Editing Waffen-SS (section)

====France and the Netherlands====
The three SS divisions and the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} spent the winter of 1939 and the spring of 1940 training and preparing for the coming war in the west. In May, they moved to the front, and the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} was attached to the army's [[227th Infantry Division]]. The ''Der Führer'' Regiment was detached from the SS-VT Division and attached to the [[207th Security Division|207th Infantry Division]]. The SS-VT Division minus ''Der Führer'' was concentrated near [[Münster]] awaiting the invasion of the [[Netherlands]]. The SS ''Totenkopf'' and Polizei Divisions were held in reserve.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=152}}

On 10 May, the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} overcame Dutch border guards to spearhead the German advance of X Corps into the Netherlands, north of the rivers towards the Dutch [[Grebbe Line]] and subsequently the Amsterdam region. The neighbouring ''Der Führer'' Regiment advanced towards the Grebbe Line in the sector of the [[Grebbeberg]] with as a follow-up objective the city of [[Utrecht]]. The [[Battle of the Grebbeberg]] lasted three days and took a toll on ''Der Führer''. On 11 May, the SS-VT Division crossed into the Netherlands south of the rivers and headed towards [[Breda]]. It fought a series of skirmishes before ''Germania'' advanced into the Dutch province of Zeeland on 14 May. The rest of the SS-VT Division joined the northern front against the forces in [[Antwerp]]. On the same day, the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} entered [[Rotterdam]].{{sfn|Stein|2002|pp=62–64}} After the surrender of Rotterdam, the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} left for [[The Hague]], which they reached on 15 May, capturing 3,500 Dutch soldiers as [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]].{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=154}}

In France, the SS ''Totenkopf'' Division was involved in the only Allied tank counterattack in the Battle of France. On 21 May, units of the [[1st Army Tank Brigade (United Kingdom)|1st Army Tank Brigade]], supported by the [[50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division]], took part in the [[Battle of Arras (1940)|Battle of Arras]]. The SS ''Totenkopf'', on the southern flank of the [[7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|7th Panzer Division]], was overrun, finding their standard [[anti-tank gun]], the [[3.7 cm Pak 36|3.7 cm PaK 36]], was no match for the British [[Matilda II]] tank.{{sfn|Harman|1980|p=100}}

After the Dutch surrender, the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} moved south to France on 24 May. Becoming part of the [[XIX Army Corps|XIX Panzer Corps]] under the command of General [[Heinz Guderian]], they took up a position 15 miles south west of [[Dunkirk]] along the line of the Aa Canal, facing the Allied defensive line near Watten.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=154}} A patrol from the SS-VT Division crossed the canal at [[Saint-Venant]], but was destroyed by British armour. A larger force from the SS-VT Division then crossed the canal and formed a bridgehead at Saint-Venant; 30 miles from Dunkirk.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=154}} That night the OKW ordered the advance to halt, with the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] trapped. The {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} paused for the night. However, on the following day, in defiance of Hitler's orders, Dietrich ordered his 3rd Battalion to cross the canal and take the heights beyond, where British artillery observers were putting the regiment at risk. They assaulted the heights and drove the observers off. Instead of being censured for his act of defiance, Dietrich was awarded the [[Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross]].{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|pp=143, 154}} On that same day, British forces attacked Saint-Venant, forcing the SS-VT Division to retreat.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=154}}

On 26 May, the German advance resumed. On 27 May, the ''Deutschland'' Regiment of the SS-VT Division reached the Allied defensive line on the [[Lys (river)|Leie River]] at [[Merville, Nord|Merville]]. They forced a bridgehead across the river and waited for the SS ''Totenkopf'' Division to arrive to cover their flank. What arrived first was a unit of British tanks, which penetrated their position. The SS-VT managed to hold on against the British tank force, which got to within 15 feet of commander [[Felix Steiner]]'s position. Only the arrival of the ''Totenkopf'' ''[[Panzerjäger]]'' platoon saved the ''Deutschland'' Regiment from being destroyed and their bridgehead lost.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=155}}

That same day, as the SS ''Totenkopf'' Division advanced near Merville, they encountered stubborn resistance from British Army units, which slowed their advance.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=155}} The SS ''Totenkopf'' 4 Company, then committed the [[Le Paradis massacre]], where 97 captured men of the 2nd Battalion, [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] were machine gunned after surrendering, with survivors finished off with [[bayonet]]s. Only two men survived.{{sfn|Jackson|2001|pp=285–288}}

By 28 May, the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} had taken the village of [[Wormhout]], only ten miles from Dunkirk.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=154}} After their surrender, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, [[Royal Warwickshire Regiment]], along with some other units (including French soldiers), were taken to a barn in ''La Plaine au Bois'' near Wormhout and [[Esquelbecq]]. It was there that troops of the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}}'s 2nd Battalion committed the [[Wormhoudt massacre]], where 81 British and French prisoners of war were murdered.{{sfn|Butler|2001|pp=81–83}}{{sfn|Weale|2012|pp=251–253}}

By 30 May, the British were [[Dunkirk evacuation|cornered at Dunkirk]], and the SS divisions continued the advance into France. The {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} reached [[Saint-Étienne]], 250 miles south of Paris, and had advanced further into France than any other unit.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=143}} By the next day, the fighting was all but over.{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=156}} German forces arrived in Paris unopposed on 14 June and France formally surrendered on 25 June. Hitler expressed his pleasure with the performance of the {{lang|de|Leibstandarte}} in the Netherlands and France, telling them, "Henceforth it will be an honour for you, who bear my name, to lead every German attack."{{sfn|Flaherty|2004|p=143}}