May 1940, France : German armor forces penetrated Ardennes forest into open plains of northern France, outflanked French Maginot Line fortifications along eastern Franco-German border. In one execution, Germans made entire Maginot Line fortifications obsolete with 400,000 French fortress troops caught out of position. Without mechanized transports, these French troops were unable to participate in the ensuing battle. In addition, French doctrine used their tanks as infantry fire support vehicles, hence had to keep pace with its marching infantry rather than mechanized mobility warfare. Maginot Line - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot

Inset : Pace of German mechanized advanced astonished, amazed, and completely demoralized French Government and its Military High Command. Repeated scenes of German Panzers overtaking both retreating French troops and fleeing refugees cast an image of total German Wehrmacht military invincibility. Wehrmacht - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wehrmacht

16 May 1940 : French government at near panic when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill flew into Paris to consolidate Allied position. French requested British to transfer their entire air force and army resources to European continent to save-off pending military collapse. Churchill upon witnessing French disarray, declined request to save meager resources for anticipated German invasion of Great Britain. When Churchill asked of French strategic reserves to deployed against German breakthrough, French reply was "Aucune" (none).

With substantial French forces in southern France, British reasoned they will soon be isolated into pockets by German juggernaut, hence should be withdrawn to coastal ports (ex. Cherbourg, Brest, Marseille, Toulon) and prepare for evacuation to Great Britain to rest - regroup - reform for future Anglo-French counter-offensives. French Armed Forces command-in-chief Maxime Weygand vehemently denounced this "ignominious" proposal by snapping that it was totally indignant, utter disgust, put shame upon the flag, do irreparable harm to the country's honor, and reaffirmed that sole chivalrous duty for French soldiers is to resist with all capabilities until complete exhaustion, thereby validating pretext for a "Honorable Defeat" (needless to state the French are passionate people when it comes to speeches). Chivalry - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chivalry

Rollover : 14 June 1940 : French capitol Paris declared an open city as Germans entered. "Deutschland Siegt an alles Fronten" (Germany victorious on all fronts) was a 40-foot banner displayed on Palais Bourbon, with German military honor guards marching on Champs-Élysées boulevard passed Napoleonic-era Arc de Triomphe in background. This parade was repeated everyday to remind French the consequences of a "Honorable Defeat" until Paris liberation in August 1944. Arc de Triomphe - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arc_de_Triomphe