After the German conquest of Poland in September 1939, Hitler turned his attention to the west. His ultimate goal was to invade the Soviet Union, but he knew the defeat of the Western European nations was a necessity to avoid a two-front war. The first step was to invade the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium) and France. Hypothetically, Germany could then conquer Britain, re-deploy to the East, and fight a one-front war against the Russians.
The German Army was actually outnumbered by the Allies. However, the numbers game didn’t matter because the German plan was so effective. Once the Germans invaded the Low Countries, the French Army and British Expeditionary Force (BEF) moved north to face the Germans head-on. This allowed German Army Group A to cut through the Allied ddefencesin the Ardennes and advance towards the English Channel, effectively trapping them with their backs against the sea. A new offensive was launched against Paris, France fell, and the BEF was evacuated at Dunkirk. The country was divided into German occupation zones and Vichy France. Germany was then free to focus on knocking Britain out of the war.
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