Fall Braun

Fall Braun (English: Case Brown) were the German military plans in 1940 and 1945 during World War II.

1940

In 1940 Fall Braun was the name for the military plan for the German occupation of France (1940). It consisted of German-Italian engagement along the German-French border with the intention of breaking through into France and the advancement along the French-Swiss border of the Rhône. In order to carry out the intended plan, Adolf Hitler met with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 18th of May 1940 in Brenner Pass, Tirol to suggest the deployment of around 20 Italian divisions in southern Germany. The relocation of troops was estimated to take between 20 and 25 days.

Fall Braun did not eventuate, due to the start of Fall Gelb (English: Case Yellow) on the 10th of May 1940, which resulted in the occupation of Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium by the Germany Armed Forces. By the beginning of July 1940, Fall Gelb had run its course and the north of France had also fallen into German hands. From this point, the newly planned Fall Rot (Case Red) was to take place, involving the occupation of central France from the north. From 5 June 1940, Fall Rot was successfully carried out, during which a severely attenuated variation of Fall Braun took place using only German troops. For this campaign, Army Group C was deployed, Fall Rot contrastingly having been completed by Army Groups A and B. Army Group C was successful in breaking through the main French line of defense, the Maginot Line. With the cease fire of the 25th of June 1940, all fighting was stopped.

1945 plan

Fall Braun also refers to a German support operation during the Battle of the Bulge (1944/1945).

See also

• Battle of France
• List of Axis operational codenames in the European Theatre

Further reading

• Klaus Urner. 1991. "Die Schweiz muss noch geschluckt werden!" Hitlers Aktionspläne gegen die Schweiz – Zwei Studien zur Bedrohungslage der Schweiz im Zweiten Weltkrieg. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich. ISBN 3-85823-327-7, p. 30.
• Andreas Hillgruber (Ed). 1967. Staatsmänner und Diplomaten bei Hitler. Bernard & Graefe: Frankfurt am Main, p. 102