France in 1940

The Blitzkrieg waged by Germany on Western Europe in the Spring of 1940 left France divided into five distinct parts. The three departments of Alsace and Moselle were returned to Germany as they had been in the 1871-1918 period, its young men being drafted into the German army. The two Northernmost departments were detached from the country and joined with Belgium into a entity under direct German military administration. The main part of the country was divided into a Northern Zone that was occupied by the German Army, while the Southern Zone was under a French civilian administration based in Vichy. Finally, small pockets of territory in the Southeast were under Italian administration, as Italy had attempted to invade France in May 1940 and kept its military gains in a June 1940 armistice.