22nd June 1940: France signs the Second Armistice of Compiègne with Nazi Germany

The 1918 armistice that ended World War I had been signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest. Amidst a crippling defeat in the Battle of France during the Second World War, the French government under new Prime Minister Philippe Pétain announced its desire to negotiate an armistice.
Adolf Hitler seized the opportunity to inflict a symbolic humiliation on the French by signing the armistice in the same location, and in the same railway carriage, as the armistice of the First World War. He even sat in the same seat as the French First World War leader Ferdinand Foch for the reading of the preamble.
Under the terms of the armistice, France was divided into two main zones. The northern and western parts of France, including Paris, were to be occupied by German forces. This area included the Atlantic coast, which was crucial for German strategic interests. The remaining part of France, known as the free zone, was to be governed by the collaborationist Vichy regime under Pétain.
The armistice also required the French military to be significantly reduced, and its equipment and weapons were largely seized or destroyed by the Germans. Meanwhile, France was required to bear the costs of the German occupation, placing a heavy economic burden on the already struggling nation.
In response, a French government-in-exile was established in London under General Charles de Gaulle. He refused to accept the legitimacy of the Vichy government and called for continued resistance against the German occupation that continued until the Allied liberation of France.

[@kylemarsh1624]

Excellent Report, Gentlemen. Thank you. God Bless 😊

[@christerappelgren1665]

Great, thank you!

[@cstick2664]

how petty