The First World War was, for the most part, a static war of attrition where manoeuvre and offensive action became all but impossible. By late 1914, the trench lines and barbed wire of the Western Front stretched some 440 miles from the Swiss border to the North Sea, and was to remain so, more or less, for the next four years. By the end of the war in 1918, the occupied part of France had suffered greatly, and the French vowed that never again would a foreign army invade their territory. Gone was the offensive doctrine of the old French Army – and in its place was a strategy of fortress defence.

In May 1940, it was to happen all over again, when the Germans invaded France for the second time in less than 30 years. But this time there was to be no ‘miracle of the Marne’ as there had been in 1914, when the French Army turned the Germans and halted their advance. The German Blitzkrieg (Lightening War), launched through Holland and the Ardennes, heralded a new concept in warfare for which the French Army and the British Expeditionary Force were hopelessly ill-equipped. Based upon a doctrine of a fast moving, all-arms land/air offensive designed to concentrate an attack and break the enemy’s front, the German Panzer divisions were able to smash deep into France at great speed. Within barely a few weeks, well-laid French defensive plans lay in tatters and the BEF was close to being surrounded. By mid June 1940, France had fallen and only by the ‘miracle of Dunkirk’ did the BEF survive to fight again.

On this tour, we look first at the Allied defensive plans and Operation SICHELSCHNITT (sickle-cut), the German attack on France and the Low Countries, the advance of Panzer Group von Kleist, Rommel’s crossing of the Meuse at Dinant, and Reinhardt’s attack at Monthermé. At Sedan, we follow Guderian’s assault on the Meuse and his lightening drive to the sea. On the way, we look briefly at De Gaulle’s counter-attack at Montcornet. We conclude the tour by following the British counter-strike at Arras.

The tour will be led by Professor Richard Holmes, one of Britain’s most distinguished military historians. He has written widely about warfare through the ages. He is the presenter of War Walks, the BBC documentary series, and his recent books include The World at War: The Landmark Oral History from the Previously Unpublished Archives, and Churchill’s Bunker: The Secret Headquarters at the Heart of Britain’s Victory.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Tuesday): Depart Victoria Coach Station, London 09:00. Cross the channel by le Shuttle.. Drive to Dinant. Dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Rommel’s crossing of the Meuse at Dinant and Yvoir with the 7th Panzer Division. Lunch break Dinant. Reinhardt’s attack at Monthermé. Dinner and overnight in Dinant.
Day 3: Guderian’s crossing of the Meuse at Sedan. La Marfee Heights, Chemery, and de Gaulle’s counter-attack at Montcornet. Group lunch. Dinner and overnight at Arras.
Day 4: BEF counter-stroke by FRANKFORCE at Arras. Lunch break en route to Calais. We cross the channel by le Shuttle and will arrive near Folkestone at approx 18:00 and London at approx 20:00.