FRENCH ARMOUR A GUIDE TO PAINTING & WEATHERING TECHNIQUES USING TAMIYA'S FRENCH WWII AFV MODELS English. 108 pages. Soft cover The French campaign began on May 10, 1940, with the German army's invasion of the Netherl&s. After five weeks of fighting, it ended with the collapse of the French army. In the public imagination, this defeat-often wrongly described as a total rout-is blamed on outdated equipment, supposedly outmatched by that of the German military.