Case Brown (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Fall Braun'') refer to

military plans in 1940 and 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

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 The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

. In order to carry out the intended plan,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

met with the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on 18 May 1940 in Brenner Pass,

Tirol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

to suggest the deployment of around 20 Italian divisions in

southern Germany Southern Germany () is a region of Germany which has no exact boundary, but is generally taken to include the areas in which Upper German dialects are spoken, historically the stem duchies of Bavaria and Swabia or, in a modern context, Bavaria ...

. The relocation of troops was estimated to take between 20 and 25 days. Fall Braun was not carried out, due to the start of ''

Fall Gelb (Case Yellow), the invasion of France and the Low Countries , scope = Strategic , type = , location = South-west Netherlands, central Belgium, northern France , coordinates = , planned = 1940 , planned_by = Erich von ...

'' (English: Case Yellow) on 10 May 1940, which resulted in the occupation of

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

by the German Armed Forces. By the beginning of June 1940, ''Fall Gelb'' had run its course and the north of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

had also fallen into German hands. From this point, the newly planned ''

Fall Rot ''Fall Rot'' (Case Red) was the plan for a German military operation after the success of (Case Yellow), the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in th ...

'' (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 Army Group C (in German, ''Heeresgruppe C'' or ''HGr C'') was an army group of the German Wehrmacht, that was formed twice during the Second World War. History Army Group C was formed from Army Group 2 in Frankfurt on 26 August 1939. It init ...

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 25 June 1940, all fighting was stopped.

1945 plan

''Fall Braun'' also refers to a German support operation during the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

(1944/1945).

1940

1945 plan

See also

References

Further reading