first at
    The forested region through which German forces executed a surprise armored advance that outflanked French defenses; central to the episode's explanation of strategy.
    Math. They will go through Belgium and Holland. But this is a massive distraction exercise because the real action is going to come further south with GE von Runstet's army…
  • Germany — Place · Setting · 4 mentions · first at
    Central to the narrative as the aggressor in WWII, discussing its military strategies and invasions.
    I'm dissing the Norwegians and I'm not because they put up some pretty stout resistance. The Germans have come up the Oslo fjord in this cruise at the Bluca with thousands of…
  • Dunkirk — Place · Imminent evacuation site / forthcoming episode focus · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as one of the channel ports threatened by the German advance; sets up the next episodes on Dunkirk and the evacuation.
    British expeditionary force, 400,000 men are trapped in this pocket against the channel. The panzas are closing in on the channel ports of Bologin, Calala, and Dunkirk. Surely…
  • Dunkirk — Event · Key event · 1 mention · first at
    Dunkirk is highlighted as a significant event in World War II, involving the evacuation of Allied soldiers.
    Channel. The panzas are closing in on the channel ports of Bologin, Calala, and Dunkirk. Surely within days, Hitler's tanks will finish the job and then Britain will be forced…
  • The Miracle of Dunkirk — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    The Miracle of Dunkirk refers to the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk.
    We will find out in our next two episodes to come on this series. The miracle of Dunkirk, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And members of the Rest is.
  • Narvik — Place · Strategic port / focal point in Scandinavian campaign · 5 mentions · first at
    Narvik in northern Norway is highlighted as the crucial, ice-free port for Swedish iron ore shipments — a key factor prompting German and Allied operations in Scandinavia.
    If you're invading Norway you have to take Denmark as well because it's right next door. They would have landed troops at Narvik. They would have seized the Swedish iron mines…
  • Battle of Britain — Event · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at
    The Battle of Britain is a key event in the discussion of World War II.
    Episodes to come on this series. The miracle of Dunkirk, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And…
  • Arden Forest — Place · Strategic location · 2 mentions · first at
    Site of a surprise German attack through the Ardennes, leading to the fall of France.
    15,000 men each. Listeners can do the math. They will go through Belgium and Holland. But this is a massive distraction exercise because the real action is going to come…
  • Operation Weserübung — Event · Military operation · 1 mention · first at
    Nazi Germany's invasion of Denmark and Norway during World War II.
    Be very easy. And by the end of March, Grand Admiral Raider has said, Come on, we need to hurry up. They set the date for the 9th of April. Now, in the meantime, they obviously…
  • Norway — Place · Setting · 25 mentions · first at
    Norway is central to the discussion of the German invasion and the importance of iron ore.
    If you're invading Norway you have to take Denmark as well because it's right next door. They would have landed troops at Narvik. They would have seized the Swedish iron mines…
  • Belgium — Place · Setting · 12 mentions · first at
    Belgium is a key location in the German invasion of the West.
    Too were overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers and firepower. Interestingly, the Belgian king did not flee his country. He had taken personal command of the army and he said…
  • The Soviet Union — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    The Soviet Union is mentioned in the context of the Winter War and its later invasion by Germany.
    Miracle of Dunkirk, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And members of the Rest is history club can…
  • The Winter War — Event · Historical event · 3 mentions · first at
    A war between Finland and the Soviet Union during WWII.
    And the result of this war, the winter war, is that the Red Army have lost about 125,000 men killed and another 300,000 have been incapacitated by wounds or they've basically got disease.
  • Rotterdam — Place · Site of aerial bombardment / civilian devastation · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as an example of German air power's destructive effect during the invasion of the Netherlands (Rotterdam bombing was pivotal in Dutch surrender).
    Hitler had dreamed. Within 4 and 1/2 days, the Germans have wiped the floor with the Dutch. The climax coming on the 14th when the Lufra bombed Rotterdam and they destroyed the old city of Rotterdam. A massive story at the time.
  • The Great Terror — Event · Key argument · 1 mention · first at
    The Great Terror refers to Stalin's purges, which weakened the Red Army.
    Surprise, said no. Stalin sent in the Red Army. But the Red Army was useless at this stage because Stalin had killed all their generals as part of the Great Terror. He had…
  • Sedan — Place · Historical battlefield reference · 1 mention · first at
    Referenced as the location where the French front was broken — symbolic tie to 1870 defeat and used to stress the gravity of 1940 reversal.
    Can't have happened so soon. But he replied, The front is broken near Sedon. Sedon is exactly where they'd lost the Francoressussian War in 1870.
  • Denmark — Place · Setting · 8 mentions · first at
    Denmark is mentioned as part of the German invasion of Scandinavia.
    Kick off at 4:15 in the morning. They the panzas roll over naval landings, paratroopers, and the Danes are completely and utterly helpless. There's a bit of fighting around the…
  • Finland — Place · Setting · 7 mentions · first at
    Finland is discussed in the context of the Winter War against the Soviet Union.
    So that this is the war that gives us the Molotov cocktail. And basically, Finland is clearly never going to completely win the war because it's tiny compared with Soviet Union.
  • Soviet Union — Place · Referenced location · 7 mentions · first at
    Key player in the early stages of the Second World War, particularly in the Winter War.
    And Stalin had attacked us at the end of November 1939 because he had given an ultimatum to the Finns to hand over a chunk of Curelia, the bit of Finland that is just above Lennengrad, formerly.
  • Sweden — Place · Setting · 5 mentions · first at
    Sweden is mentioned as the source of iron ore crucial for the Nazi war effort.
    Build their planes and guns and all that kind of stuff. And so that puts an absolute premium on the one remaining guaranteed source of iron ore and that is Sweden. So you can see why this is a huge kind of determinant in Nazi war planning.
  • Majino line — Place · Setting · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned as part of the French defenses that were breached by the Germans.
    The original German plan was to go through Belgium and Holland. Very first world war we push the French back to the Som and then we kind of grind them down there. And when that plan was presented.
  • The Westerlands — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Invaded by Germany, showcasing the speed of German military advances.
    The start, the Allies are walking into the Germans trap, just as Mannstein and Hitler had dreamed. Within 4 and 1/2 days, the Germans have wiped the floor with the Dutch. The…
  • Oslo — Place · Strategic location · 1 mention · first at
    Capital of Norway, significant in the context of Nazi Germany's invasion.
    He basically has to get his wash bag from his farm just outside Oslo. He goes out to his farm and collects his like change of clothes, some underwear, toothbrush, whatever. And then he calls a taxi, but because the invasion.
  • The Phony War — Event · Core topic · 1 mention · first at
    The Phony War refers to the period of inactivity at the start of World War II.
    Consequence of course is political because there is a general sense I think that has been gathering all through the phony war first France and then in Britain that the governments of peace time are just not up to the challenge. So as Paul.
  • United States (states) — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    The United States is mentioned in the context of its potential involvement in the war.
    Urgency. He knows that his enemies have never been weaker because the Soviet Union is bogged down in Finland. The United States has got presidential elections and is very…
  • The English Channel — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Key geographical feature in the narrative of the British and French forces being trapped.
    In other words, turning north and they will head up towards the coast of the English Channel in a kind of what's called a sickle cut maneuver. And what that means is that all the Allied French.
  • Paris — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Capital of France, central to the narrative of the German invasion and French resistance.
    So the next afternoon, the 16th, Churchill flies to Paris and he is shocked when he gets there. They are burning their archives already. They are preparing to evacuate the city. Utter dejection was written on every face. And.
  • Norwegian — Place · 13 mentions · first at
    Norwegian film that came out in September. You can see clips from it on YouTube. The Norwegians have this fortress called the Oscars Borg and it has two 19th century antique cannons.
  • Poland — Place · Setting · 6 mentions · first at
    Discussed in the context of its invasion and division between Germany and the Soviet Union.
    I'm dissing the Norwegians and I'm not because they put up some pretty stout resistance. The Germans have come up the Oslo fjord in this cruise at the Bluca with thousands of…
  • Copenhagen — Place · Setting · 3 mentions · first at
    Capital of Denmark, quickly occupied by German forces.
    The panzas roll over naval landings, paratroopers, and the Danes are completely and utterly helpless. There's a bit of fighting around the royal palace in Copenhagen, but the…
  • Oskarborg — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at
    Norwegian fortress that resisted the German invasion.
    Norwegian film that came out in September. You can see clips from it on YouTube. The Norwegians have this fortress called the Oscars Borg and it has two 19th century antique cannons.
  • Norway Debate — Event · Historical event · 1 mention · first at
    Parliamentary debate in the UK that led to Chamberlain's resignation.
    Around with his umbrella when he should be invading Scandinavian countries useless. And so on the 7th of May, there was this famous debate in the House of Commons, the Norway…
  • Azerbaijan — Place · Referenced location · 13 mentions
    Mentioned in the context of potential Allied attacks on Soviet oil fields.
    Right. A weeze. Yeah. So he's very keen on the idea of landing in Norway. And he also wanted to attack Soviet oil fields in Baku in Azabaijan.
  • The Baltic Sea — Place · Referenced location · 3 mentions
    Mentioned in the context of Scandinavian and Soviet military strategy.
    The British have intelligence to say the Germans have put to sea, but they say, Yeah, they're probably not going to Norway. I imagine they're going to try and break through into the Atlantic.

Media & podcasts

  • The Rest is History — Media · Host podcast · 5 mentions · first at
    The podcast where the discussion takes place, focusing on historical events.
  • Hawvin III — Character · Referenced Norwegian king (appears to be King Haakon VII) · 4 mentions
    Discussed in the Norwegian resistance narrative — roused from bed, notified of war, emotional decision to reject German puppet government; important to the Norway section.
    He says to his ministers look there's no way I'm going to accept this no way whatsoever he says if you want to accept it fine but I will abdicate I will never ever preside over…
  • Gaston Bilot — Character · Referenced French commander in Belgium · 4 mentions
    Named as the French commander in the encircled Belgian sector — portrayed as overwhelmed and demoralized; anecdotal details (burst into tears) illustrate allied collapse.
    That is the word. The French commander in Belgium is General Gaston Ori Bilot.
  • King Christian X — Character · Referenced monarch (Denmark) · 4 mentions
    Danish king during the 1940 invasion; cited for his public conduct and symbolic resistance (e.g., riding through Copenhagen and standing with the Jewish population).
  • Blucher — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    Norwegian film about the German cruiser Blücher's sinking during the invasion of Norway.
    Resistance. The Germans have come up the Oslo fjord in this cruise at the Bluca with thousands of troops. There's a whole film about this called Bluca, a Norwegian film that…
  • The King's Choice — Media · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    The film is mentioned as a depiction of the Norwegian king's decision during the German invasion.
    It's a very stirring scene. There's a Norwegian film of this called The King's Choice. I fell down a massive rabbit hole and ended up watching huge chunks of this film. It's really moving actually. It's a really moving story.

Sponsors

  • Hive — Sponsor · Sponsor / advertiser · 2 mentions · first at
    Sponsor of the episode; read as an explicit ad promoting Hive smart-home products and services (thermostats, solar, EV chargers) with a direct call to action and website mention.
    This episode is sponsored by Hive.
  • Hive — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Hive is the sponsor of the episode, promoting its smart home products and services.
    This episode is sponsored by Hive.
  • Hive (company) — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Sponsor of the podcast episode, promoting their smart home technology.
    This episode is sponsored by Hive.
  • EE — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Sponsor of the podcast segment, promoting their mobile network and broadband technology.
    Where being the perfect or indeed the worst kind of host or guest changed the course of history. And it's brought to you by our friends at EE who have the UK's best mobile…
  • EE — Product · Sponsor · 2 mentions
    Digital product being promoted as part of the podcast's sponsorship.
    The Western powers has begun. And so it begins. And it will be beginning after a break. And now it's time for a very special segment of today's episode, which we're calling the…
  • Hive — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Physical product being promoted as part of the podcast's sponsorship, focusing on smart home technology.
    This episode is sponsored by Hive.
  • EE — Sponsor · 6 mentions

Full transcript with timestamps

Today on the rest is history. Blitzkrieg. Hitler's armies invade Scandinavia. They launch their assault on Holland, on Belgium, on France, and catastrophe threatens for the Allies. This episode is sponsored by Hive. History has always been a story of power. Who seeks it? Who seizes it? and how easily it can all slip away. The Caesars, the Caiffs, the Sars, they conquered vast swaves of the world. They proclaimed themselves the favorites of the gods. And yet their empires crumbled away. It is easier to conquer than it is to control. Hive takes a different approach. It puts power where it belongs, in your hands. They started with smart thermostats and they've now gone much further. Solar panels, heat pumps, EV chargers, all working together so that you can power your home in your own way. That's genuine empowerment.

Checking your phone, seeing the heating's on, the car's charging, and the sun is quietly earning its keep on the roof. Caesar never had to charge his chariots, but I'm sure he would have admired the efficiency. Visit hivehome.com to find out more. Subject to survey and suitability, Hive compatible with selected technology.

I speak to you for the first time as prime minister in a solemn hour for the life of our country, of our empire, of our allies, and above all of the cause of freedom. A tremendous battle is raging in France and Fllanders. The Germans by a remarkable combination of air bombing and heavily armored tanks have broken through the French defenses north of the Majino line. If this is one of the most awesome periods in the long history of France and Britain, it is also beyond doubt the most sublime side by side, unaded except by their kith and kin in the greater minions and by the wide empires which rest beneath their shield.

Side by side, the British and French peoples have advanced to rescue not only Europe, but mankind from the foulest and most soul destroying tyranny which has ever darkened and stained the pages of history. behind them, behind us, behind the armies and fleets of Britain and France. gather a group of shattered states and bludgeoned races. The checks, the Poles, the Norwegians, the Danes, the Dutch, the Belgians, upon all of whom the long night of barbarism will descend, unbroken even by a star of hope. Unless we conquer, as conquer we must, as conquer we shall.

So that Dominic uh it will stun you to learn was Winston Churchill and it was his first radio address as British prime minister uh delivered on the 19th of May 1940. And when he gave that address, he had been prime minister for only nine days. But never in history had anybody taken office against quite such a bleak backdrop. So we ended um our previous episode with Hitler preparing his great attack in the west, an attack that huge numbers of people in the German high command thought was a disastrous policy. But actually in the short term, Hitler had been proved right because the blow fell on the western armies on the 10th of May, the very day that Churchill become prime minister. And what happens next is one of the great duels, one of the great dramas, not just in European, but all world history.

Yeah. So this week we're exploring the great turning point in the story of the Nazis, the events of 1940. But let's just remind ourselves uh where we ended last time. So Hitler in late 1939 crushed Poland, divided it with Stalin. He has escaped a possible coup by his own generals. He's also escaped a bomb attack in a Munich beer hall. And he has told his high command to prepare an attack on France and and England as he calls it at the earliest and most favorable moment. And that attack has been much postponed and timetabled for the spring of 1940. And we'll be coming to that attack and to Churchill's emergence as Britain's savior um later in this episode. But first, somewhere we haven't discussed at all in the whole of this series on the Third Reich going back four seasons, and that is the North. And the irony being that the Nazis were so obsessed with their northern inheritance and their kind of

um their Nordic roots and Norse myths, but they never gave much thought to Scandinavia really. But we mentioned the iron ore in Sweden, which [clears throat] I'm very excited about.

Yes. And that will come. But also you touched on Finland, didn't you? The fact that the Soviets were bogged down in the snows of that distant northern land.

Yeah. It's like listening to Winston Churchill. I know. I'm kind of infected by it.

Yeah. The brave people of Finland. So, um, Finland, formerly the Grand Duchy of Finland, had been part of the Russian Empire, three and a half million people. And Stalin had attacked us at the end of uh November 1939 because he had given an ultimatum to the Finns to hand over a chunk of Curelia, the bit of Finland that is just above Lennengrad, formerly St. Petersburg. The Fins, to his great surprise, said no. Stalin sent in the Red Army. But the Red Army was useless at this stage because Stalin had killed all their generals as part of the Great Terror. He had purged them and they were completely unprepared. We think of the Russians as supremely well equipped to fight in the winter, but they were very unprepared compared with the Finns who were wearing these kind of white camouflage uniforms and were on skis and were throwing Molotov cocktails at them.

So that this is the war that gives us the Molotov cocktail. And basically, you know, Finland is clearly never going to completely win the war because it's tiny compared with uh Soviet Union. Basically, the two sides had to agree a compromise. And in March 1940, the Finn handed over a chunk of Curelia, but Stalin then dropped his previous plan of basically turning Finland into a a semi-absorbed client state. And he lets them keep their independence. And the result of this war, the winter war, is that the Red Army have lost about 125,000 men killed and another 300,000 have been incapacitated by wounds or they've basically got disease or they they've got frost bites. And Hitler's been watching this, right?

Yes. And so he thinks, "Ah, this demonstrates that the Soviet army is rubbish and therefore it will be easy for us to conquer it."

Exactly. It's it's really important actually in Hitler's thinking this so-called winter war between Finland and the USSR because Hitler, as he says to his top brass, we have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure of the Soviet Union will come crashing down. And this is what everybody believes having watched what happened in Finland. Now Finland is therefore preserved as a buffer in the north between Scandinavia and the Soviet Union. And so now Hitler can work on a plan to bring Scandinavia into his empire. And the key thing here I know something that really excites you is iron ore. There's nothing I enjoy more than a discussion about iron ore. Can I give you some stats?

I'd love a statistic. So Dominic. Yeah. And listeners, here is some exciting iron ore stats and they come from the war in the west by my brother James Holland.

By December 1939, British intelligence deduced that of the 22 million tons of iron ore imported in 1938, the equivalent of 9 12 million tons of that supply had come from sources now close to it. And so that is obviously a massive crisis for the Nazi war effort because without iron ore, they can't build their planes and guns and all that kind of stuff. And so that puts an absolute premium on the one remaining guaranteed source of iron ore and that is Sweden. So you can see why this is a huge kind of determinant in Nazi war planning.

Massive. It's absolutely massive. Isn't that interesting? I think that's interesting.

It's fascinating. I think it's probably the most fascinating fact we ever had on the rest of history. So um this iron [snorts] ore is produced by mines in the north of Sweden. It comes out of Sweden through one port in particular which is Narvik across the border in northern Norway which I think is a great name. Narvik.

Yeah, I've been to Narvik actually. Have you? Kind of nondescript but a good name.

Yeah, but a good name. So Narvik is also ice free in winter. So you can bring iron ore all year round. Now as soon as the war broke out in September 1939, Grand Admiral Raider of the crem marine which is the navy went to Hitler and said look we have to guarantee this flow of iron ore from northern Sweden. In other words we have to establish ourselves in Norway which is neutral because if we don't the allies will and if they get there first we are in real trouble. And Raider said to Hitler, "This business of the winter war in Finland is a real issue because the Allies, I think, will use that as a pretext. They will send troops to help Finland against Stalin, and on the way they will occupy Norway and Northern Sweden."

And the thing is, he's right, isn't he? Because actually, the Allies do have exactly such a plan.

They do. And this may surprise a lot of listeners. The Allies absolutely had such a plan. Churchill now running the admiral te the navy in Britain is especially keen on it. So under his eegis Britain and France draw up a plan to invade Denmark and Norway. Basically if you're invading Norway you have to take Denmark as well because it's right next door. They would have landed troops at Narvik. They would have seized the Swedish iron mines and they would have then pushed troops further on into Finland to help the Finns against Stalin who at this point they kind of perceive as Hitler's ally, his partner in crime.

Now, they ended up scrapping this plan basically in part because the Norwegians and the Swedes got wind of it and they said, "What? You're planning to occupy us?" Yeah, that's not good, is it? That's outrageous. But the threat is still there. So on the 20th of February, Hitler summoned one of his generals who was called Paul von Falconhorst and said, "I want you to come up with a plan to invade Norway and Denmark." And this is a very good indication of the mad way that Hitler does business. It's so funny. So he calls to this guy, Falcon Host, and says, "And by the way, I need this plan. You've got till 5:00 this afternoon. I don't know what time it is.

It's like lunchtime or something." Yeah, he's got kind of 3 hours. And also you can't tell anyone about it and you can't get any help.

So he goes to a bookshop, doesn't he? He and gets a baca, a guide. Yeah. To Scandinavia.

Yeah. And he books himself into a hotel, Falcon Horse, with this guide book and sort of in desperation, he hasn't even got any maps or anything. He's just got a guide book, desperately scribbling, I don't know, in hotel note paper or something, the plan to invade Norway and Denmark. Hitler is convinced this will be very easy. And by the end of March, Grand Admiral Raider has said, "Come on, we need to hurry up." They set the date for the 9th of April. Now, in the meantime, they obviously need a reason to go in and ideally they will have a local collaborator. And Raider, the admiral, says to um Hitler, "Look, I've got the perfect person." There's this bloke from Norway. He runs a fascist party called the National Samling, I think. I don't know how my Norwegian pronunciation is. And this bloke's name is Vidcon Quizling. And Quizling, you'll be delighted to hear this, Tom. He's the son of a Lutheran pastor. Surely

everybody in Norway is the son of a Lutheran pastor. At least 30% I would guess.

Yeah. He'd got the highest marks in the history of the Norwegian military academy. This boat quizzling and he'd worked very closely with the explorer turned refugee campaigner Fritoff Nansen. Anyway, there's only about 10 people in Norway. So, if you've got those high marks from the academy, you can thrive in Norwegian politics. So Quizling was defense minister very briefly. Then in the 1930s he sort of got really into Nordic nationalism and he formed his own Nazi style party and he called himself the furer of this uh party spelled in an entertainingly Norwegian way.

Yeah. So it's an O with a dash through it. Exactly. But he never did well. They were very poor. They they never got more than 2 and a half% of the vote.

So that's what about six people voting for him. Yeah. They never managed to elect a single Norwegian MP. Anyway, Raider brings him to Hitler and introduces him to Hitler, this guy Quizling. And Hitler thinks he's he's a bit useless. However, he's the only person they've got. So, they decide to back him anyway. And Quizzing does turn out to be genuinely useful to the Germans because he was defense minister. So, he's able to give them details of all Norway's defenses.

So, overt treason. completely. I mean, he really is a quizzling. And of course, that's where the name comes from.

Yeah. Now, in the meantime, the Allies finally, unbelievable, they've actually got their act together and decided to do something. So, the French have finally got rid of their dithering uh prime minister who was Dadier, a socialist, and they've replaced him with somebody from the other end of the political spectrum, the center right Paul Reo. And Reo is a very clever man, kind of um you know, very impressive in many ways. He's extremely short actually. He's 5' 3. So that's his defining characteristic. And he Dadier people used to say of Dadier, he made no decisions at all. But Reo makes a decision every 5 minutes. And there a lot of them are mad. So he's very like Churchill. He loves kind of mad invasions of remote distant places.

That's his vibe, isn't it? He loves all that. Right. A weeze. Yeah. So he's very keen on the idea of landing in Norway. And he also wanted to attack Soviet oil fields in Baku in Azabaijan.

I mean that seems mad indeed. Anyway, after a lot of dithering about this, the French and the British finally agree they will intervene in Norway. They will mine the waters around Narvik. That's the crucial port the Germans get their iron ore from. Now they know that if they mine these waters, there will be a German reaction. So they say we'll also have to send troops and occupy Norway's western port. So that's Narvik, Stavinger, Bergen, places like that.

And how do the Norwegians feel about this? Gutted, I think. Are they told or are they just going to turn up and occupy them?

Yeah, as we shall see, the Norwegians when the war breaks out, they don't know who started it, the Allies or the Germans. So that tells its own story, really.

Right. So the beginning of April, Churchill, who is really responsible for all this and basically ought to carry the can when it goes horribly wrong. I mean, it's so Gipoly, isn't it?

Yeah. I mean, he he never learns really, does he? He decides he'll kick it off. He sends four destroyers to lay these mines.

But I mean, I guess the reason that he doesn't end up carrying the can is because Chamberlain on the 3rd of April.

He addresses the Conservative National Union and he he makes a kind of fateful boast, doesn't he? Whatever reason Hitler had for not making an immediate endeavor to overwhelm us. One thing is certain. He has missed the bus. And that phrase Hitler has missed the bus will return to haunt Chamberlain. Indeed, because actually while the allies have been messing around and dithering with their mad ideas, Hitler has made up his own mind and he has already sent the German fleet to begin the operation against Norway. Now, the British, this speaks volumes about the quality of Britain's decision-making at this point.

The British have intelligence to say the Germans have put to sea, but they say, "Yeah, they're probably not going to Norway. I imagine they're going to try and break through into the Atlantic." So, you know, let's not overstress about that. Early on the 8th of April, the British start to lay their minds outside Narvik, but the Germans are approaching all the time. My brother's brilliant on this, and he writes, "It was incredible that after so much Allied vacasillation over Norway, both sides should have been beginning their offensives at the same moment and both be ignorant of the other's plans." I mean, that is kind of mad, isn't it?

It's crazy. So, midnight on the um the 8th, the Norwegians realize something is up. And the Norwegian side of the story is great actually. And I shall I shall be referring listeners to some excellent films on this made in Norway. It's about 1:30 in the morning. An aid comes in to wake the king who is called Hawin IIIth. And he is a very sort of tall gaunt man if you Google him. He's actually a DNE. So they had had to pick a new king when they broke away from Sweden at the beginning of the 20th century. And they' picked this Danish bloke. He's got an absolutely firstass mustache. He sent his son to Baleo College, Oxford, which I think reflects very well on him.

Anyway, there he is in bed and his aid says, "Majesty, we're at war." And the king says, "With whom?" You know, because they don't know whether it's going to be the Germans or the allies.

And exactly the same thing happens in Iceland, doesn't it? Yeah. The British do go and occupy Iceland.

Yeah. And they say, "Who is it?" And they say, "The British." And they go, "Few." Cuz better the British than the Germans. I guess

it's nice that people think that way about us. Um I'm sure everybody in the world thinks that way about when the British turn up, don't they? That's the impression I get from the history books I read.

Anyway, [snorts] so there's a very comic side to the Norwegian resistance. So, this is my favorite bit. Norway's commander-in-chief was an elderly general called General Lark. I don't think Norwegians had ever really, not since Harold Hardrada really, had they extended themselves militarily. So, General Larker is told the Germans are coming up the Oslo fjord. Ships are, you know, coming through the fog or whatever. And he says, "Right, call out the reserves. It's like, "Send out the letters." And someone said, "What the letters? I mean, they're not they're not going to get here for days. We could do it all by post." Yeah. You know what the post is like in Norway? Yeah.

Anyway, staff officers remmonstrated with him and he said, "It's fine. This there's no hurry. Don't overthink this. Just write them letters. They'll they'll turn up." And then he said, "I need to go back to my my farm." This is my favorite detail. to get my toiletries. He basically has to get his wash bag from his farm just outside Oslo. He goes out to his farm and collects his like change of clothes, some underwear, you know, toothbrush, whatever. And then he calls a taxi, but because the invasion has begun, the taxi is very, very severely delayed. Takes ages for this taxi to arrive. The taxi picks him up and takes him back to Oslo to Norwegian Army headquarters. By the time he gets there with his wash bag, the general staff have evacuated and they haven't left any information to tell him where they've gone. This isn't the spirit of Harold Hardrada, is it? So he then he works out where they've gone. He

gets a tram, a suburban tram, carrying his stuff as far as he can to the end of the line. And then he walked to the Norwegian Map Institute to see if they had a car that he could borrow to take him to meet his men. They don't have a car. So then he had to walk all the way back to the railway station to get a train. And it's hours and hours until he finally rejoins his uh staff.

So Blitz Greek, it is not. Well, do you know what? It sounds like I'm dissing the Norwegians and I'm not because they put up some pretty stout resistance. The Germans have come up the Oslo fjord in this cruise at the Bluca with thousands of troops. There's a whole film about this called Bluca, a Norwegian film that came out in September. You can see clips from it on YouTube. The Norwegians have this fortress called the Oscars Borg and it has two 19th century antique cannons. And basically, this Beluca comes closer and closer and these guys wait at this fortress until it's really close. Then they fire with these antique cannons.

They hit the Bluca's fuel store. The Blucer explodes, bursts into flames and explodes and 800 of the Germans were drowned. So it was a big win that for the Norwegians and because of scenes like this, this gave the king, King Hawin and his ministers time to get out of Oslo.

They managed to smuggle out the gold reserves as well, don't they? Kind of pretty much under the noses of the Germans.

Yeah, it's a great story. I mean, as we'll see, it makes a great film because they head to this village called Elvver, which is about 40 mi north of Oslo, and they're being pursued the whole time by German paratroopers who've been basically told, "Get the Norwegian government and get the king. Like, we'll need them." The local rifle club, the Elveram rifle club, put up a roadblock and basically drove back these German paratroopers. I mean, that's incredible. These BS were like hunting rifles or whatever. these ordinary Norwegians managed to drive them back and that gave the king and his entourage time to get away and they had a meeting and basically the king is told the Germans want quizzing to run a puppet government and you have to approve it and the king says it's a very sort of stirring scene he says to his ministers look there's no way I'm going to accept this no way whatsoever he says if you want to accept

it fine but I will abdicate I will never ever preside over a quizzling government and and then he burst into tears and it's a very stirring scene. There's a Norwegian film of this called The King's Choice. I fell down a massive rabbit hole and ended up watching huge chunks of this this film. It's really moving actually. It's a really moving story. Now, meanwhile, further south, the Germans have also invaded Denmark, which is the country that King Han had been born into, cuz he's from the Danish royal family originally. And there, the story is a bit different. And I mean that as no disrespect to the Danes, but the geography is just not in the DNE's favor.

Yeah. Well, also they've got a land border with Germany, so the panzas presumably can just roll through Schlesvik Holstein,

which is exactly what they do. So they kick off at 4:15 in the morning. They the panzas roll over naval landings, paratroopers, and the Danes are completely and utterly helpless. There's a bit of fighting around the royal palace in Copenhagen, but the king of Denmark, Christian I 10th, who is actually the Norwegian king's older brother, he can see that this is totally pointless. There's no geographical barriers. The Germans are just sort of rolling into Denmark. And by breakfast, he has ordered a ceasefire and they signed the capitulation at 10:00 in the morning. That was the shortest campaign of the entire war. So that's 5 and 3/4 hours.

Yeah. From start to finish. Like it's perfectly plausible that if you had a lion that day, you could wake up and not know that an invasion had happened and was finished.

So my brother goes so far as to say surely the fastest conquest of a country in history.

Yeah, quite possibly. And actually, I definitely don't want to disrespect the king of Denmark as King Christian, he didn't go into exile as many monarchs did because his son's wife, Crown Princess Ingred, who is I think Swedish, she was 9 months pregnant and she couldn't travel. So he has to stay in Copenhagen. But he behaves tremendously well, doesn't he?

Yeah. Very moving and powerful symbol of resistance. Very moving. He rides every day through Copenhagen on his horse and the people gather and they cheer him and stuff. Everyone knows he you he's not keen on the Nazis and all of this. And most famously he said to the Germans um if you make the Danish Jews wear yellow stars then I will wear one too and basically all my people will wear them. I think it reflects tremendously well on him. You can see again you can see footage online of him riding through Copenhagen. Good for him. Brilliant. But the Norwegians can hold out much longer because of the mountains and stuff. So by contrast that campaign lasted for 2 months longer than any other German invasion campaign except for the invasion of the Soviet Union. So fair play to the Norwegians. And they, you know, they were not a Marshall people, but about 40,000 of them immediately volunteered. They fought very bravely.

They didn't have decent equipment, but they really acquitted themselves. Well, now we are a patriotic podcast, but unfortunately, this is not something that can be said of the British or our gallant allies, the French. Do they let themselves down?

We absolutely disgraced ourselves. To quote Max Hastings in his book on the Second World War, our campaign was characterized by utter moral ignability and military incompetence. So, that's a shame.

Dear. So basically part of this is because a lot of the best troops are stationed in France. So the British government sent some territorial reserve battalions and they were absolutely useless. They didn't have maps. A lot of them they didn't have radios. They didn't have heavy weapons. They had the wrong shoes ironically though. Did they?

They did. Oh well. We like that. They get into fights with local fishermen. My favorite moment. Admiral Lord Cork, who was a very short man, wants to inspire his men to get off their ships and advance on Narvik, and they're very reluctant to do so. And he says, "I'll lead you ashore." And he gets off the ship, and because he's a very short man, he falls into a snow drift and has to be dug out by the rest of them.

So, not the most glorious moment in British military history. No. So, we did land in central Norway. We did capture Narvik and then recapture it. But basically, Churchill is constantly coming up with schemes of various kinds which end up being ditched. To quote Max Hastings again, Churchill shouted loudest, but his extravagant schemes were frustrated by the lack of means to fulfill them. Do you know what's even worse about that? In his office in the Admiral te opposite his desk, who do you think Churchill has a portrait of?

Surely Admiral Lord Nelson. It is Admiral Lord Nelson, whose record in Scandinavian conflict was a whole lot better. Yeah, but also Nelson was rubbish on land to be fair. So landings in Norway were precisely the kind of thing that Nelson would have made a terrible hash of. Do you not think?

Yeah. But not as big a hash as Churchill did. As Churchill made of Norway. No, I know. Absolutely. And the worst thing is when the British and French decide to pull the plug and they're going to have to evacuate. They didn't have the decency to tell the Norwegians. So they were dishonest with them until the final moment.

So what's it Max Hastings said? Moral ignability. Yeah. Moral ignability and military incompetence. And actually when the British finally did pull the plug and the Norwegian commander-in-chief, man called Otto Ruger, when he found out, he said very bitterly, "So Norway is to share the fate of Czechoslovakia and Poland." And that's a crucial point.

Yeah. You keep promising to people that you will defend them and uphold their independence. And basically the lesson of history is that Britain and France will let you down.

Yeah. They'll cut and run. They'll cut and run. So you might be better off surrendering to the Germans.

Exactly. Now the Germans haven't completely had it their own way. And this is important. In the Norwegian campaign, they lost more than 20 cruisers and destroyers. Lost or they were badly damaged,

including the BlueArka. Including the BlueArka and the Luft Fafa have lost almost 250 planes. And that will really matter later on in the Battle of Britain when every ship and every plane counts. So that will matter. But the big picture, once again, Hitler has rolled the dice. Once again, he's won. He's got his iron ore. He's got Norway's naval bases and he's shown his men that the British and French are basically useless and can be beaten. So, you know, it's it's a series of wins for him. The big consequence of course is political because there is a general sense I think that has been gathering all through the phony war first France and then in Britain that the governments of peace time are just not up to the challenge. So as Paul Reo said to one of his own colleagues Britain's government is full of old men who do not know how to take a risk. But isn't the paradox that the one guy who doesn't love a risk is Churchill and

he's just completely goofed. So actually they would have been better not invading Norway at all

I suppose. So either make up their minds and doing it early and doing it properly or yeah probably not doing it at all I guess and really he more than anyone Churchill more than anyone deserves the blame for what went wrong in Norway. But the irony is at the time most people say well this is typical of Chamberlain. Chamberlain is cautious. He's pettifogging and also his whole Hitler missing the bus stuff.

Hitler missing the bus. He's messing around with his umbrella when he should be invading Scandinavian countries useless. And so on the 7th of May, there was this famous debate in the House of Commons, the Norway debate. Probably the most famous, most celebrated debate in British parliamentary history.

Yeah, I thought so. Got to be up there. And that evening of the 7th of May is when Leo Aaria, Conservative MP, famously points at Chamberlain and quotes Oliver Cromwell, "In the name of God go." And the next evening, the 8th of May, more than 100 Conservative MPs desert the government and it's obvious that something has to change. So on the 9th, just to really simplify matters, cut a long story short, Chamberlain decides to resign. There's a question about whether the new prime minister will be Lord Halifax. Kind of very tall. Yes.

Foreign secretary, isn't he? Not so warlike. Not so warlike, I think, would be a good way of describing him.

Yeah. or Churchill who has made a terrible holix of Norway but does love a war.

He loves a war and had forecast that Hitler had to be resisted. Exactly. And that evening Neville Chamberlain goes to Buckingham Palace to resign and he says to George V 6, "It's Churchill. Send for Churchill." Now meanwhile that very evening while that is happening on the outskirts of Berlin a train which is called the America pulls out of a small isolated station on the edge of the capital and it's heading west and this is Hitler's special armored train. And do you know what Gering's train was called? Asia.

Was it really called Asia? Yeah. Aa I guess. Yeah. Surely decorated with hunting trophies.

Yeah. Apparently it was massively better decorated than Hitler's. You astound me with looted art and a gigantic buffet car.

Yeah. And a very luxurious toilet, I imagine. Yeah. And a whole wardrobe full of white suits.

Exactly. Cuz actually Ger had a model train. He loved model trains. Like Walt Disney.

Yeah. Wow. Well, I mean, not in not in every aspect, but on the model train enthusiasm front,

right, Greg? Disney didn't command a an air force. A beaten air force. No. Anyway, so there he is on uh the America and his secretaries think they're all going to Denmark to visit the troops and Hitler seems in tremendous form. He's very excited clearly and they think this is because he's going to be visiting the army in Denmark. But just after midnight around Hanover, the train switches from the northbound to the westbound tracks kind of quietly it switches and they carry on rolling through the night and the train grinds to a halt and dawn is breaking and they get out. There are no station signs, but actually they have arrived near the town of O Khan, which is about 30 miles from the Belgian border. And here there are cars waiting to take them through the woods to the bunkers of the new Fura headquarters, the Fisan Nest, the Rock Eerie. God, he did have ludicrously named headquarters, didn't he? I mean, he couldn't be more

Bonvillain if he tried. Very bonvillain. And they gather in front of Hitler's newly built bunker which he's going to be sharing with his agitant and with the head of the armed forces, Wilhelm Kitle. And far away through the woods, they can hear the telltale thump of shellfire. And Hitler looks around and he says to them, "Gentlemen, the offensive against the Western powers has begun." And so it begins. And it will be beginning after a break. And now it's time for a very special segment of today's episode, which we're calling the great guest of history, where we explore those moments where being the perfect or indeed the worst kind of host or guest changed the course of history. And it's brought to you by our friends at EE who have the UK's best mobile network and broadband technology. And while E have definitely got hosts and guests alike covered this Christmas, there have been a fair share

of banquetss, balls, and feasts where hospitality has shaped the course of history and the destiny of all those involved. Yeah. So when I'm thinking about connectivity and where it's gone wrong, I always think Tom of the great get together in the early 1900s um at the hunting lodge in Germany where Kaiser Wilhelm II great friend of the rest is history welcomed some of his top generals and among them was Dietrich Graph on Hulen Hazler who tried to entertain everybody at this feast uh by dressing up in a ballerina's tutu and he did a series of capers and pirouetses but unfortunately had a heart attack and died and precisely because they didn't have the connectivity they needed. They weren't able to contact the emergency services in time. Dietrich Graph and Hen Hazler breathed his last. Uh it found it very hard to get him out of his tutu because rigamorus set in and as a result Europe was engulfed in the first world

war. Goodness, if only they had had E in the Kaiser's hunting lodge. And that is it for our special segment, the great guest of history. Needless to say, a lot of that drama might have been avoided with today's levels of connectivity. So, if you're hosting or guesting this festive season, you can avoid any history-shaping drama with the UK's best mobile network and broadband technology from EE. Now, if you're hosting, EE has full fiber, the UK's very best broadband technology, and that can handle all of your visitors, streaming, scrolling, and gaming. And if you're guesting, EE has the very best mobile network to keep you connected to everything from music to maps, so you can stay entertained and on time.

Hello and welcome back to the rest is history. Dominic, we ended um that first half with literal bombshells. Hitler has finally launched his attack on the West. And um how have we got here? Cuz the last time the Nazis were invading places, it was in Scandinavia.

Well, as we saw last time in the last episode, Hitler's always had this very clear idea that he wants to attack the West. He wants to launch a preemptive strike. Um he's obsessed with a sense of urgency. He knows that his enemies have never been weaker because the Soviet Union is bogged down in Finland. The United States has got presidential elections and is very unlikely to intervene. So this is his chance. His priority is Britain. He never wanted war with Britain in 1939. The whole point of this is to get them to negotiate. So he's been thinking about this for weeks and months. Even during the Norway campaign, he had been discussing this with Gerbles. So they'd had a long talk about this on the 21st of April 1940.

And Hitler said, "You know, it's a shame in many ways we're fighting the British because they are our kind of racial cousins, but you know, we knew that we'd have to do it at some point, probably in the next 5 years, so maybe it's better to do it now before the British are rearmed." And Gerbles wrote in his diary afterwards, "The Furer would make peace today." He doesn't want at all to annihilate England nor destroy its empire. the condition England out of Europe and our colonies back to us. But that is only possible if it's already received a knockout blow.

So it there is England. Yes. And the knockout blow is to beat France what Gerbles calls an act of historical justice against the French that will leave Britain friendless on the continent. So how are they going to do it? So if you look at the two sets of forces on paper, they're actually pretty well matched. The French have more tanks. They have 3,000 tanks. The Germans 2,000. The French have much more artillery. The Germans have about 90 divisions. Division very roughly about 15,000 men. The French have got the same. And the British have got another 10 divisions, always much smaller on land, the British. But the Germans have got a couple of advantages. They've got slightly more fighters and bombers than the Allies do in the West. And they have learned in Poland how they can use them.

They can use them in cooperation with their ground troops to full effect which the British and French have not learned how to do. That is true that they do have some battleh hardened troops. Mhm. However, because everyone knows what is going to come and because Nazi propaganda has been harping on the ruthless, invincible, mechanized nature of the German war machine. And so the success of the Nazi troops in the invasion of France will kind of retrospectively burnish that propaganda. I said how in my brother's book the war in the west he he talks about this pmpkin quality of Nazi militarism. So actually overall the allies do have more planes between them than the lufafer overall.

Mhm. And actually the German troops only half of all of them have had more than few weeks training. more than a quarter over 40. The artillery, the German artillery, it's designed to be drawn by horses. And of the 135 divisions that have been earmarked um for the invasion of France, of those only 10 are Panza and only six are fully mechanized. So the idea that the whole German army is kind of the cutting edge of modern fighting forces simply isn't true. I really hadn't properly appreciated that. M

and I think it does kind of put the looming calamity for French and British arms into an even more sharper perspective. I think they are not beaten by an overwhelmingly mechanized force.

No, no, no, they're not at all. What I would say is the Germans do still win though. So, I mean, we shouldn't go to the other extreme and suggest that they're completely useless.

No, they're not. I mean, as we'll see, they have good tactics, but I think it also reflects on the grotesque incompetence of the allies in the the test that is to come. Well, I mean, we've talked about how incompetent the allies were in Norway. Their planning and their intelligence in the Western campaign, in this campaign, are unbelievably useless. They seem to have no sense of how quickly armored divisions can move. The French are always fighting the last war. It's mad that in the First World War, they were fighting the FrancoRussian or the Napoleonic Wars, and now they think they're fighting the First World War.

So, they're all geared up for kind of trenches and all of that kind of thing. And it's as though tanks have not yet been invented. And actually, General Bear, who who takes command of the French armies on the 25th of May, by which point it's obvious that France is completely defeated, he said, "We've gone to war with a 1918 army against a German army of 1939, which in terms of equipment isn't true, but in terms of attitude is clearly the case."

Yes, it is absolutely. So, let's get into a little bit of military strategy because an absolutely key French failure, British failure, they completely fail to predict the Germans line of attack. So as we saw last time, Hitler wanted to attack straight away in the autumn in 1939, but because there was a lot of dithering and mainly because the weather that was postponed and that has given the Germans time to refine their plans. So people who listen to our first world war series will have heard a lot about things like the Schlieen plan and all the difficulties that the Germans faced in 1914.

Their plan in 1939 1940 was initially very similar. They would go through Belgium and Holland because they want to get around the Majino line which are these forts the French have built to defend Al-Sassan arrange further south. The original German plan was to go through Belgium and Holland. Very first world war we push the French back to the Som and then we kind of grind them down there. And when that plan was presented to Hitler, he didn't like it. He said I just think this feels very 1914. It's very unoriginal. Yeah. I want something.

I want a decisive, exciting, original, you know, stroke. Speed and surprise. That's what I'm all about. Now, meanwhile, two other generals, Eric von Mannstein and a Panza commander, Heints Gderian, had been working on a rival plan. And this plan, they said, "Look, why don't we just pretend effectively to go through Belgium and Holland, the low countries? Why don't we concentrate our tanks a little bit further south and go through the Arden forest? Because it's the forest, everybody assumes it's kind of off limits and the French will leave it only lightly defended. And the high command of the army, the Vermacht, thought this plan was deranged. And they basically sent Mannstein to East Prussia to shut him up, to get rid of him. But one person who doesn't is Gerion. He uh two years before had written the most the most German army titled book of all time because its title was Akon Panza exclamation mark.

That's really a British comic from the 1970s, isn't it? I know. It's such a great title and he's Hitler's kind of man.

Yeah, because he's all about speed. is about the idea that you you separate the panzas off from the the much more cumbersome, slower moving infantry divisions and the artillery with their horses and things and you just go for broke speed.

So here's now a mad thing that happens, right? The high command want to go with their original plan despite Hitler's misgivings and then on the 10th of January a Luftvafa plane got lost in fog. It accidentally flies into Belgium and it crashes in a field in Belgium and the passenger on the plane is called Major Reinberger and he is carrying the plan and after the crash the pilot and this bloke Major Ryberger were picked up by Belgian border guards who took them to a sort of hut. Don't forget Belgium is neutral at this stage. Major Rinberger tried to destroy their plans by stuffing them into a stove when the Belgian border guards backs turned. I think he madly burnt his hands in the process trying to get the lid off the stove. Anyway, the border guards managed to get the plans back out of the stove. Major Ryberger at this point burst into tears and tried to shoot himself. Anyway, the upshot was

the allies say, "Oh, brilliant. We've got the German plans, so we know for sure they're going to come through Belgium and Holland just as we thought." Brilliant. We're laughing.

So, actually, it's like all those um Allied plans to deceive the Germans about where D-Day landing is going to happen.

Yeah, it is. only they haven't actually fabricated it in this case. Exactly. Now, in the meantime, the problem for the allies, the Germans have changed their entire plan. Hitler never liked that blueprint anyway. He liked the idea of a surprise attack through the Arden as well. And on the 17th of February, so a month after this crash, his agitant invited Mannstein to the Reich Chancellory. Basically said to him, "Come on, come and tell the fur about this mad idea of yours. He'll love it." And Hitler doesn't like Mannstein.

Manstein's a very kind of cold, arrogant Prussian aristocrat, the kind of person he's always distrustful of. But he listens to the plan. He says, "I've been gagging to hear a plan like this." Through the Arden, surprise attack, reckless. I love it. I love the sound of it. Let's go for it. Brilliant. So, this becomes the blueprint for Fal Gelb case yellow, the German operation in the West. Basically, there are two army groups. Army Group B is under Fedor Vonbach.

How large is the other two army groups? So, Army Group B is uh 29 divisions, Tom.

So, how many men is that? Well, it's 15,000 men. You can do the maths yourself.

Could you? Yeah, but I just don't want to. I'd like to give you a bit of a workout. So, anyway, they've got 29 divisions, 15,000 men each. Listeners can do the math. They will go through Belgium and Holland. But this is a massive distraction exercise because the real action is going to come further south with GE von Runstet's army group A. And army group A has 44 divisions with loads of panzas and mechanized infantry and they are going to sneak through the woods of the Arden. And then this is the plan. When they're across they'll get to the river MS and they'll cross the MS but at that point they won't carry on towards Paris as the allies will expect.

They will turn sharply to their right. In other words, turning north and they will head up towards the coast of the English Channel in a kind of what's called a sickle cut maneuver. And what that means is that all the Allied French and British forces in Belgium will be trapped between the two German armies and they'll be pinned against the sea. And so this is the battle of Cannai. Yeah. you know, the great victory that Hannibal won over the Romans and which have haunted haunted the German military planning. And so, in a sense, although this seems tactically radical, strategically, it is what the Germans, you know, is what they always come up with. And so, that being so, you would think the French would have realized it.

I mean, it's just so mind-blowingly incompetent that they haven't sused this out.

I'll make two observations. Number one is I don't there's ever been a battle in the rest of history that you haven't likened to the battle of Canai. So that's the first point.

Listen, it's not me who's doing it. It's the German high command. They are always doing it. They always want to fight the battle of Canadai.

And secondly, the reason I think the French have not anticipated this and nobody has anticipated this is because this is not an operation that would have been possible in the First World War when you moved so much more slowly. It's only really possible because your panzas are game changers. They can move so quickly. They can punch through enemy line and get around you before you even know it. But Gderrion, who they know is in command, has written up this in Akong Panza. So why haven't they read it? It's hopeless.

They haven't done your level of research, or your brother's level of research, I should say. Um, clearly, I mean, tell me, you look actually personally agrieved that the French haven't uh been doing the reading. Well, reading the war in the west, my brother's book, and listening to episodes on this in uh we have ways his podcast, I am left, you know, kind of stupified by how hopeless the French are on this and you know, and the British complicit in as well because they're not pointing it out either.

No, it's poor from the British. All right, so the date of the invasion was set for the early hours of Friday the 10th of May. As we've seen, when the news broke in Berlin, the mood in Germany was very glum. So in his diary, the American journalist William Elsher notes there's no crowds on the streets and the people that he meets seem sunk in depression because they think they're going to lose. You see now Hitler at his rock eerie the fellen nest. He is very calm and confident and he says to his entourage, I think we'll beat France in 6 weeks and then we'll um find the British coming to talk to us because they want to save their empire.

So he's right about one of those prophecies and wrong about the second. Right. And actually as the first reports kind of come into the rock erie his optimism seems very well founded. So to begin with um the low countries at half 4 that morning the German paratroopers and special forces had begun their operation. They'd been dropped by gliders and things. They'd seized the key bridges and forts on the German and Dutch borders by midm morning. So within hours the Dutch are falling back to the north and the German tanks are rolling through the fields of Holland. And the Dutch have no tanks, but they do have people on bicycles.

They do, but they're not very useful, as we will find out. Now, the Allies have responded to this very sluggishly. The French had heard rumors of a murmuring in the German lines a couple of days before, but their commander said, "There's always murmuring from the Germans. Probably a false alarm." The Allied commander-in-chief is a Frenchman, of course, because the French have by far the biggest troop contingent. is General Maurice Gamala and he's a very I think he's a very likable man in many ways Gamla he's kind of jaunty and jolly he loves art he loves philosophy he had been the protetéé of our old friend General from 1914

oh yes loves a long lunch yeah [snorts] yeah long lunching and imperturbable isn't he

and imperturbable right and Gamalan has completely cut from the same cloth he says listen what I've learned from is you never lose your cool. Things will probably be fine. Don't don't overthink anything. You know, it'll be a long war. Let's not stress about it. The Germans attack. We shall advance calmly into Belgium to meet them. Of course, he doesn't know they're not going to come really through Belgium. So, right from the start, the Allies are walking into the Germans trap, just as Mannstein and Hitler had dreamed. Within 4 and 1/2 days, the Germans have wiped the floor with the Dutch. The climax coming on the 14th when the Lufra bombed Rotterdam and they destroyed the old city of Rotterdam. A massive story at the time.

Yeah. Apparently this was a mistake. Yeah. Because the Dutch had already begun negotiating their surrender.

That's right. And so the orders went out to the bombers, you know, don't do it. But it was too late. The bombers had already left. And so they, you know, as you say, they obliterate it. And actually, I mean, it works incredibly well for the Nazis, doesn't it? because it again it compounds this sense that there can be no opposition that they are lethal and they have the stookers they kind of have a siren don't they so that when they drop this terrifying kind of scream and the whole thing is just you know this sense that there is no resisting the Nazi war machine even though you know it is quite an element of smoke and mirrors about it well in the case of Rotterdam a lot of smoke

well if you think the invasion starts on the 10th of May and what it must have been like to live through the next couple of weeks even even if you're just following events in the newspapers, the sense of growing inevitability of relentlessness and speed about the German advance. So the Dutch surrender 4 and a half days, the queen Vilhelmina and her ministers escaped to London to become a government in exile. The Belgians held out for 18 days, but they too were overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers and firepower. Interestingly, the Belgian king did not flee his country. He had taken personal command of the army and he said, "I don't want to desert them. I should stay." So he stays in Brussels. He becomes a prisoner of the Germans and he was painted by the Allied press as a traitor. The Mirror, Daily Mirror, ran the headline about him. I think a headline that no man wishes to read about himself, the face

that every woman now despises. What's the basis for that contempt? I mean, it seems courageous that a commander-in-chief should should stand. He was seen as a collaborator and actually the Belgians got rid of him after the war. They saw him as tainted because he had not made the gestures of moral defiance I guess that King Christian had done in Denmark.

Right. I see. Okay. You I think King Leopold had taken a very different approach.

Right. So within 3 weeks both Holland and Belgium are under German military occupation where they will remain for the next 5 years. But of course this isn't where the main action is happening. This really is smoke and mirrors because the real action for the Germans is happening further south in the Arden Forest. And here, you wanted numbers, Tom. Now, secretly, while I was talking, I was doing the maths. So, here, General Von Kle, cuz I'm multitasking, he's leading 134,000 soldiers, 1,200 tanks, and 500 armored vehicles through the kind of narrow roads that lead through the Arden forest. And this means surely that they are now sitting ducks if the French air force attacks them.

Totally. Cuz they're only very few roads. They're quite narrow, long tail backs.

You know where they are. Send the French planes in. But the French don't. Yeah. It's very like when you know when uh Putin attacked Ukraine, that huge traffic jam. Yeah.

As they were outside Ke of kind of Russian tanks or whatever. It's the same story. The Germans said at the time it's the longest traffic jam in history. is four columns, hundreds of miles long. There's tanks, yes, and there's armored cars, but there are wagons and there are horses and there are, you know, lines of troops. Cuz if the French air force had gone in, the war would have been over. But they didn't. And the Germans know it, right? So the Germans are in a great hurry. They're told, you can't stop for 3 days, and they're issued with amphetamines to keep them going. You just have to keep going for 3 days.

Can't stop. But after 3 days on the afternoon of the 12th of May, they have reached the river MS their objective without having been destroyed from above by the French. Now when they get to the river, this is a crucial moment. If the French can hold them back at the river, then the sickle cut scheme will have failed. But we said before the Germans are much better at using air power in tandem with ground troops um because the Germans have learned how to do it in Poland. The next day, General von Kle calls up a thousand planes and they pound the French positions for the French who of course have not been through the experience of the war in Poland. This is a colossal shock. It's the first time they've come under air attack. And there are all these stories about their troops sort of cowering in their trenches, sobbing, traumatized, you know, their morale ripped to pieces.

And so by the evening of the 13th, so remember we're just three or four days into the invasion, the Germans are already crossing the river on rubber dingies. They're putting together pontoon bridges. The panzas are getting across. They're still quite vulnerable. You know, they're still vulnerable to a counterattack. But the amazing thing, the French are still so complacent. The commander of their second army was uh General Shal Uniger. And General Uniger is told the Germans are getting across the river M. And he says, "Brilliant.

all the more prisoners for us. And presumably um General Gamala is emulating General Schaefer and just sitting around having huge lunches and munching on chickens and things.

I think there is an element of that. We'll have some amusing French military action uh of this kind a bit with an omelette which is good fun. So the next couple of days things go from bad to worse for the French. They finally decide to launch a counterattack on the MS but it's half-hearted. They don't dislodge the Germans. They take very heavy losses and unlike in 1914 their nerve begins to break quite early on. So that night the 14th there were reports of French troops streaming westwards in a panic shouting we've lost. We've been betrayed and so on. And at their headquarters their commanders are just completely stunned. They didn't expect the Germans to come through the Arden. They didn't expect them to come in such speed or in such numbers. They didn't expect them to get across the river MS. And now they make another catastrophic mistake. They think now the Germans have got across the MS. They will head towards Paris.

But they won't. They're going to turn sharp right at this point. Turn north and race for the channel. This is the sickle cut element of the plan which will leave the Allied armies trapped. And what is worse, as the French and the British are trying to react, Eastern France has descended into complete chaos. Because remembering what happened in the First World War and having read the reports of what happened in Poland, millions, literally millions of civilians say, "God, I've got to get out of here." And they take to the streets.

So by this point we're feel kind of miday 1940 there were probably about 8 million people on the roads of France with their possessions with wagons with bicycles with livestock you know crying babies all of that and that makes it impossible for the French to move their armies around you know their communications networks are kind of breaking down all of this and then the stookers start divebombing the crowds of refugees so more terror

total carnage you know, a sense that these are just implacable opponents who can't be defeated.

Yeah. Now, remember how quickly this has happened. Invasion began in the early hours of the 10th of May. On the 15th of May, so 5 days later at 7:30 in the morning, Winston Churchill, who's only been prime minister for 5 days, is woken up at home by a phone call from Paul Reo. And Reo speaks to him in English. And Reo says, "We have been defeated." And Churchill doesn't say anything. And Reo says again, "We are beaten. We have lost the battle." Churchill, surely it can't have happened so soon. But he replied, "The front is broken near Sedon." Sedon is exactly where they'd lost the Francoressussian War in 1870.

So the next afternoon, the 16th, Churchill flies to Paris and he is shocked when he gets there. They are burning their archives already. They are preparing to evacuate the city. Utter dejection was written on every face. And General Gamla is there. Gamla says, "Not only have we taken this defeat at Sedon, but we have actually fallen back a further 60 km. The Germans have come 60 km since we last spoke." Churchill says this very famous exchange, "Where is your strategic reserve?" And Gamlan says, "Ukun, there isn't any."

Churchill, why don't you counterattack? And then Gamlan gives a hopeless shrug of the shoulders and says to him, "Inferiority of numbers, inferiority of equipment, inferiority of method." Gamlan's clearly got to go.

I mean, the third of those is definitely right. Yeah. But the first two at the beginning of the war were not right. Yeah. So 3 days later on the 19th, Reo sacked Gamla and he replaced him with General Veel. Maxim Veum who is a veteran of the first world war who is 73 and who has been retired for the last 5 years.

Does he by any chance have emphyma? It's not the first world war anymore. So maybe not. I don't know. Um Veon, you know, he's got all these schemes for a great counterattack, French counterattack, but by now I think the allies are in such chaos that any counterattack is going to be very, very difficult. The Germans, meanwhile, are rolling on. They cannot believe how well this is going. I mean, even in their wildest dreams, Mannstein and Gderion could not have imagined the allies would fall apart so quickly.

And um a famous name in command of one of the Panza divisions, Owen RML. Yeah. Owen RML,

who will be featuring in due course later on in this story. Yes. So on the night of the 19th, you began Tom this episode with Churchill broadcasting for the first time to the British people after 9 days as prime minister. That night the first panzas reached the mouth of the river som on the channel and by the following night they'd established themselves on the channel coast properly. So at this point the sickle cut has been carried off. The entire allied force in Belgium that's three French armies. It's the shattered remains of the Belgian army and the entire British expeditionary force. They are all encircled and surrounded trapped against the sea in this shrinking pocket. And now you know if the French and British commanders were in a bit of a state before they were in an absolute worldclass funk.

That's the word. That is the word. The French commander in Belgium is General Gaston Ori Bilot. When he was told you need to coordinate the Allied response to all this, he burst into tears, which I don't think is ever a good sign in your commanding officer.

That's not what you want. On the 20th of May, so that's the day the Allies are definitively cut off. The British sent the chief of their Imperial general staffs, Edmund Ironside, to L.

That is a great name. Yeah, you got to be called that. Good for him. So, General Ironside is sent to L Cibilot to find out what's going on. And Ironside said later, I found him in a state of complete depression. No plan, no thought of a plan, ready to be slaughtered. I lost my temper and shook Bilot by the button of his tunic. The man is completely beaten. So the next day, I promised you an omelette. The next day is the 21st of May. General Veon, a new French Supreme Commander, decided to visit Belot personally to steady his nerve. And he flew to a place called Betune on the Franco Belgian border. Vegon got there.

He finds the airfield completely deserted. There's just a single soldier. And Vegon has to persuade the soldier to give him a lift to the local post office. And there he finally managed to ring Bilot and said, "Send a car like I'm General Veong. I'm the supreme commander. Send a car and get me. A car arrived. Fagon got in the car and he said, I need lunch. Like, let's go and have omelettes. He went for an omelette. Then he went and met Belot at EP Town Hall. I mean, talk about a place with a lot of history. And Vegon said, "Come on, we've got to counterattack. Like, we've got to break out, counterattack, whatever." Belot said, "Fine." Belot drove off. His car immediately got involved in a massive car crash. Belot was badly injured, fell into a coma. Two days later, he died and that was the end of him. Do you know what the British Expeditionary Forces Chief of Staff, Sir Henry Powell, he mourned, General Bilot,

what did he say? He said, "Frankly, he's no loss." I mean, it's harsh, but it's not inaccurate.

Yeah. So, Hitler's attack has been unfolding now less than two weeks. Insane. So, actually, it's going better than Hitler had said. Then even Hitler had said,

cuz he prophesied it would take six weeks, right? And already by two weeks it's clear he's won.

He's been going on for like 11 days or something. And it's pretty clear that the allies have collapsed. Exactly. The amazing thing I mean he's this man who has gambled and gambled again and again. Each one bigger and more ambitious and more reckless than the last. And this one is going to work out better than any of them. The allies have completely fallen apart. Their commanders aren't speaking to each other. Reo and his ministers are preparing to flee Paris. Surely France is beaten. The entire British expeditionary force, 400,000 men are trapped in this pocket against the channel. The panzas are closing in on the channel ports of Bologin, Calala, and Dunkirk. Surely within days, Hitler's tanks will finish the job and then Britain will be forced to sue for peace. Or Dominic, will Britain be forced to sue for peace?

We will find out in our next two episodes to come on this series. The miracle of Dunkirk, the fall of France, the Battle of Britain, and in the long run, Hitler's decision to turn on the Soviet Union. And members of the Rest is history club can hear the next two episodes right now. And if you want to join them, go to the restistory.com. But for now, thank you for listening. Thank you, Dominic. and avoir.

Avoa.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)"?

Tom Holland (Host), Dominic Sandbrook (Host), Winston Churchill (Guest).

What is "1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)" about?

The documentary explores the pivotal events of the 1940 Battle of France, detailing the rapid invasion tactics used by Hitler's forces, including Blitzkrieg strategies that overwhelmed Allied defenses. It emphasizes the struggle of the British and French forces to counteract the threat posed by the German military and the larger implications for freedom and democracy during World War II.

What is mentioned in this The Rest Is History episode?

274 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Adolf Hitler, France, The Rest is History, Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, The Second World War, World War II. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "1940: The Battle of France (Documentary)"?

The episode runs 1 h 4 min; the transcript is about 11,722 words in 154 timestamped sections.

More from The Rest Is History

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated February 24, 2026.