Did the Wehrmacht fight "harder/hardest" against the French?

Given the pervasive anti-French, revenchist attitudes that existed among many of the Wehrmacht soldiers at the time of Fall Gelb, I'm curious if said existing hatred (caused by Versailles, loss of Alsace-Lorraine, Ruhr Occupation experience(s)) collectively made the German soldiers fight harder against their French enemies compared to any other nation they fought against?
 
No. They fought pretty damn hard against all their enemies but the French don't really stand out any more above the others. They certainly weren't their most vicious against the French, they reserved that for the Soviets.
 
Given the pervasive anti-French, revenchist attitudes that existed among many of the Wehrmacht soldiers at the time of Fall Gelb, I'm curious if said existing hatred (caused by Versailles, loss of Alsace-Lorraine, Ruhr Occupation experience(s)) collectively made the German soldiers fight harder against their French enemies compared to any other nation they fought against?


Don't think they needed to. It was rather tha the French were led by generals more incompetent than the average.
 
I would say so. Germany fought the French while on performance enhancing combat drugs (methamphetamine specifically) which did make them fight much harder, but the amphetamine program was discontinued (or reduced in scope) a year into Barbarossa, so France got the bulk of that.
 
What do you mean by fight harder?

It's tough to quantify. (army morale possibly?)
I mean I know battlefield morale is a thing but you can't really measure it (or even the absence of it) in most cases

But comparatively, I'm wondering if said battle morale was higher in Fall Gelb than in Barbarossa, Weserubung, etc
 
No. The average German soldier had no special hate in his heart for the French. By Nazi standards their prosecution of the initial campaign in France and Western Europe was probably the most humane of the war.
 
I have to agree with the last post. I've read several bios by German soldiers in the 1940 campaign & none mentions any particular hatred for the French. They refered to a generalized unhappiness about Germany being held down and threatened by other nations, but the French were not specifically mentioned. When I met the cousins back in 1968 or 69 who had served in the Army neither mentioned anything about the French, or 'hating' anyone. This despite the nasty propaganda published daily.

One other feeling that did stand out in these written bios. Many German soldiers thought there was a clear possibility they were going to lose. They went into the campaign ready to do their utmost, but had a feeling that would not be enough & defeat was a possibility.
 
Don't think they needed to. It was rather tha the French were led by generals more incompetent than the average.

I was wanting to make a thread about that here, but it sounds like an idea that would have been explored already. Are there any threads about if the French had better leadership at the onset of WW2?
 
Rereading the OP it looks to me likes its based on some rather shakey versions of the historical story. Not even the History Channel pushes the 'hatred' narrative.
 

CalBear

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The French Campaign was actually quite, to perhaps stretch a term, gentlemanly. It was not marred even by the sorts of excesses one saw during the Bulge (on both sides, although the Waffen SS seemed to flatly delight in them).

There were more atrocities in an average 24 hour period during Barbarossa than during the six weeks in France 1940.

Along with the Western Desert, the French campaign was about as clean as modern war gets.
 

tenthring

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I doubt your average man gives much of a damn about political nonsense, but if I had to say who people in Germany had animosity towards in the wars it was Britain. France had obligations to its continiental allies and was after all defending its own country from invasion. France didn't necessarily choose war.

Perfidious Albion on the other hand had secretly arranged to surround Germany with enemies and crush her only because Germany was beating Britain in the free market. Britain had murdered the Germans in South Africa, and starved German women and children with its illegal blockade. And all for what, a scrap of paper. For a concept of neutrality they had violated again and again throughout the war in Greece and elsewhere.
 
The French Campaign was actually quite, to perhaps stretch a term, gentlemanly. It was not marred even by the sorts of excesses one saw during the Bulge (on both sides, although the Waffen SS seemed to flatly delight in them).

There were more atrocities in an average 24 hour period during Barbarossa than during the six weeks in France 1940.

Along with the Western Desert, the French campaign was about as clean as modern war gets.

There's a good reason why there aren't any French films like "Come and See".
 
The French Campaign was actually quite, to perhaps stretch a term, gentlemanly. It was not marred even by the sorts of excesses one saw during the Bulge (on both sides, although the Waffen SS seemed to flatly delight in them).

There were more atrocities in an average 24 hour period during Barbarossa than during the six weeks in France 1940.

Along with the Western Desert, the French campaign was about as clean as modern war gets.

a lot of reports of the Luftwaffe strafing refugees, but on the battlefield, both sides observed the rules generally speaking (leaving aside the SS who massacred some British prisoners)
 
It's tough to quantify. (army morale possibly?)
I mean I know battlefield morale is a thing but you can't really measure it (or even the absence of it) in most cases

But comparatively, I'm wondering if said battle morale was higher in Fall Gelb than in Barbarossa, Weserubung, etc

Then no. Most likely morale would have been highest later, when the Wehrmact had gone from victory to victory without anything seeming to slow them down. So probably right before or during Barbarossa.
 
a lot of reports of the Luftwaffe strafing refugees, but on the battlefield

Which is possibly also a case of accident rather then intentional malice: from the air, it can be difficult to tell the difference between a convoy of refugees and an infantry column. WAllied fighters in 1945 made the same mistake with refugees trying to flee the Soviets.
 

Perkeo

Banned
I think the nature of the Franco-German rivalry never was pure hatred. Both had always more respect for each other than either side dared to admit. And Nazi-ideology was against Jews and Slaws, not against the French.

One more example why the concept of a direct connection between the TOV and Hitler rising to power is oversimplified at best.
 
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