Why didn't Hitler take the whole of France under his control?

Answer 1

A couple reasons.

First he had the Vichy Government a puppet regime running the South under his control but not well occupied.

The second he did not have enough troops to spread that far and maintain attacks on the Russians. He basically allowed himself into a three front war and a two front war is bad enough/

He had to worry about Italy' his under belly, then Normandy as well as the Russians. He as being squeezed on almost all sides.
So long as he had the Vichy puppet governemet to control the region then it allowed his to use precious troops elsewhere.

It is a well known fact that some French soldiers in the Maginot Line did fight but because they were stagnant and just surpassed and ignored it was a few weeks after France capitulated but some in the Maginot line were still fresh and strong troops but had no leader ship or direction and ended up as captives and in camps for most the war.

This is why the Frech Resistance was so successful also, with only so many Germans in the country it allowed the French to work underground much easier.

Hope that helps some.

Answer 2

The reasons why Hitler agreed to leave part of France unoccupied under the terms of the June 22nd, 1940 Armistice, were: -

[1] It was a condition demanded by the French. They made it clear that they would not surrender to the Germans unless a large part of France remained unoccupied.

[2] Even though the ability of the French army INSIDE France to fight back against the German invaders was by then very limited, large elements of the French armed forces were stationed overseas, out of reach by the Germans in 1940. In North Africa, for example, the French maintained not only a large garrison (well over 100,000 men), but also large numbers of aircraft, and a very powerful fleet. Hitler was worried that these forces would remain allied to Britain if he insisted on occupying the whole of France (and they probably would have).

[3] Therefore, to allow him to concentrate his forces quickly against the British, Hitler was willing to leave unoccupied the parts of France that had no strategic interest for him.

[4] Having a puppet government of France – and a government that was likely to be acceptable to a high proportion of the French people – would also relieve Germany of any need to administer the conquered territories themselves.

[5] And, because the Vichy government was both obedient to Hitler and acceptable (at least for the time being) to the people of France, Hitler could use it to “milk” the French for the costs of the Occupation. In fact, he succeeded in “milking” the French in that manner for about 50 times the real cost of the German forces in France.

Answer 3

He did, eventually. When the initially invaded France they accepted the French surrender and as part of that surrender they mad a small concession to allow southern France to remain independent. But really the Vichy government was a puppet and the Germans really dictated policy anyway. This concession was made mostly to give the appearance to the world that Hitler was not out to conquer the world, just defending himself after France and England declared war on him. This was supposed to buy some time to build up for the invasion of England. Later when it became obvious that nobody believed him any more, the Germans simply took over the rest of France.

Answer 4

His world order for Europe included the Vichy government as one of the puppet states. They were not slavs, therefore not subhuman and subject to subjegation (sp). In Hitler's eyes, the French were distant relatives to the Germanic (sic Arayan) tribes from pre-Roman times. This also included the Angles, Saxons, Normans as well as the Franks.

Answer 5

He believed that the establishment of an allied state centered in Vichy would free up many German troops and administrators for service elsewhere.

Answer 6

He did.