The Dyle Plan or D Plan was the primary war plan of the French Army to stave off the expected German attack during Fall Gelb. It was conceived by French General Maurice Gamelin in 1940. Named after the Dyle River, which flows from southern Belgium down to Antwerp, the main objective of the plan was to halt the advancing German Army Group B, incorrectly perceived as the strongest, in central Belgium. France had signed a military treaty with Belgium in 1920 so as to streamline communication and fortification efforts in the event of a German attack, but by the 1930s Belgium had changed its policy to one of strict neutrality, leading to many coordination difficulties. Look up war in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A plan is a proposed or intended method of getting from one set of circumstances to another. ... The French Army (French: Armée de Terre) is the land-based component of the French Armed Forces. ... In World War II, Battle of France or Case Yellow (Fall Gelb in German) was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May 1940 which ended the Phony War. ... Maurice Gamelin Maurice Gustave Gamelin (September 20, 1872 - April 18, 1958) was a French general. ... Year 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1940 calendar). ... Dijle (Dutch, in French: Dyle) is a river in central Belgium. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Army Group B was the name of three different German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. The first was involved in the western campaign in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands which was to be aimed to conquer the Maas bridges after the German airborne actions in... Single European Act A treaty is a binding agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Look up Communication in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Table of Fortification, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... The 1930s (years from 1930-1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Neutral means balanced between two or more opposites. ...

Gamelin was initially against this plan because it seemed more risky than the "E (Escaut) Plan", which called for a defense (except for the extreme west in Flanders) based upon a series of fortifications along much of the actual Belgian-French border rather than in Belgium proper.^[1] However, Gamelin eventually decided to adopt the Dyle Plan with the argument that the new anti-tank defenses built by Belgium along the Dyle and at the Gembloux Gap allowed for a quick entrenchment of the Allied armies.^[2] Adopting the Dyle Plan also afforded the French 7th Army an opportunity to link up with the Dutch forces via Breda, The Netherlands.^[3] Ironically, the newly fashioned anti-tank defenses at Gembloux proved rather inadequate, thus allowing the German 3rd and 4th Panzer divisions to easily traverse them.^[4] The Scheldt in Antwerp Length 350 km Elevation of the source 95 m Average discharge 120 m³/s Area watershed 21860 km² Origin France Mouth Westerschelde Basin countries France, Belgium, Netherlands The Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French lEscaut) is a 350 km[1] (217 mile) long river that finds its... Flanders (Dutch: ) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians; a... Gembloux: the town hall square and belfry Gembloux (in Dutch: Gembloers) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... The name Opportunity may refer to: Opportunity Asset Management , a Brazilian investment bank based in Rio de Janeiro Opportunity, Washington, a city in the U.S. Opportunity rover (MER-B), one of the two rovers of NASAs Mars Exploration Rover Mission. ... Grote Kerk (main church) or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our Lady) Breda ( (help· info)) is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. ... Motto: Je Maintiendrai (Dutch: Ik zal handhaven, English: I Shall Uphold) Anthem: Wilhelmus van Nassouwe Capital Amsterdam1 Largest city Amsterdam Official language(s) Dutch2 Government Parliamentary democracy Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Beatrix  - Prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende Independence Eighty Years War   - Declared July 26, 1581   - Recognised January 30, 1648 (by Spain... View on a long line of Cointet-elements installed on the KW-line, 1940. ... PzKpfw V-D, a Panther tank   Panzer? is German for armour. ...

The Dyle Plan played into the hand of the Germans who in fact executed their main attack (Manstein Plan) through the Ardennes on the assumption that the Allies would advance into central Belgium. The British Expeditionary Force and the French 1st and 7th Armies were surrounded and would have been totally annihilated if it had not been for an impromptu evacuation from Dunkirk. The Dyle Plan was a fundamental flaw in the Allied strategy and one of the decisive factors contributing to an Allied defeat in the Battle of France. According to French historian Julian Jackson, the Fall of France can be greatly attributed to the poor strategic planning of the French High Command.^[5] The Ardennes (pronounced ar-DEN) (Dutch: Ardennen) is a region of extensive forests and rolling hill country, primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but stretching into France (lending its name to the Ardennes département and the Champagne-Ardenne région). ... The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War in case the... French troops rescued by a British merchant ship at Dunkirk British evacuation on Dunkirk beach Operation Dynamo (or Dunkirk Evacuation, the Miracle of Dunkirk or just Dunkirk) was the name given to the World War II mass evacuation of Allied soldiers from May 26 to June 4, 1940, during the... Combatants France United Kingdom Canada Czechoslovakia Poland Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg Germany Italy Commanders Maurice Gamelin, Maxime Weygand (French) Lord Gort (British Expeditionary Force) H.G. Winkelman (Dutch) Gerd von Rundstedt (Army Group A) Fedor von Bock (Army Group B) Wilhelm von Leeb (Army Group C) H.R.H. Umberto di... An historian is someone who writes history, a written accounting of the past. ... In World War II, Battle of France or Case Yellow (Fall Gelb in German) was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, executed 10 May 1940 which ended the Phony War. ... High command may refer to: Chain of command Commander-in-Chief Defence minister NeoCracer Category: Disambiguation ...

Notes

1. ^ Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 28.
2. ^ Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 28.
3. ^ Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 28.
4. ^ Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 38.
5. ^ Julian Jackson, The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 40.