Heinrich Hoffmann - With Hitler in the West

This edition published in 2015 by Pen & Sword Military
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS This book was first published as Mit Hitler im Westen
by Zeitgeschichte-Verlag in Berlin, 1940. Copyright Visions of War Ltd.
Published under licence by Pen & Sword Books Ltd. ISBN: 9781473833524
EPUB ISBN: 9781473854796
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PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
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Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk CONTENTSFOREWORD A S DAWN BROKE ON 10TH MAY 1940, the western front was poised for the attack, the German folk and the world awaited the result of the battle with intense expectation and tension. incorporates the imprints of Pen & Sword Aviation, Pen & Sword Family History, Pen
& Sword Maritime, Pen & Sword Military, Pen & Sword Discovery, Pen & Sword Politics, Pen & Sword Atlas,
Pen & Sword Archaeology, Wharncliffe Local History, Wharncliffe True Crime, Wharncliffe Transport, Pen &
Sword Select, Pen & Sword Military Classics, Leo Cooper, The Praetorian Press, Claymore Press, Remember
When, Seaforth Publishing and Frontline Publishing For a complete list of Pen & Sword titles please contact
PEN & SWORD BOOKS LIMITED
47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, England
E-mail:
Website: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk CONTENTSFOREWORD A S DAWN BROKE ON 10TH MAY 1940, the western front was poised for the attack, the German folk and the world awaited the result of the battle with intense expectation and tension.

With rock hard confidence in the supreme command, and in their own ability, the army and air force were determined to strike and crush the enemy. Still fresh in the memory were the lightning landings by the army and air force in Norway, still in the memory too was the daring exploits of the navy in the face of the numerically far larger British fleet. Would this be a repeat of the rapid triumphant advance through Poland which lasted just eighteen days? Would it be possible, under far more difficult conditions, to strike just as quickly and decisively attack the French and English? Those were the questions to which the world awaited answers in those May days! As in Poland, the Fhrer and Supreme Command was in once more the midst of his armed forces. From his command post, he directed and observed the actions of the army and of the air force with calm self-assurance. The swift progress of the operations accomplished the projected targets of the campaign and all objectives were achieved on schedule. As the campaign unfolded battles of annihilation unfolded on a hitherto unheralded scale.

Holland and Belgium were overrun in a few days. The Maginot Line, considered to be impenetrable, was broken through, whole armies were encircled, destroyed or captured. The British Expeditionary Force was swept from the mainland; it could only save the wreckage of its best divisions by a terrified retreat across the channel. The entrance of the ally Italy into the war now overcame the last resistance of strength of a France already beaten to the ground. France soon saw herself forced to appeal for an armistice. On the summer solstice 1940 the Fhrer in the forest of Compigne expunged the shame of the armistice of 9th November 1910.

From the North Sea to the Biscay, the Atlantic coast of France the German armed forces now stand at disposal for the decisive struggle against England; the final opponent. Army, navy and air force form the close knit armed brotherhood ready to strive for the accomplishment of the final victory. With the deepest gratitude we will always remember the man who is the head and heart of this titanic episode and whose brilliant leadership will also bring victory over England. I had the good fortune, during this incomparable triumphant advance of our armed forces in Holland, Belgium and France to stand at the Fhrers side, to accompany him on front visits and to discover with him, not just the battlefield upon which his soldiers had triumphed in this war, but also those upon which German warriors fought and died in the World War 1914-1918. This pictorial work With Hitler in the West was conceived to preserve a record of this unique triumphant battle. This should give the German folk the highlights of the military event which began from the point where the Fhrer made his decisions, and encompassed the time the Fhrer spent time with his victorious troops.

I trust that the German folk and above all the German youth will recognise a true testament to the accomplishment of leadership and fighting men! GENERALFELDMARSCHALLL &
SUPREME HIGH COMMAND OF THE WEHRMACHT

One the morning of 10th May 1940. Assault infantry gather before the attack. Across the border. Tank obstacles do not stop the grenadiers of a Panzer Division. The enemy was a master of destruction. Jump up, advance - advance! Look out, tanks! The time for our tank-hunters has arrived. The artillery has done its duty. The artillery has done its duty.

The infantry finishes the task. An assault troop is about to infiltrate. Assault troops move up to the front. Advance under burning heat. German fliers and German artillery have done a thorough job here.