ABSTRACT
The scope of Germany's overwhelming triumph and the rapid collapse of the French army stunned the people of France as well as the British, who now faced the German juggernaut alone. Britain had almost 300 tanks in France, including the Matilda, which was better armed and armored than any German tank except the Panzer IV. Both France and Britain faced the German offensive under new political leadership. Premier Daladier had provoked a crisis in the French parliament because of his failure to aid the Finns during the Winter War and had resigned in March. Traditionally, historians have assumed that the Duce made the decision to stab his unfortunate neighbor in the back more or less on the spur of the moment. But it now appears that Mussolini had decided as early as April to declare war on France and Britain if and when Adolf Hitler struck in the west.
