The Tale of a Defeat : France, September 1939

May 1940: Adolf Hitler launched his blitzkrieg against France. It was the first standoff between Germany and the Western forces. In less than six weeks, the French army was swept away by the German storm. How can one explain the swift defeat of France? What had happened during the «Phoney War» -- the eight combat-free months after war was declared in September 1939 and before the first battle in May 1940? How could an entire country collapse so quickly? Made entirely of archives, this film recounts this strange defeat through eyewitness accounts by civilians, soldiers, political leaders, generals, and foreign journalists.