Compiègne in WW2 History | World War II Database

5 Jun 1940

France

Werner Mölders was shot down by French pilot René Pomier-Layrargues near Compiègne, France; he bailed out to safety but was captured by the French. He would be released later upon the French armistice. ww2dbase [Werner Mölders | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | TH]

21 Jun 1940

France

French and German representatives met to negotiate peace at the 1918 Armistice site at Compiègne, France, using the very same rail carriage where the WW1 armistice, brought from a French museum, for the negotiations. Hitler personally attended the negotiation, but at 1530 hours abruptly left the meeting to show disrespect for the French. At 2030 hours, French General Huntzinger called his government and informed that the Germans allowed no room for negotiations and demanded harsh terms; he was told to accept the German terms. Meanwhile, in southern France, the 32 Italian divisions deployed on the French border marched through the Little Saint Bernard Pass in the Alps and along the French Riviera; some of the Italians were met with a heavy snow storm and the latter halted by a very small group of French troops at Menton, which was about 5 miles from the border. According to the diary of Galeazzo Ciano, Benito Mussolini was extremely embarrassed by the inability of his troops to break through the French lines. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | CPC]

Photo(s) dated 21 Jun 1940

William Shirer and another journalist reporting on the French surrender, Compiègne, France, 21-22 Jun 1940

22 Jun 1940

France

At Compiègne, France, in the very same rail carriage and at the same location as when the WW1 armistice was signed, French General Huntzinger and German General Keitel signed the armistice at 1830 hours to end the invasion of France. Meanwhile, France dispatched officials to go to Rome to negotiate peace with Italy. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | TH]

Photo(s) dated 22 Jun 1940

L to R: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, Hermann Göring, Rudolf Heß, Adolf Hitler, and Walther von Brauchitsch before the railroad car that hosted the French surrender, Compiègne, France, 22 Jun 1940

Keitel in front of the rail car that hosted the German surrender of 1918 and would soon host the French surrender of 1940, Compiègne, France, 22 Jun 1940

French Minister of Defense General Charles Huntzinger signing the Franco-German armistice document, Compiègne, France, 22 Jun 1940

Hitler (hand on hip) looking at statue of F. Foch before meeting with French delegation for negotiation of the armistice document, Compiègne, France, 22 Jun 1940; still from 1943 film

See all photos dated 22 Jun 1940

25 Jun 1940

France

After the Germans made the French surrender at Compiègne, France, the site of the German surrender in 1918, Adolf Hitler ordered the site destroyed, including the rail car used for both 1918 and 1940 surrenders. The statue of Marshal Ferdinand Foch was spared. ww2dbase [Invasion of France and the Low Countries | Adolf Hitler | Compiègne, Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie | CPC]

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis

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