On this day 7th September 1939, French Troops enter the Saarland, Germany.

On this day 7th September 1939, French Troops enter the Saarland, Germany.

On this day 7th September 1939, French Troops enter the Saarland, Germany.

The Saar Offensive is one of the much-talked of "what ifs" from the Second World, common for speaking about mistakes made by the French during their campaign in 1939-1940. 

The idea which is advanced is that if the French had continued their Saar Offensive and expanded it, then they could have managed to defeat the German army in the West while the majority of German troops were in Poland, putting an end to the Second World War almost before it had started.

The truth is slightly different. The German troops held the advantage of defending prepared fortification. In the West, the Germans had spent great amounts on the West Wall bordering France - twice the amount of steel and four times the amount of concrete as the French Maginot line, with thousands of bunkers, gun emplacements and mines protecting the border. The Germans also held the higher ground, a legacy arising from the defeat of Napoleon back in 1815.

It is true that the Germans had no Tanks but the German plan was to hold the French in a series of battles similar to World War 1, and wait for the rest of the German Army to arrive once Poland was defeated.

The German air force had kept substantial forces present in the region - 1,300 aircraft with 490 BF 109s, 500 He 111s, and 40 Stukas. In effect, even with much of the German air force's attention devoted to Poland, the Germans still had aerial supremacy in the region - and many of their fighter pilots had much more experience than the French, due to operations over Spain in the Condor Legion.

French reconnaissance aircraft were unable to operate due to intense Luftwaffe fighter resistance, which meant French units were attacking blind. In the case of a German counter-attack, the French would have no warning. The French stopped their offensive entirely once it became clear that Poland was lost, with the Soviet invasion of September 17th.