The SS-VT pushed towards Troyes and fought a stiff action with retreating French troops. Resistance then broke, and soon the SS men were motoring westwards towards Bourdeaux. The Totenkopf Division now surged south towards Dijon and Lyon. A few French Moroccan units did put up resistance to Eicke's men, who treated any non-white prisoners with great brutality, executing them on the spot.

Waffen-SS losses

By the time the French Government decided to capitulate on 21 June, the three SS units were still racing south. The Polizei Division advanced westwards through difficult terrain around Argonne. In the wake of the armistice, the SS units were assigned to garrison duties along the Atlantic coast or the demarcation line with the unoccupied zone run by the new pro-German government that was established in the town of Vichy.

In just under six weeks of combat the SS units had suffered heavy losses, some 270 by the Leibstandarte, more than 1500 by the Totenkopf and nearly 2000 by the SS-VT. The three units were tested in combat against determined and skilful opponents and generally acquitted themselves well. Their officers could be accused of being overly aggressive and reckless with their men's lives, but they were keen to prove their worth to Hitler, Himmler and the army.

The spoils of war

Hitler was delighted with the performance of his élite troops and he showered medals and promotions on his favourites. Dietrich and his Leibstandarte came in for special praise from a grateful Führer. Guderian, their commander for much of the invasion of France, was impressed by the speed and élan of the unit. Dietrich went to great lengths to keep secret, even from other members of the SS hierarchy, the role of his men in the massacre of the Royal Warwickshire prisoners, so as not to sour his victory.

Eicke and his Totenkopf emerged from the French campaign temporarily out of favour after details of the Le Paradis incident became common knowledge. When General Hoepner ordered an inquiry into the incident, Eicke and his men were initially denied medals for their part in the campaign. But Himmler was not prepared to lose one of his top commanders over what he considered a trivial incident. Eicke kept his job.

Within a few weeks of the French surrender, Hitler set in train a major effort to expand his SS combat units. Although the weaknesses and failures of the armed SS units in France were recognized by the organization's leadership, they were not going to get in the way of the plans to expand the armed SS. After a few weeks preparing for a possible invasion of Britain, the armed SS units in France began readying themselves for a new Blitzkrieg - against Soviet Russia.

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