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The fate of France before and during World War Two exemplifies both tragedy and farce. Reputedly possessing the most powerful military in Europe, and with a history of technological innovation during the First World War, France was to have halted Nazi Germany's westward expansion--and in fact German military planners had feared exactly such an outcome when Adolf Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939. Instead, France had become another conquest for Hitler; to its lasting chagrin, it had been a too-quick, ignominious defeat.

With "France Falls," the third installment of "The World at War," the 26-part documentary series spanning the breadth of World War Two, writer-producer Peter Batty delivers an incisive summary of French follies and failings between the Nazis' rise to power in 1933 and their launching the war six years later that yields a telling, poignant lesson in incompetence and, ultimately, humiliation.

"France Falls" opens with the still-extant monument to its hubris and short-sightedness, the Maginot Line, the vast, largely underground complex of fortifications on the French-German border that ran from Belgium to Switzerland. A tribute to French ingenuity and engineering, just as it had demonstrated during the last war with its embrace of airplanes and tanks, the Maginot Line, as the cliché goes, was designed for fighting the last war; ironically, Germany easily overcame the still-incomplete defensive labyrinth with its blitzkrieg ("lightning war') tactics, outlined by General Heinz Guderian and executed by General Erwin Rommel, built upon fast-striking airplanes and tanks.

Underscored by Carl Davis's reflective, jazzlike incidental music accented by period pop songs, the wealth of black-and-white footage, deftly edited by Alan Afriat, illustrates the state of France following the end of the First World War as Laurence Olivier's stately narration describes a nation caught in a polemical tug-of-war between left and right that yielded constant political upheaval. With dizzying rapidity, governments rose and fell while complacency stemming from France's victory in the First World War afflicted the military; as French General André Beaufre notes in an interview segment, France suffered from "the illness of having been victorious."

As another inevitable war arrived, the national mood was one of "let's get it over with." When Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France had pledged to enter the war to stop Germany, but although France launched the Saar Offensive and actually invaded German territory on its eastern border, it was a tentative move as France, completely unaware that Germany had only token forces behind its Siegfried Line that mirrored the Maginot Line, withdrew after only a few weeks; in an interview segment, German General Siegfried Westphal acknowledges that had Britain and France applied their overwhelming military forces, Germany could have withstood the assault for only one or two weeks. Instead, the French military, its morale low and suffering from the disastrous command of General Maurice Gamelin, resembled a paper tiger.

By May 1940, it was France's turn to face the brunt of the Nazis' assault as Germany first invaded and occupied the Low Countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg using the blitzkrieg tactics it had honed to a fine point, assailing France's weak point in the Maginot Line by charging through the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest and seizing the vaunted Fort Eben-Emael. A campaign the French expected to last weeks if not months progressed in a matter of days as German forces, having handily subdued the Low Countries, drove toward the English Channel to cut off British and French forces while also pressing relentlessly toward Paris.

With pointed, seamless clarity, the germane, sometimes bracing narrative of "France Falls" packs not only an object lesson but also sharp poignancy as stark, vivid footage of French citizens, reportedly up to 12 million, fleeing the German advance--and being strafed by Luftwaffe fighters in the process--spotlights the toll the war took on civilians, movingly described by British journalist Gordon Waterfield. Although it touches only briefly on the stark contrast between Nazi-occupied northern France and the collaborationist Vichy southern half led by Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, this absorbing installment of "The World at War" presents a sobering, even haunting portrait of national tragedy.

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Napoleon had once said "the army that stays within its garrisons will be beaten." This World at War episode perfectly explains why France, one of Europe's strongest countries at the outbreak of world war 2, failed to stop Hitler's armies. In the years between the world wars, france was a very confusing place. Hardly a year went by without a government change, and outdated world war 1 tactics were the norm for its military. France had done a lot during the previous war to make use of things like tanks and planes, but now idled for no good reason. Keen to avoid the huge amount of suffering inflicted on them in the last war by the germans, france built a large network of bunkers, pillboxes, machine gun nests, and artillery emplacements along its border with germany. This huge wall of defenses, known as the Maginot Line, was a marvel of 1930s engineering and featured large, underground complexes and barracks so that french infantry can quickly arrive at their defensive positions when needed. Behind its tough exterior though, it had little to offer. Once world war 2 actually starts, france stands by poland as it is being invaded, but does little to help them since they're on the other side of europe. The Saar Offensive was the only time in the war france decided to go on the attack. Shortly after poland was invaded, french forces invaded the southwestern german state of saarland with hundreds of tanks and 40 divisions worth of soldiers. The nazis, focusing all their attention in the east, were caught unprepared. Unfortunately, the french didn't choose to exploit their advantages and eventually withdrew from germany. Even some german commanders admit that if france continued to push into the west of the country, germany would have lost. After poland was subdued, there was a long pause between their defeat and Hitler's next invasion, often called the phony war. Until may 1940, world war 2 was basically put on hold. France tried to use this time to extend the maginot line, which at present was only 87 miles long. It stopped a couple hundred miles short of the English Channel and did not extend over the Ardennes; a huge forested area on france's border with Belgium. French military planners thought that this area was without a doubt impassable, due to its narrow roads and thick vegetation, and thus they intentionally left their weakest and most badly equipped soldiers to defend it. Hitler on the other hand orders his generals to punch through the ardennes with tanks and the luftwaffe following close behind. The germans officially start attacking france in the early morning hours of may 10th, 1940. Just like what happened in poland, the german air force quickly shoots up french and british aircraft (sent to help the french) parked in neat rows on their airfields. Large amounts of planes are destroyed on the first day alone. Coming out of the ardennes and bypassing the maginot line altogether, the germans come to the Meuse river and manage to cross it, despite all bridges but one being blown up by the french. French counterattacks against the germans are badly coordinated, and their tank doctrine is completely different (and inferior) to the german one. France still clings to the idea of using armored vehicles in small groups to support foot soldiers, while the nazis use theirs in a great big armored fist. However, the french char b1 heavy tank proves a tough opponent for the germans, and has armor so thick that only the legendary 88 millimeter antiaircraft gun can destroy it. As Hitler's armies push further into france and begin to swing north in order to trap all allied soldiers in belgium, people start to panic. Those rich enough to flee Paris do so. British and french forces famously evacuate from the port of Dunquerke, some living to fight another day. Meanwhile, the famed world war 1 general Philippe Petain, already 84 years old, immediately asks Hitler for an armistice. Hitler and his top commanders travel to a wooded area in Compiegne, where a certain railway carriage from the previous world war was waiting. He insists on making the french sign the surrender terms in the same exact place as germany did 22 years earlier. For france, it's the ultimate slap in the face. After they officially give up, Petain becomes the head of what is today called Vichy france; basically a nazi puppet state loyal to the Third Reich. Hitler makes his one and only trip to paris, and just to drive home the humiliation, a huge german parade band passes through the Arc de Triomphe, following the same path that victorious french armies took in 1918. Germany had beaten its eternal rival in just 5 weeks. What World at War manages to do time and time again is keep people interested, no matter how many times they've read through this section of world war 2 before. Every time I watch this show, I can't pull myself away from it. The reasons why are all on display here. Great music (some of it being from the time period), incredible footage of tank battles, air raids, refugees fleeing, etc, and obviously, the narrating. The show even tells me things I never even knew, such as how france actually launched an attack into germany itself in their one and only offensive of the war. I am interested in world war 2 so much because it seems like there's always more to know.

This is another fascinating look at the early part of World War Two.

'France Falls' sets the scene with some interesting background on the leadership of both the French government and military, before it looks at the response to the German expansion as it nears French territory.

With the Maginot Line in focus, there is some great archived footage of the underground network along with an informative strategic map that shows its place on the French/German border.

The Battle of France is described from a number of perspectives with the main narration concentrating on the response of leaders like General Maurice Gamelin and the swiftness of the German attack.

As always, there are powerful interviews with witnesses such as war correspondent Gordon Waterfield, whose account of his time in France contains some of the most interesting moments and harrowing memories, such as the plight of the French refugees.

The archived footage and interviews are blended together excellently and Sir Lawrence Olivier's narration is perfect.