"Stuka" dive bombers carried out intensive bombing in all directions of advancement, and "Messerschmitt" fighter jets suppressed the British and French fighter jets.
The roads were flooded with refugees, and these helpless refugees were not only attacked by the Luftwaffe, but also intimidated by their own panicked and demoralized soldiers and gendarmes.
Soon, the refugees were forced into a ditch on the roadside by German tanks. When the vehicles passed by, the confident young German soldiers on the vehicles waved to them arrogantly.
Although the German army rarely deliberately harmed fleeing civilians, it left an impression of absolute invincibility wherever it went.
By the evening of that day, the German armored forces were only 19 kilometers away from Laon. French Defense Minister Daradier ordered a counterattack, but the French commander-in-chief General Gamelin responded that there was no reserve because the main forces of the French army were blocked.
On the flanks of the Maginot Line.
At the same time, Gamelin announced that he could no longer assume the responsibility for the defense of Paris and ordered a full withdrawal of the French army in Belgium. Fortunately, these orders from the French army were copied to the commander of the British Expeditionary Force, Lord Gott, so that he could ensure
The British Expeditionary Force divisions deployed at Deal retreated together.
It was obvious that the Allies were suffering serious disaster and the French government was preparing to withdraw from Paris.
Similarly, London was also politically paralyzed at this time - Winston.
Churchill had just succeeded Neville at this time.
When Chamberlain became Prime Minister, it was left to General Gott to decide whether to abandon France or risk losing most of the British Expeditionary Force in a last-ditch attempt to save the situation.
Faced with the approaching disaster, Churchill flew to Paris on the evening of May 16. Previously, he had been killed in his sleep by French Prime Minister Paul.
Reno's call evoked. Reno declared: "We have failed! We have failed! We have lost the war!"
Renault's call revealed the general low morale in France.
Churchill's trip had two purposes. One was to encourage the core of French politics, and the other was to learn personally about the real situation of the war. After hearing Gamelin's answer to his question "Where are the strategic reserve forces?" Churchill's response
In an obviously sad mood, Gamelin's answer was "No!" But even so, Churchill refused to give up hope.
The extremely disappointed French leaders were unwilling to adopt this feasible plan on the pretext of lack of air power. Finally, Churchill proposed that Britain would send all the Royal Air Force fighter squadrons prepared for home defense to France. This plan was finally accepted by France.
. Even so, the development of the war situation seems to indicate that the German army is very likely to attack the Channel Coast or Paris within a few days, or even both situations occur. If this is true, the British and French armies in the north will most likely face being disintegrated or even defeated.
Total annihilation is inevitable unless both sides reach a comprehensive ceasefire.
Churchill returned to England the next morning, and during his trip his tenacity exerted an influence on the French leadership, causing them to at least agree to organize some form of counterattack against the German vanguard as he proposed. However, the Allies
The slow pace of the army's plan meant that it would take four days to organize such a counterattack. Even so, the situation was still a mess. By the evening of May 20, Guderian's armored spearheads had arrived at Abbeville, the mouth of the Somme.
At this time, the German army's front can be said to be at its weakest. If there is any best time for the Allied forces to attack the German army, it is at this time.
On May 21, 4 British infantry brigades and 1 tank brigade launched an advance south from Arras.
According to the plan, 2 French infantry divisions and 1 light mechanized division will provide support on both wings, and a French army of the same size will also launch an attack from the south at the same time, eventually joining the British army.
But the result was that only the British and French light mechanized divisions took action as required.
Indeed, their attack forced the German SS "Totenkopf" to retreat significantly. Later, in order to vent their anger, the SS "Totenkopf" massacred 100 British prisoners of war at the Paradise Hotel in Paris.
However, the British tank troops soon discovered that the road to attack was blocked by Rommel's 7th Armored Division. Rommel used an 88 mm caliber flak gun to attack the British heavy infantry tanks. Actual combat showed that the British tanks were incapable of defeating the Germans.
This small anti-tank weapon was extremely vulnerable. After a brief exchange of fire, the German 7th Armored Division drove the British army back to its original position and threatened to encircle it. Nonetheless, this battle at least made Rommel worried.
!
By the evening of May 23, Gott had ordered the British troops farther north to begin to retreat.
Two days later, the situation became more urgent and he had to quickly retreat his troops to the Atlantic coast and to England. Even so, he could only save a quarter of the troops under his command.
In this way, with a self-responsible attitude, he issued the necessary orders: the British 3rd Army retreated to the beaches on both sides of Dunkirk, and the 1st Army retreated to control the west flank. On its right was a French division, and on its left was a French division.
On the flank is the British 2nd Army. At the same time, the Belgian army is responsible for controlling the east flank.
However, on May 28, King Leopold of Belgium signed an armistice agreement with Germany, and the Belgian army ceased to exist. As a result, a large gap appeared on the left wing of the British position.
This gap was blocked overnight by the 3rd Infantry Division led by Major General Montgomery. This was an efficient maneuver carried out under extremely difficult conditions. It would be no exaggeration to say that this operation saved the British Expeditionary Force.
At this moment, fate helped the Allies. Hitler ordered the German armored forces to stop advancing, which gave the British army a breathing space and time to organize the largest retreat in history:
"Operation Dynamo"!
Operation Dynamo was an attempt to rescue British troops and as many French troops as possible from the German encirclement.
More than a thousand ships of various types participated in this rescue operation, ranging from Royal Navy anti-aircraft cruisers to various small sampans. These ships were driven by their owners, and hundreds of small boats were launched from the south bank or the Thames River into the sea.
Departing from the berth, crossing the English Channel and sailing to the other side. During the operation, at least 250 ships were sunk by the Germans, and many ship owners were killed or injured. However, this operation saved the lives of a large number of soldiers, and it was these soldiers who formed the new
The main body of the army. Before the operation began, the Allies' greatest wish was to rescue approximately 50,000 people, but in fact, during this miraculous nine-day operation, all the people were evacuated to the British coast, among which, according to Churchill
According to reports, the French army exceeded 100,000.
On May 31, Churchill returned to Paris and reached an agreement with France. The British army would share the post-intervention mission with the French army, and the French army in Dunkirk would withdraw to the UK in the same proportion as the British army.
When the rescue operation was carried out, the French army was engaged in fierce fighting with the German army south of Dunkirk, but this army could no longer reach the seaside.
At the end of the rescue operation, many soldiers who finally reached the shore gave up the chance to escape, and the last fleet returned almost empty.
A considerable number of the escaped French troops quickly decided that they did not want to live in Britain and eventually chose to return to France. In this way, Churchill's good intentions were largely in vain.
However, for the British people, the escape of the main force of the British Expeditionary Force in Dunkirk was a miracle. This boosted people's spirits to a great extent. For this reason, Churchill issued a necessary warning to the people.
"We must be very careful not to describe this rescue as a victory." He said in a congressional report, "Wars are not won by retreat." But the miracle of Dunkirk allowed Britain to continue fighting.
Part of Hitler's armored forces ignored increasingly fierce Allied resistance in areas such as Normandy and turned westward, advancing at an incredible speed to secure the Atlantic coast.
Other troops advanced southward, completely avoiding the Maginot Line, leaving the more than 400,000 French troops guarding these useless fortifications at a loss and demoralized.
Once the German army occupied Dunkirk and the west coast of France as far as Abbeville and the mouth of the Somme River, nothing could stop the German army from advancing southward and into the heart of France except Hitler's orders.
As early as May 29, the head of state told Rundstedt and Bock that his next plan was to "settle accounts with the French team." Britain could wait a little longer, or it would be better to reach an agreement. He
It is believed that as Germany and its partners take control of Europe, Britain will eventually have to sue for peace.
As a result, long before the Dunkirk evacuation ended, Bock ordered his 18th Army to eliminate the remaining resistance forces in Belgium and forcibly advance westward. At the same time, he ordered other troops of Army Group B to go south to seize the front-line positions on the Somme River and fight with Long
Infantry and armored divisions fought side by side as Destetter approached the coast!
By June 5, the 10 armored divisions of the two army groups had been redeployed and organized into five armored corps.
At dawn that day, under the guidance of a dense bomber group, two armored corps set out from the bridgehead west of Amiens and advanced towards the Seine River.
"Today, with the support of powerful new military forces, the second great offensive begins!" Hitler announced. At the same time, General Weygand also appealed to the French army: "Our country is being ravaged, let us
Let us use this to inspire our unflinching determination. The destiny of the country and the future of our children completely depend on your strength."
For an army in despair, this was not the most motivating speech.
However, the "hedgehogs" that the French army hastily assembled around the strategic node selected by its commander also blocked the large-scale German attack for several hours and destroyed the leading German armor that entered the attack range.
troops, forcing the German commander to suspend the attack and think about countermeasures.
"The resistance of the French army is strengthening," a German commander wrote in the report, "the French army is using a new combat method to fight us!" (To be continued