Tuesday 14 May 1940

1st Panzer Regiment crosses the Meuse near Sedan, 14 May 1940.

Western Front: 14 May 1940 is a bad day at French headquarters, where General Georges sobs openly. The Germans are across the Meuse in force, and many French units supposedly opposing them have melted away. General Touchon becomes commander of the French reserves, who must be rushed into battle to fill gaps in the line between the French 2nd (General Andre Georges Corap) and 9th (General Charles Huntziger) Armies near Sedan.

Meanwhile, Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 11. It essentially just commands that the Dutch are to be defeated, which is happening swiftly anyway. Events on the ground are happening faster than the Generals and dictators can keep up with.

Late in the day, the Dutch surrender in all provinces except Zeeland, where they continue to fight. They have lost 2300 KIA, 7000 wounded, 3000 civilians dead. The Germans on that front have lost 2900 KIA, 7000 wounded and 1300 paratroopers captured and taken to Great Britain.

Within the city of Sedan itself, the last French holdouts surrender after dark. Local French counterattacks fail.

Among other things, the breakthrough over the Meuse threatens the Belgian K-W Line. This recent defensive line (first established after the beginning of the war) starts with the National Redoubt at Antwerp runs south along the River Dijle, then to just behind the main Fortified Position of Liège. Travel on the roads is becoming virtually impossible, as they are clogged with an estimated 2 million refugees.

The German General Rudolf Schmidt reaches the Nieuwe Maas River and issues a surrender ultimatum in Rotterdam. He threatens a Luftwaffe assault. The Mayor of Rotterdam refuses any civilian evacuation, stating, "It would only cause panic." The Luftwaffe appears quickly - before the surrender ultimatum has expired - with around 50-100 Heinkel He 111 bombers (sources vary). They drop 95 tons of bombs, causing huge fires. There are estimates of over 800 dead and 85,000 homeless (all figures vary and are very tentative, probably higher). Rotterdam surrenders after much needless damage and loss of life, with Army Commander-in-chief General Winkelman himself broadcasting the local ceasefire, which includes Utrecht. Fighting continues in Zeeland, where Dutch troops are fighting with the French.

General Guderian's panzer divisions are across the Meuse. Allied air attacks against the pontoon bridges achieve little.

Guderian wants to sprint forward with his mobile forces - the opening is there. Previously on 12 May, he had requested permission to establish a large bridgehead. The OKW has been considering this, but this morning at 11:45 Guderian's superior General von Kleist rejects his request and orders him to maintain a bridgehead of 8 km (5 miles). However, Guderian slyly gets von Kleist, who is almost certainly only parroting what Hitler has ordered, to agree that he may engage in "reconnaissance in force" (Guderian threatens to resign, which is a fairly common tactic of his). The result is that there is no halt order, and Guderian sprints ahead anyway - to his own glory or peril, as the case may be.

Guderian, however, has more in mind than just lunging westward. He sends the 10th Panzer Division and Großdeutschland infantry regiment southeast in a feint to take the Maginot Line from the rear. French General Huntziger was going to use the direction - the same road, in fact - to attack Guderian's left flank. The German panzers run head-on into the armored 3e Division Cuirassée (DCR) at the Stonne plateau. This results in a stalemate on the German flank, with the main Wehrmacht effort to the west unhindered.

Guderian's westward thrust is wildly successful. He eviscerates the French Sixth Army west of Sedan, eliminating the flank protection of the French Ninth Army. The entire French Ninth Army collapses and begins to surrender. This unhinges the flank of the French 102nd Fortress Division at Monthermé, which the 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions destroy.

Slightly to the north, Erwin Rommel and his 7th "Ghost" Panzer Division of German 4th Army are across the Meuse. He drives the Allied troops back 3 miles to Onhaye, narrowly avoiding major injury (he has a shell splinter in his cheek). He breaks through the French Second Army, heading southwestward to Philippeville.

The French order some portions of the vaunted Maginot Line which have been outflanked to retreat. This demoralizes the troops involved, who believe in the fortifications. Most of the Maginot Line to the south, however, remains intact and unbreached.

Further north, General Erich Hoepner is being delayed more than anywhere else, and he wants results. General Stumpff leads his 3rd Panzer Division against the new French 1st Army line at Gembloux and General Sever leads his 4th Panzer Division against the same line at Perwez. The attack fails under heavy artillery fire until the German infantry catches up, at which point they make some progress. The battle is a minor French victory, as the Germans have been stalled all day long and both sides have lost numerous tanks. The Germans must attack again on the morrow, with the 4th Panzer Division in a better position than 3rd.

At Grebbeberg, the Dutch line has collapsed and they are in full retreat to the Waterline position. The Dutch move quickly and establish their new defensive position with 6 divisions by morning. The Germans are slow to pursue but have won the Grebbeberg battle, eliminating the best defensive positions in the sector. Both sides lost 200-400 men killed in the battle, with the Dutch faring worse.

At the Afsluitdijk in the far north, the Germans once again begin an artillery barrage in the morning as preparation for an attack. The Dutch fire from the sloop HNLMS Johan Maurits van Nassau in the Wadden Sea, which arrived during the night (and which the Germans don't know about). The sloop's 150 mm (5.9 inches) guns are devastating against the German artillery, silencing it within an hour. The German commander, General Kurt Feldt, breaks off the attack. How many German troops perished is subject to wildly different estimates from either side, the Germans claiming 5 deaths and 25 wounded, while local civilians claimed to see literally hundreds of dead bodies.

During the night, RAF Bomber Command sends 30 bombers to attack Monchengladbach and Aachen, reiterating the decision to bomb civilians.

The RAF sends 22 aircraft out to lay mines after dark.

Battle of the Atlantic: The Dutch scuttle numerous ships at Rotterdam to keep them out of German hands, including destroyers Tjerk Hiddes and Gerald Callenburgh and submarine O-12. The Germans do capture submarines O-26 and O-8.

The Germans also capture submarine O-25 at Schiedam.

The Luftwaffe makes several attacks against Dutch shipping, sinking Dutch gunboats Johan Maurits van Nassau and Brinio (scuttled).

Dutch transport Texelstroom gets away with 300 German POWs.

Convoy OA 148GF departs from Southend, Convoy OB 148 departs from Liverpool.

Norway: The British 24th Guards Brigade is on a transport heading to Mo i Rana south of Narvik when it is bombed. The ship is so badly damaged that it immediately departs for Scapa Flow, carrying the entire Brigade with it. As the force's commanding General, Brigadier Williams, on the ship, the person left in overall command of the force is Colonel Gubbins.

Junkers Ju 52s drop 66 1st Fallschirmjaeger Regiment troops at Narvik.

British Government: The new Minister of Aircraft Production is Lord Beaverbrook.

Secretary for War Anthony Eden broadcasts an appeal for volunteers to fill the Local Defence Volunteers (later renamed the Home Guard). Their role is to guard against German parachute landings.

Fires in Rotterdam, 14 May 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019

Sunday 12 May 1940

German tanks in the Ardennes, May 1940 (Blucher Federal Archive).

Allied Headquarters: General Gamelin, the Commander-in-Chief of the French forces, has his headquarters at Vincennes on 12 May 1940. He has no radio and notes that he does not even have a radio - so he has "no idea" where the front lies.

German Headquarters: Heinz Guderian is in command of German XIX Armeekorps (as he was during the Polish campaign) at Sedan. He favors an aggressive stance and proposes enlarging his bridgehead across the Meuse (he has 3 intact bridges) to 20 km (12 miles) deep. His superior, General Ewald von Kleist, orders him to be more cautious and limit his penetration to 8 km (5 miles). Hitler is wary of the tanks outrunning the infantry and seems to envisage a static campaign with a definite, unchanging front forming - as in his own experiences during World War I.

Western Front: The Dutch are making valiant defensive efforts at key points, but overall are being pushed back into their Fortress Holland defensive zone between Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The Germans advancing near Tilburg run into the French 7th Army and there is heavy fighting. The German advance continues.

The German Army Group A, led by Panzer Group Kleist, advances through the Ardennes and reaches Sedan without serious opposition. The column of military vehicles stretches back to the German border. This is the first German intrusion on French soil.

The French form up on the opposite bank with artillery support. The artillery shells Sedan during the night. The importance of Sedan is not the city itself, but the entry it provides to the heart of France. Its capture in 1870 essentially decided the Franco-Prussian war.

North of Sedan, the Germans are on the Meuse at Dinant. General Rommel's 7th Panzer Division is on the riverbank and he personally scouts out a way to cross it.

The Germans send a three-man scouting part to see if Fort Kornwerderzand at the Afsluitdijk is defended. The fort opens fire and kills two of the three men. The Germans decide to take the fort, beginning with Luftwaffe strikes.

The first tank battle of the campaign erupts between General René Prioux’s 2d French armored divisions (confusingly, Corps de Cavalerie) and the 3d and 4th Panzer Divisions at the Gembloux Gap. The 4th Panzer Division assaults toward Hannut, which protects the 6th Army's flank. They engage 25 French tanks and destroy 7 of them for no losses. The Germans probe toward Tirlemont, drawing Allied forces there while continuing toward Hannut. The French attempt a flank attack, which fails, and the German panzers run into a French strongpoint at Crehen.

The French are forced to retreat to Medorp after breaking out of an encirclement. They also abandon Hannut. In the evening, the Germans renew the attack and force the French strongpoint at Wansin to withdraw, but the rest of the French line holds. The outcome is a tentative French victory for having stopped the German advance, even if only temporarily. The French Somua S35 and Hotchkiss H35 tanks are good equipment, though they have their faults. They outclass the German Panzer Is and IIs, though the Panzer IIIs are more of a match.

The German 18th Army captures Eindhoven and continues pushing forward.

At Grebbeberg, the German 207th Infantry Division, supported by the SS Brigade Der Fuhrer, directly attacks the hill that dominates the defense. After an artillery barrage of several hours, the SS Brigade attacks. The SS men take an 18th Century fort, the Hoornwerk. This provides a wedge into the Dutch battle line, whose other guns cannot fire sideways. Dutch counterattacks fail. Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Hilmar Wäckerle, contrary to orders, moves his battalion forward, penetrates the Dutch line, and gets surrounded - but holds on. The Dutch bring up reinforcements and plan a flank attack on the Germans. It is a confusing situation, but the Germans have the initiative - if they can rescue the impetuous Wäckerle.

German 6th Army pushes across the Albert Canal toward Gembloux.

The German 9th Panzer division is heading to the Moerdijk bridges over Hollands Diep estuary. They are still held by German paratroopers. These bridges, 10 miles south of Rotterdam, prevent the Allies from reinforcing Rotterdam.

The Allies have occupied the Dyle Line with the French 1st Army, 7th Army, 9th Army, and the British Expeditionary Force. The BEF is in position in Belgium.

The Allies hold a conference near Mons, including French Defense Minister Daladier, General Georges, General Billotte, British General Pownall, and Belgian King Leopold.

Fokker C.5RR 645 of III-2 LvR at Middenmeer after an emergency landing on 12 May 1940 (Photo: collection Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie).

European Air Operations: Fairey Battle light bombers of No. 12 Squadron attack the Veldwezelt bridge over the Albert Canal. The Germans have brought up anti-aircraft batteries to protect the bridge, which survives with damage.

The RAF sends 38 bombers over Hannut to support the defense of that town, losing 22, and the Arme de l'air sends over 18 new Breguet 693 bombers, losing 8. The Luftwaffe supports the ground operation there with 85 Bf 109s of JG 26, flying 340 sorties during the day. They claim 26 Allied planes for 4 of their own numbers. German anti-aircraft there also claims 25 planes.

The Allies send every available light bomber - some called from Hannut, which thereby loses air support - to attack the Meuse bridges at Sedan. They fail to make any hits and lose 44 percent of their number.

There are Luftwaffe air raids on Rotterdam, including incendiary bombs.

The Luftwaffe attacks and heavily damages Dutch gunboat Friso. It also performs minelaying operations in Belgian waters.

A French pilot, Capt. René Gavoille, reports miles-long Wehrmacht columns in the Ardennes. His superiors are dismissive, calling them "night phantoms." He has spotted Panzer Group Kleist and its 41,140 vehicles on narrow two-lane roads. When he takes off again and takes pictures, they call them "obvious fake tanks."

Adolph Galland, a veteran Luftwaffe ground-attack pilot from the Spanish Civil War, is now a fighter pilot and gains his first aerial victories of the war, destroying three Hurricanes.

Battle of the Atlantic: British ship Roek hits a mine and sinks in the North Sea.

Convoy OA 147 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 147 departs from Liverpool, Convoy HG 30F departs from Gibraltar, Convoy OG 29 forms at Gibraltar, and Convoy HX 42 departs from Halifax.

Norway: The British reinforce Mo i Rana with the British Scots Guards battalion from Harstad. The Germans have troops near Hamnesberget brought in by the seized Norwegian vessel Nord Norge, which the British have sunk (while empty).

Holland: The Dutch Crown Princess, her two daughters Irene and Beatrice, and Prince Bernharddeparts for the UK aboard destroyer HMS Codrington.

Spain: Francisco Franco reaffirms Spain's neutrality.

British Government: The new Chancellor of the Exchequer is Sir Kingsley Wood.

American Homefront: Shirley Temple cancels her film contract with 20th Century Fox and retires (temporarily) - at age 11.

German bicycle troops prepare to cross a river in Belgium by first removing their pants, 11/12 May, 1940.

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2019

Saturday 11 May 1940

Belgian soldiers surrender to German paratroopers at the bridge at Veldwezelt, 11 May 1940 (Ang, Federal Archive).

Western Front: The German offensive continues rolling on 11 May 1940. William Shirer, a US journalist, notes that there are "Great headlines today in Berlin papers over 'shameful' protests of the Low Countries against being invaded."

The 9th Panzer Division crosses the Meuse and finds an undefended bridge over the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal 50 miles from Rotterdam, enabling it to continue rolling westward.

The trapped Belgian troops at fortress Eben Emael surrender to the German 7th Flieger Division, clearing the pathway for the 6th Army to proceed over the Maas Canal and completing one of the most brilliant aerial assaults in history. German 6th Army pulls up to the Albert Canal below the fortress and sends tank spearheads across, which requires rushed reinforcements from further south - where the Germans are quietly rolling their main force through the Ardennes.
The Battle of the Grebbeberg gets rolling. This is the main defense line forward of "Fortress Holland" in the west. The Grebbeberg is a hill near Rhenen which offers panoramic views (a zoo which is a major tourist attraction is on the hill). German artillery of the 18th Army opens fire before dawn on the line's outposts, disabling Dutch communications. At first light, the SS brigade attacks. The Germans breach the right side of the line, which enables the attackers to surround the rest of the line. The entire outpost line falls. However, the hill itself - protected by a 47 mm (1.85 inches) gun) remains inviolate. The Dutch counterattack, but it degenerates into a chaotic disaster with Dutch units firing on each other - but it does forestall the Germans' own night attack.

The German columns pushing through the Ardennes face logistical issues on the forest roads, but no significant defenders. General Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer "Ghost" Division is in the lead of Army Group A and disperses a French Cavalry Unit guarding the road. Allied bombers are noticeably absent, partly due to Luftwaffe air superiority.

The French 1st Army, 7th Army, 9th Army, and British Expeditionary Force execute the "Dyle Plan," advancing to take up defensive positions on the Dyle River line. The German main assault does not lie there. Retreating Belgian troops join them. Hitler, when informed of his classic decoy move producing the desired results, says "I could weep for joy!"

The Fallschirmjäger (paratroops) operation at The Hague is one of the few blemishes on the Fall Gelb offensive. Generalleutnant Hans Graf von Sponeck's paratroops are scattered across dunes and do not control any of the airports they were dropped to capture. With his objective now impossible, von Sponeck receives orders to aid the assault on Rotterdam. In reality, he and his men now are hunted fugitives behind enemy lines, with hundreds of wounded and missing troops.

The paratroopers at Rotterdam are doing somewhat better. The 22nd Flieger Division holds bridges over the Niewe Maas River. The Dutch Marines launch furious attacks, but the paratroopers have nowhere to retreat to anyway, so a stalemate develops - which is to the Germans' benefit.

'The biggest traffic jam in history': German armor squeezes through the narrow gorges of the Ardennes on its way to France on 11 May 1940.

European Air Operations: The Luftwaffe is concentrating on ground support missions - a key element of "Blitzkrieg." The Allies are hampered by few airbases close to the scene of the battles and, quite frankly, often inferior equipment.

In terms of that equipment, the Fairey Battle light bomber is struggling. The RAF sends eight of them to attack German troops in Luxembourg and only one returns.

The Luftwaffe also is aggressively targeting Allied airfields. They make a low-level attack on the field of No. 114 Squadron and destroy its Bristol Blenheim bombers on the ground.

The Luftwaffe sinks Dutch liners Statendam and Veendam at Rotterdam.

The RAF sends 23 aircraft to attack bridges over the Maas at Maastricht, which the Germans captured on the 10th.

Overnight, the RAF sends 37 bombers to attack Monchengladbach - the first RAF bombing of a German town without military priority.

Battle of the Atlantic: U-9 (Oberleutnant zur See Wolfgang Lüth) torpedoes and sinks 1,930-ton British freighter Tringa just off the West Hinder buoy at the mouth of the Scheldt River. There are 6 survivors and 17 perish.

U-9 also sinks 1,908-ton Estonian freighter Viiu. There are 5 survivors and 15 perish.

British submarine HMS Narwhal sinks Kriegsmarine vessel V-1109.

HMS Seal, the only British submarine captured during the war, arrives in Frederikshavn, Denmark, under tow by German "UJ 128" (Unterseebootsjäger 128). It is immediately investigated by German technicians.

Convoy OA 146 departs from Southend, Convoy OB 146 departs from Liverpool.

US Government: President Roosevelt fulfills various obligations under the Neutrality Laws, issuing executive orders :

1. Recognizing the state of war that exists between Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; 
2. Proclaiming American neutrality in the conflict; and 
3. Restricting belligerent submarines from using American ports and territorial waters, exclusive of the Panama Canal Zone.

War Crimes: The British Air Ministry takes the radical step of authorizing attacks on purely civilian targets in Germany. This is a clear violation of international law which the Germans have violated as well in Poland and Finland. While this particular decision is not considered a war crime by many historians and "they did it first"... if things had turned out differently, it would be. War can be unavoidably morally ambiguous.

Dutch Commander of 2nd Corps General Harberts at Grebbeberg impanels a summary court-martial of a sergeant, Chris Meijer, accused of abandoning his post. Meijer is shot by firing squad the same day. There are possible issues of undue influence of Harberts in the matter with murky motivations.

Norway: British General Claude Auchinleck is in command of the British-French ground forces of what has become a classic sideshow campaign. Even that is not going well for the Allies.

The two Independent Companies and accompanying British light anti-aircraft detachments (who have to abandon their equipment) at Mosjøen evacuate during the early morning hours on Norwegian vessel Erling Jarl. Lt. Col. Gubbins pays the owners 5000 kroner for their assistance. The accompanying Norwegians are forced to retreat by road after the Germans occupied Hemnesberget on the 10th by using the commandeered vessel Nordnorge.

The German 2nd Mountain Division troops at Hemnesberget attack toward Mo i Rana. Other troops from the division occupy the evacuated Mosjøen. Still, other units of the division continue their march north toward Narvik to relieve General Dietl's regiment there.

German/Swedish Relations: A Swedish delegation meets with Hermann Goering regarding German use of the Narvik railway which runs through Sweden.

Caribbean: British and French troops continue occupying Dutch islands such as Curaçao and Aruba. President Roosevelt states that these actions do not violate the Monroe Doctrine (no foreign military actions in the Americas).

China: At the Battle of Tsaoyang-Ichang, the Chinese 5th War Area attacks the Japanese 11th Army around Tsaoyang, Tungpo, and Mingkang, but the Japanese break out of the encirclement and retreat eastward.

Belgian Homefront: The roads are clogged with refugees fleeing westward and southward. Most are on foot or on their bicycles. The Mayor of Bouillon, in a classic "business, is business" reaction to the war, refuses to quarter troops in hotels: "This is a resort town! Hotels are  reserved for tourists."

Dutch Homeland: Former Kaiser Wilhelm, living in exile in Holland, has had a somewhat dismissive opinion of Hitler. However, he refuses Winston Churchill's offer of sanctuary in the UK.

British Homefront: The  Manchester Guardian publishes an editorial stating that new Prime Minister Churchill "takes office with greater goodwill than any of our modern history."

"Contraband" starring Conrad Veidt hits the theatres. Veidt is a Lutheran German World War I veteran who fled Germany in 1933 due to the specter of Hitler's persecution of his Jewish wife.

The victors of Eben-Emael: Fallschirmjäger of Sturmabteilung Koch. (By Bundesarchiv, Billd 146-1971-011-27 / Büttner / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5441177)

May 1940

May 1, 1940: British Leave Åndalsnes
May 2, 1940: British Depart Namsos
May 3, 1940: Many Norwegians Surrendering
May 4, 1940: Bader Returns
May 5, 1940: HMS Seal Survives
May 6, 1940: Allies Focus on Narvik
May 7, 1940: In The Name of God, Go!
May 8, 1940: Exit Chamberlain
May 9, 1940: Enter Churchill
May 10, 1940: Fall Gelb
May 11, 1940: Eben Emael Surrenders
May 12, 1940: Germans at Sedan
May 13, 1940: Rommel at Work
May 14, 1940: German Breakout in France
May 15, 1940: Holland Surrenders
May 16, 1940: Dash to the Channel
May 17, 1940: Germans Take Brussels
May 18, 1940: Germans Take Antwerp
May 19, 1940: Failed French Counterattack
May 20, 1940: Panzers on the Coast
May 21, 1940: Battle of Arras
May 22, 1940: Attacking Channel Ports
May 23, 1940: British Evacuate Boulogne
May 24, 1940: Hitler's Stop Order
May 25, 1940: Belgian Defenses Creaking
May 26, 1940: Operation Dynamo
May 27, 1940: King Leopold Surrenders 
May 28, 1940: The Allies Take Narvik
May 29, 1940: Lille Falls
May 30, 1940: Operation Fish
May 31, 1940: Peak Day for Dynamo

2020