British Ministry of Home Security Poster of a type that was common during the "Phoney War"

The Phoney War, also called the Twilight War by Winston Churchill and Sitzkrieg by Germany (German for "sitting war"),^[1] was a phase in early World War II from September 1939 until May 1940 marked by few military operations in Continental Europe, in the months following the German invasion of Poland and preceding the Battle of France. The Ministry of Home Security was a British Government department established in 1939 to direct national Civil defence (primarily air-raid defences Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied In World War II, the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries The great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, yet neither side had committed to launching a significant attack, and there was relatively little fighting on the ground. Power in international relations is defined in several different ways A declaration of war is a formal performative Speech act or signing of a document by an authorised party of a government in order to initate a state of War

While most of the German army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line, their fortified defensive line along the French border. The original Siegfried line ( Siegfriedstellung) was a line of defensive forts and tank defenses built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916-1917 At the Maginot Line on the other side of the border, British and French troops stood facing them, but there were only some local, minor skirmishes. The Maginot Line (IPA, Ligne Maginot named after French Minister of Defense André Maginot, was a line of concrete Fortifications tank obstacles artillery The Saar Offensive was a French operation into the Saarland on the German 1 The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while western Europe was in a strange calm for seven months. Meanwhile, the opposing nations clashed in the Norwegian campaign. The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun buying large amounts of weapons from manufacturers in the US at the outbreak of hostilities, supplementing their own productions. The non-belligerent United States contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales, and, later, lend-lease of military equipment and supplies. A non-belligerent is a person who or a State or other organization that does not fight in a given conflict The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Western Allies were the democracies and their colonial peoples within the broader coalition of Allies during World War II. Lend-Lease (Public Law 77-11 was the name of the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, It should be noted that in the 1930s, in a much smaller scale, private companies in Britain and the US were also supplying Germany, without government sanction. ^[2] Engines of a few German fighters were made in Britain,^[3] and American raw materials were being sold to Germany. ^{[4] [5]} German efforts to interdict the Allies' trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited the Second Battle of the Atlantic. The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous Military campaign of World War II, (though some say it was a series of naval Military campaigns

Other designations

The Phoney War was also called "Funny War". Winston Churchill called it the "Twilight War". Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The term has equivalents in many other languages, notably the German Sitzkrieg ("sitting war," a play on Blitzkrieg) or komischer Krieg ("funny war" or "strange war", komisch having two meanings), the French drôle de guerre^[6] ("strange war," drôle which can also mean "funny" stands for "strange" when used like this), the Italian guerra fittizia and finta guerra (respectively "fictitious war" and "false war") and the Polish dziwna wojna ("strange war"). The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Blitzkrieg (German for "lightning war" is a popular name for an Offensive operational-level Military doctrine which involves an initial French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. In Britain the period was even referred to as the "Bore War",^[7] (a pun on "Boer War"). See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans:

Saar offensive

Main article: Saar Offensive

In September 1939, in a purely political move, French soldiers penetrated 3 miles into the Saar before withdrawing. The Saar Offensive was a French operation into the Saarland on the German 1 The Territory of the Saar Basin (in French: Le Territoire du Bassin de la Sarre, in German: Saarbeckengebiet) also referred as the Saar At this time, France had deployed 98 divisions and 2,500 tanks against German forces consisting of 43 divisions and no tanks.

Winter War

Main article: Winter War

A notable event during the Phoney War was the Winter War, which started with the Soviet Union's assault on Finland on 30 November 1939. The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the The Winter War (Talvisota Советско-финляндская война - official Зимняя война - unofficial Vinterkriget began when the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Events 1700 - Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8500 men under Charles XII defeats Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Public opinion, particularly in France and Britain, found it easy to side with democratic Finland, and demanded from their governments effective action in support of "the brave Finns" against their incomparably larger aggressor, the Soviet Union, particularly since the Finns' defence seemed so much more successful than that of the Poles during the September Campaign. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied As a consequence, the Soviet Union was excluded from the League of Nations, and a proposed Franco-British expedition to northern Scandinavia was much debated. The League of Nations was an International organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920 Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well British forces that began to be assembled to send to Finland's aid were not dispatched before the Winter War ended, and were sent to Norway's aid in the Norwegian campaign, instead. The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies On 20 March, after the Winter War had ended, Édouard Daladier resigned as Prime Minister in France, due to his failure to aid Finland's defence. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Édouard Daladier (18 June 1884 - 10 October 1970 was a French Radical politician and Prime Minister of France at the start of the Second World

German invasion of Denmark and Norway

Main article: Norwegian Campaign

The open discussions on an Allied expedition to northern Scandinavia, also without consent of the neutral Scandinavian countries, and the Altmark incident on 16 February, alarmed the Kriegsmarine and Germany, by threatening iron ore supplies, and gave strong arguments for a German securing of the Norwegian coast. The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well The Altmark Incident ( Norwegian: Altmark -affæren was a naval skirmish of World War II between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany Events 1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols The Kriegsmarine (English "War navy" was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945 during the Nazi regime superseding the Codenamed Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway commenced on 9 April. Operation Weserübung was the codename for Nazi Germany 's assault on Denmark and Norway during World War II and the opening operation The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) On 12–15 April Allied troops were landed in Norway, but within two weeks most of Norway was in German hands and the Allied troops were evacuated from Northern Norway. Events 467 - Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose

Change of British government

Main article: Norway Debate

The debacle of the Allied campaign in Norway, which actually was an offspring of the never-realised plans to aid Finland, forced a famous debate in the House of Commons during which the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was under constant attack. The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place on May 7 and May 8 This article describes Allied operations in Norway during World War II Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. The Norway Debate, sometimes called the Narvik Debate, was a famous debate in the British House of Commons that took place on May 7 and May 8 The House of Commons' is the Lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom Arthur Neville Chamberlain (18 March 1869 &ndash 9 November 1940 was a British Conservative Politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom A nominal vote of confidence in his government was won by 281 to 200, but many of Chamberlain's supporters had voted against him whilst others had abstained. A Motion of Confidence is a motion of support proposed by a government in a Parliament or other assembly of elected representatives to give members of parliament (or For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. The humiliated Chamberlain found it impossible to continue to lead a National Government or to form a government of national unity (in Britain often called a "coalition government", to distinguish it from Chamberlain's existing national government) around himself. In the United Kingdom the term National Government is in an abstract sense used to refer to a coalition of some or all UK major political parties. A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a Cabinet of a parliamentary Government in which several parties cooperate On 10 May Chamberlain resigned the premiership whilst retaining the leadership of the Conservative Party. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. The King, George VI, appointed Winston Churchill, who had been a consistent opponent of Chamberlain's policy of appeasement, as his successor and Churchill formed a new coalition government that included members of the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Party as well as several ministers from a non-political background. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a Cabinet of a parliamentary Government in which several parties cooperate The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party

Later that day, German troops marched into Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by It was the 10th of May, 1940, a short eight months after Britain and France had declared war on Germany. The Phoney War was over.

Most other major actions during the Phoney War were at sea, including the Second Battle of the Atlantic fought throughout the Phoney War. The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous Military campaign of World War II, (though some say it was a series of naval Military campaigns Other notable events among these were the following:

• In October 1939 the British battleship HMS Royal Oak was sunk in Scapa Flow, Orkney (north of Scotland) by the German U-boat U-47. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Construction The Revenge class to which Royal Oak belonged was ordered in the 1913&ndash14 Estimates Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word, itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot ( undersea boat) and refers
• Luftwaffe air raids on Britain began on 16 October 1939 when Junkers Ju 88s attacked British warships at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth. ( German 'luftvafe is a generic German term for an Air force. Events 456 - Magister militum Ricimer defeats the Emperor Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the western Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe ( Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saidhe or Ros Saoithe) is a town located on the Firth of Forth on Scotland 's The Firth of Forth ( Scottish Gaelic: Linne Foirthe) is the Estuary or Firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows Spitfires of No. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 602 and No. 603 Squadrons succeeded in shooting down two Ju 88s and a Heinkel He 111 over the firth. No 603 (City of Edinburgh Squadron is a Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based in Edinburgh WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout In a raid on Scapa Flow the next day, one Ju 88 was downed by anti-aircraft fire, crashing on the island of Hoy. Scapa Flow ( Old Norse: Skalpaflói) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, United Kingdom, sheltered by the islands Hoy (from Old Norse Háey meaning high island is one of the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The first Luftwaffe plane to be shot down on the British mainland was a He 111 at Haddington, East Lothian, on 29 November, with both 602 and 603 Squadrons claiming this victory. Events 1777 - San Jose California, is founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe ^[8][9]
• In December 1939, the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee was attacked by the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Exeter, HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles in the Battle of the River Plate. Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Description German capital ships were restricted by the Treaty of Versailles to a displacement of 10000 tons for "armoured ships" Description Admiral Graf Spee was a Deutschland class cruiser. A cruiser is a large type of Warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. Design Exeter was ordered two years after her sister ''York'' and therefore her design incorporated improvements in the light of experience with the latter Before the War Built at Vickers shipyard Barrow-in-Furness, England, she was laid down on 7 February 1933 launched on 1 March 1934 and completed on 12 April Service Achilles was originally built for the Royal Navy, and was commissioned as HMS Achilles on October 10 1933 The Battle of the River Plate ( December 13, 1939) was the first major naval battle in World War II. The Admiral Graf Spee fled to Montevideo harbour to perform repairs on damage sustained during the battle. Montevideo (monteβi'ðeo is the largest city the capital and chief port of Uruguay. She was later scuttled rather than face a large British fleet the Kriegsmarine falsely believed was awaiting her departure. Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull. The Kriegsmarine (English "War navy" was the name of the German Navy between 1935 and 1945 during the Nazi regime superseding the The support vessel for the Admiral Graf Spee, the tanker Altmark was captured by the Royal Navy in February 1940 in southern Norway (see: Battles of Narvik, Altmark Incident). Altmark was a German tanker and supply vessel one of five of a class built between 1937 and 1939 The Battles of Narvik were fought from 9 April until 8 June 1940 as a naval battle in the Ofotfjord and as a land battle in the mountains surrounding The Altmark Incident ( Norwegian: Altmark -affæren was a naval skirmish of World War II between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany

The warring air forces also showed some activity in that period, running reconnaissance flights and several minor bombing raids during this period. The Royal Air Force also conducted a large number of combined reconnaissance and propaganda leaflet flights over Germany. Airborne leaflet propaganda is a form of Psychological warfare that militaries use in foreign conflict to alter the behavior of people in enemy-controlled territory These leaflet flights were jokingly termed "Pamphlet raids" or "Confetti War" in the British press.

See also

• Western betrayal

Further reading

• Halford Mackinder's Necessary War An essay describing the political strategy behind the Phoney War

Footnotes