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A period of the [[Second World War]] between October 1939 (i.e., German [[Case White]], the invasion and the fall of [[Poland]])<ref name=HyperPoland>{{citation
The so-called '''phoney war''' was the period of the [[Second World War]] between the fall of Poland in October 1939 and the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Having failed to prevent the defeat of Poland in September 1939, Britain and France expected to wage a long and exhausting war with Germany, but there followed over six months of stagnation and stalemate in western Europe.
| contribution - PART TWO, POLAND'S POSITION AND GERMANY'S PREPARATIONS FOR THE ATTACK, Chapter 4: The Polish State and the Armed Forces
| url = http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/DAP-Poland/Campaign-II.html
|id = DA Pam No. 20-255
|title = The German Campaign In Poland (1939)
| first = Robert M. | last =Kennedy
| publisher = U.S. Department of the Army | date = April 1956}}</ref> and April 1940 (i.e., [[Weser Exercise]] or [[WESERÜBUNG NORD]]) the invasion of [[Norway]]),<ref>{{citation
  | url = https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_242cb57b-a62d-4fd4-aa2d-fe88076f7bd6/display.aspx?rs=enginespage
| title = Joint Operations Case Study, ''Weserübung Nord'': Germany's Invasion of Norway, 1940
| id = AU/ACSC/0146A/97-03
| first = Timothy F.| last =  Lindemann
| publisher = U.S. Air War College, U.S. Air Force
| id = AU/ACSC/0146A/97-03 | date = March 1997}}</ref> was called the '''Phony War''', or, in a pun on [[blitzkrieg]], '''sitzkreig'''. There was relatively little U.K. combat during this period. While there was a good deal of intelligence work, very little was done to redeploy troops.


The major operations following were [[Case Yellow]]/[[Fall Gelb]], the invasion of France and the low countries, followed by the [[Battle of Britain]] and the German planning for the invasion of Britain, [[Operation Sea Lion]].
There was some action at sea, notably the [[Battle of the River Plate]] and the attack on [[Scapa Flow]] by the submarine U-47 under Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien. Britain lost [[HMS Royal Oak]] at Scapa Flow and Germany lost [[KMS Admiral Graf Spee]] at the River Plate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scapaflowwrecks.com/wrecks/royal-oak/sinking.php |title=Sinking of HMS Royal Oak |work=Scapa Flow |publisher=Orkney Islands Council}}</ref> Even so, little happened on land or in the air. Some brief skirmishes apart, both sides remained behind their defences and concentrated on building up their forces. Britain and France prioritised a naval blockade of Germany. The situation was labelled both the "phoney war" and as a play on words, ''blitzkrieg'' ("lightning war") became ''sitzkrieg'' ("sitting down war").<ref name="IWM">{{cite web |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/britains-phoney-start-to-the-second-world-war#:~:text=THE%20BRITISH%20ARMY%20IN%20FRANCE%201939&text=Although%20there%20was%20some%20action,of%20the%20'Phoney%20War'. |title=Britain's 'Phoney' Start To The Second World War |publisher=Imperial War Museum}}</ref>
==Naval Operations==
 
Gernany's [[Oberkommando der Marine]] ordered several major operations and some lesser commerce raiding, as they built up the submarine arm. The two major operations were the [[Battle of the River Plate]], after which the [[Germany|German]] "pocket battleship" ''[[DKM Graf Spee]]'' was scuttled, and the raid on the [[United Kingdom | British]] naval base at Scapa Flow in [[Scotland]], in which the German [[submarine]] U-47 sank the battleship ''Royal Oak''.
At home, Britain implemented its civil defence plans immediately to be prepared for German bombing raids. Air raid precautions were rigorously imposed and, in nearly all aspects of their daily lives, people had to comply with government regulations and restrictions. These included conscription and food rationing.<ref name="IWM" />
 
The "phoney war" ended in the spring of 1940 when Germany went on the offensive. They invaded Denmark and Norway on 9 April and then, on 10 May, the same day that [[Winston Churchill]] became Prime Minister, they invaded Belgium and the Netherlands to end the stalemate in western Europe.


==Land Operations==
Going into the Norway decisions were a variety of factors. <ref name=Ziemke>{{citation
| contribution = Chapter 2: The German Decision To Invade Norway and Denmark
| first = Earl F. | last = Ziemke
| title = Command Decisions
| publisher = Office of the Chief of Military History, U.S. Army
| url = http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_02.htm}}</ref>
==References==
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
{{reflist}}

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The so-called phoney war was the period of the Second World War between the fall of Poland in October 1939 and the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940. Having failed to prevent the defeat of Poland in September 1939, Britain and France expected to wage a long and exhausting war with Germany, but there followed over six months of stagnation and stalemate in western Europe.

There was some action at sea, notably the Battle of the River Plate and the attack on Scapa Flow by the submarine U-47 under Kapitänleutnant Günther Prien. Britain lost HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow and Germany lost KMS Admiral Graf Spee at the River Plate.[1] Even so, little happened on land or in the air. Some brief skirmishes apart, both sides remained behind their defences and concentrated on building up their forces. Britain and France prioritised a naval blockade of Germany. The situation was labelled both the "phoney war" and as a play on words, blitzkrieg ("lightning war") became sitzkrieg ("sitting down war").[2]

At home, Britain implemented its civil defence plans immediately to be prepared for German bombing raids. Air raid precautions were rigorously imposed and, in nearly all aspects of their daily lives, people had to comply with government regulations and restrictions. These included conscription and food rationing.[2]

The "phoney war" ended in the spring of 1940 when Germany went on the offensive. They invaded Denmark and Norway on 9 April and then, on 10 May, the same day that Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, they invaded Belgium and the Netherlands to end the stalemate in western Europe.

References

  1. ↑ Sinking of HMS Royal Oak. Scapa Flow. Orkney Islands Council.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Britain's 'Phoney' Start To The Second World War. Imperial War Museum.
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