Now being half-French, this is something that has always bothered me about my country. Yes, I know France is seen as a victor of ww2, primarily due to the free French forces, and Churchill insisting they get recognised as a permanent member of the UN, but should we be? Following the battle of Dunkirk there could have easily been a union between the French and British empires, the war was not lost by any means.
So why on earth did so few of the thousands of soldiers saved from Nazi Germany decide to stop fighting, and simply give up? I get that at the time the UK's fall may have seen likely, but it seems to me that had France decided to allow her colonies to carry on fighting the war may have been won that much easier/sooner? Heck even having access to so many more soldiers would have made a significant difference to the war.
I guess actions like this made the USSR and the US so unwilling to accept France as an equal to them and the British Empire?
Thanks :)
To follow up /u/CaptainPyjamaShark, the Battle of France went on for a whole other month after Dunkirk, and saw particularly intense fighting along the Weygand Line and the Maginot Line, and also saw the French see-off an Italian Offensive in the Alps. Martin Alexander's article After Dunkirk in War in History is an excellent read, if you want to find out about the rest of the campaign, which was a surprisingly close run thing. Julian Jackson's book The Fall of France, 1940 is also an excellent read.
Following the battle of Dunkirk there could have easily been a union between the French and British empires, the war was not lost by any means
The British proposed this very late in the Battle, c. June 16th, and it was NOT a simple matter. Considering the historical enmity between the countries, and the level of coordination between governments, and the cooperation of the respective publics that would have been required, it was a little 'tardy' of the British to spring that on the French when they did, at least IMO.
So why on earth did so few of the thousands of soldiers saved from Nazi Germany decide to stop fighting, and simply give up?
Again, the fighting in June 1940, and even the continued resistance of some Maginot Line garrisons shortly after the Armistice, paints a very different picture. Many poilus felt betrayed by Petain, and generals such as Leclerc, Monsabert, and De Tassigny, would escape France between 1940-43 to link up with the Free French and continue the fight.