Armistice of 22 June 1940

The agreement signed by France and Germany on 22 June 1940 that ended major fighting between them and imposed an occupation and other restrictions on France.

German military occupation of France: German forces controlled much of France from 1940 until the liberation of 1944. The armistice placed northern and western France under German occupation.
Battle of France: The German invasion and defeat of France and its allies in May and June 1940. France sought an armistice after its military collapse in this campaign.
Free France: The political and military movement led by Charles de Gaulle that continued fighting Germany after France's 1940 defeat. It rejected the armistice and claimed to represent France's continuing struggle.
Compiègne Forest: A forest in northern France containing the clearing where the 1918 and 1940 armistices were signed. The 1940 ceremony took place in this forest, at the site chosen to evoke German defeat in 1918.
Vichy France: The French regime established at Vichy after the 1940 defeat, which governed the unoccupied zone and collaborated with Germany. The armistice left a French government in the unoccupied zone, soon based at Vichy.
German invasion of France: The German offensive against France and the Low Countries that began on 10 May 1940. The invasion produced the rapid defeat that led to the armistice.
French Resistance: The networks and individuals who opposed German occupation and the Vichy regime in France during the Second World War. Occupation under the armistice created conditions in which resistance developed.
Rethondes: The railway clearing near Compiègne where the 1918 and 1940 armistices were signed. The German delegation selected this specific site for the 1940 signing.
French Army: The land forces of France, organized as a national military institution. The agreement sharply limited the French army retained in metropolitan France.
Paul Reynaud: French prime minister from March to June 1940, who opposed an immediate armistice and resigned. His government split over whether France should continue fighting or seek terms.

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