Memorial Surrenders of French Troops 1940

This memorial was erected on June 1, 1975, 50 years after French troops surrendered to German soldiers on this square.

On June 1, 1940, French troops surrendered on this square to German soldiers who had invaded France. The French troops fought in "The Lille pocket" and tried to defend the city of Lille while completely surrounded. During some sortie attempts, some units managed to escape from the city and thus reach Dunkirk to be evacuated.

Partly due to the French resistance in Lille, according to Winston Churchill, the French troops managed to delay the German troops for four days, making the evacuation in Dunkirk a lot more successful.

Ultimately, the German units captured 7 generals, 350 officers and approximately 34,600 soldiers.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: WW

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