Iron ore production in Europe 1900-1945, by country

From the years between 1900 and 1945, France was the largest iron ore producer in Europe; however, output varied greatly per year during the most tumultuous period in Europe's modern history. Iron was one of the most important resources during this time due to its use in the production of steel; the most important metal in war manufacturing. Throughout this time, Germany or France generally had the largest annual iron ore output, and much of this was through control of Alsace-Lorraine. Alsace-LorraineThe Franco-Prussian War of 1870 led to the foundation of Germany as a nation state and the German annexation of Alsace and Moselle (northern Lorraine) from France. This was the resource-rich, industrial region just west of the Rhine, and it had a large population with mixed French and German heritage. The emerging German Empire then invested heavily in the region, and it was essential in their empirical expansion and industrialization at the turn of the century, even more so with the outbreak of the First World War. The region was then retroceded to France through the Treaty of Versailles, and in the late 1920s the annual iron output of France was already greater than the other five nations combined. In 1930, the Great Depression then saw the international demand for iron ore drop, but most countries' industries began growing again in 1933 (although the Russian economy was fairly unaffected by the Depression). Alsace Lorraine was then invaded again by Germany in 1940, although iron output was much lower as a large portion of the population was evacuated or conscripted into the German army.WWII in ScandinaviaIn the years leading up to the Second World War, industry in Germany relied heavily on the import of Swedish iron ore, and the German war effort depended on this supply from 1939 onward. While the Scandinavian countries maintained neutrality at the war's outset, Finland's Winter War with the Soviet Union posed a threat to the Swedish iron industry, largely located in the north. Germany then invaded both Denmark and Norway in order to protect its supply chain from an Allied attack from the west, although Sweden was allowed to maintain its neutrality. The German invasion of Scandinavia provided many tactical advantages, and formed a large part of Germany's "Atlantic Wall" defenses, however most historians concur that the primary reason for Germany's invasion of Scandinavia was to protect its trade with Sweden.

自1900年至1945年，法国在欧洲地区堪称最大的铁矿石生产国；然而，在这一欧洲现代史上最为动荡的时期，其产量年际间波动显著。铁矿石在此期间被视为至关重要的资源，因其广泛应用于钢铁的生产，而钢铁又是战争制造业中最重要的金属。在此期间，德国或法国通常拥有最高的年度铁矿石产量，其中很大一部分产量得益于对阿尔萨斯-洛林地区的控制。阿尔萨斯-洛林地区，1870年的法德战争导致了德意志民族国家的建立，德国从法国手中吞并了阿尔萨斯和摩泽尔（洛林北部），这一富含资源、工业发达的地区位于莱茵河西岸，人口众多，具有法德混血血统。新兴的德意志帝国对这一地区进行了大量投资，这对于其世纪之交的实证扩张和工业化进程至关重要，尤其是随着第一次世界大战的爆发。该地区随后在凡尔赛条约中被归还给法国，到了20世纪20年代末，法国的年度铁矿石产量已经超过了其他五个国家的总和。1930年，大萧条导致国际对铁矿石的需求下降，但大多数国家的工业在1933年开始复苏（尽管苏联经济受大萧条影响较小）。1940年，阿尔萨斯-洛林再次被德国入侵，但由于大量人口被疏散或征召入伍，铁矿石产量大幅降低。第二次世界大战期间，斯堪的纳维亚半岛在战争前夕，德国的工业严重依赖瑞典铁矿石的进口，从1939年起，德国的战争努力依赖于这一供应。虽然斯堪的纳维亚国家在战争初期保持中立，但芬兰与苏联的冬季战争对瑞典的钢铁工业构成了威胁，该工业主要位于北部。为了保护其供应链免受盟国从西部的攻击，德国随后入侵了丹麦和挪威，尽管瑞典被允许维持其中立地位。德国对斯堪的纳维亚的入侵提供了许多战术优势，并构成了德国“大西洋壁垒”防御的一部分，然而，大多数历史学家都认为，德国入侵斯堪的纳维亚的主要原因是保护其与瑞典的贸易。