In the air, the Luftwaffe still concentrated on airfields and transport hubs, and the main forces on the Netherlands. In the Ardennes direction, it is quiet so as not to reveal intentions. German aircraft also played a significant role in helping the German armored forces on the march, as they were able to quickly detect traffic jams. The French Air Force still did not launch any attacks, and the only attack on the Germans in the Ardennes direction was launched by the British Air Force, which shot down 7 of the 8 with heavy anti-aircraft fire. Fifteen Belgian bombers tried to destroy the bridge over the Albert Canal, which had been seized by German glider forces, and 10 were shot down without the bridge being damaged at all. At 4:30 p.m., Gammelin instructed to concentrate the air force in the direction of Belgium, apparently still confused by the feint of the Germans.

The Allied forces advancing into Belgium were in the northernmost part of the battle line and the farthest distance, and the French 7th Army, which was rushing towards Breda, was moving smoothly and doubtfully. Dozens of kilometers away, the Luftwaffe was bombing the Dutch, why let them go. The French march also went smoothly and was not disturbed by the Luftwaffe. (apparently the Luftwaffe did not want to prevent them from falling into the trap), the morale of the ordinary British soldiers was high, and that night the French troops had almost arrived at the designated line along the Belgian border and began to set up defenses.

The French 1st Army did not go so well, and along the way they encountered a tidal wave of Belgian refugees, a pessimistic picture. The cavalry corps of General Prios, who was in the vanguard of the Belgians, had reached their appointed position, and they were shocked to find that the fortifications that the Belgians had promised to repair in advance did not exist. Immediately afterwards, the news came that the German team had broken through the defense line of the Albert Canal in Belgium, and the fortress of Emar had also been lost. General Prios estimated that the Germans would soon attack his cavalry corps, and he would not have time to prepare his positions. Therefore, he suggested to the commander of the 1st Army Group, General Bierot, that the cavalry corps be withdrawn to the line of the Suerde, which was in fact tantamount to abandoning the Breda plan of Ganmalin and returning to the original plan of the Suld. Greatly alarmed, Bill Ott hurried to General Prios, telling him that the Breda plan was now impossible to reverse. He was to speed up the timetable for the march of the 1st Army, and at the same time, to ask the cavalry corps to hold on until 14 June.

In the Netherlands, resistance was crumbling at a frightening pace, and the German 9th Panzer Division passed through the Maas River on Belgian territory from the bridge captured by the Brandenburg troops. The Dutch had to shrink their lines to cover the Dutch hinterland and Rotterdam. Thus, by the time the French 7th Army arrived in Breda in an attempt to make contact with the Dutch, the Dutch troops had already withdrawn. At noon, the 7th Army and the German 9th Panzer Division met near Tilburg. This time, the Luftwaffe really began to bomb indiscriminately, and the 7th Army was caught off guard by the air raids and sudden encounters of enemy aircraft, and retreated in the direction of Antwerp. By now, it can be said that the Breda plan for Gammelin has largely failed.

News of the New York newspaper of the same day: Germany claimed to have captured an important fortress, and even if this is true, this fortress is not important, because only one captain was awarded a medal.

The Allied newspapers of the day generally gave the impression that the German offensive had been blocked by the Netherlands and Belgium. This is the cornerstone of the Gamma Forest Project. In reality, however, the situation in the Netherlands was almost hopeless. In the north and center of the Netherlands, the German ** team, with the help of paratroopers (who had already taken Arnhem on the first day), had broken through the Dutch defenses and already threatened the heart of the Netherlands. In the south of the Netherlands, the 9th Panzer Division killed Muldijk, where paratroopers were still holding the bridge over the Maas River. By this evening, Muldike had fallen into German hands, and all hope of a convergence of the French 7th Army and the Dutch army was completely lost.

By this time, the Dutch army could only retreat to the sea and cover Rotterdam, Amsterdam, The Hague in the interior of the Netherlands. There is only one aircraft left in the Dutch Air Force. And the situation of the French 7th Army was also extremely bad. They were constantly under fire from the Luftwaffe, and most of the tanks were still being transported forward on the railroad. Its right flank was seriously threatened by the 9th Panzer Division. Under these conditions, General Thilaud decided to retreat to cover Antwerp.

In front of the French 1st Army, Belgian troops were in a general retreat and attempting to occupy the Antwerp-Mesililine-Rubén line. (i.e. between the French 7th Army and the British Expeditionary Force). In this way, the cavalry corps of General Prios, the vanguard of the 1st French Army, lost its barrier. The commander of the 1st Army Group, General Bir Ott, had realized this yesterday and ordered the rest of the 1st Army to arrive at their intended positions 24 hours in advance. To do this, the French had to march during the day and leave most of their artillery behind. The Luftwaffe bombarded the French marching columns all the way.

General Prios' cavalry corps had already engaged the advance of General Hopner's German 14th Panzer Corps. The cavalry corps performed valiantly and basically held the defensive line. Although the battle could be said to be unwon, it showed that under the same conditions, the French armoured forces were comparable to the German armoured forces. However, this was probably the first and last time that the French armoured forces had fought on equal terms in this campaign. By evening, only a part of the infantry of the 1st French Army reached the Dale line, and tomorrow General Prios's cavalry corps would have to deal with the main forces of General Hopner's two armored divisions alone.

The Allied chain of command also began to be disorganized, and although Gammelin was still not satisfied, the situation forced him to agree to General George's arrangement to be coordinated by General Bieraut in coordination with the Belgian army. This made the work of General Biraut very heavy, and he commanded five armies plus the Belgian army. His busy schedule left him without giving any instructions to the British Expeditionary Force for several days.

In the air, the main forces of the Allies remained focused on dealing with the feint attack of Bauk. The Allies were still unaware of the presence of a large armored force beneath the forests of the Ardennes. A few days ago, many French air force units moved their bases forward, and the elite I/54 ground attack group did not receive the necessary equipment until noon on the 12th. Therefore, most of the attack missions on the 12th were carried out by the British Royal Air Force. Mainly for bridges over the Maas River in the Netherlands. Seven of the nine Breham bombers that attacked the Dutch bridge over the Maas River were shot down. At noon on the 12th, the I/54 Group was finally ready, and eight of the 18 aircraft were shot down in a low-altitude attack on targets in the Netherlands. The losses of the other sorties are about the same proportion. A large number of 20mm and 37mm accompanying German armored forces and infantry proved to be extremely effective against low-altitude aircraft. It must be stated that the waste of forces of the Allied Air Force in this direction will seriously affect the critical phase of the campaign.

The French Air Force's reconnaissance report that day showed that a strong German column was crossing the Ardennes Forest and found that the German troops were carrying a large number of bridge-building tools. At 4 p.m., General Georges expressed his desire to shift the focus of the air force to the Ardennes, but the commander of the 1st Army Group, General Bieraut, only focused on the situation in front of the French 1st Army and insisted that 2/3 of the air force be used for the Netherlands and Belgium. The French Air Force, on its own initiative, used 50 aircraft to attack the Germans in the Ardennes direction, and 18 failed to return.

In the Sedan direction, on the night of the 11th-12th, Guderian took advantage of the hasty retreat of the cavalry units of the French 9th Army and quickly crossed the Maas River, and the motorcycle battalion of the German 17th Panzer Division first crossed the river in Sedan in the darkness of the night, creating a strong bridgehead before the defenders had time to react. Under the cover of this bridgehead, German tanks also crossed the river. As a result, the left flank of the 2nd Cavalry Division of the 5th French Army was exposed to German attacks. Downstream of Sedan, on the front of the French cavalry defenses, Lieutenant Colonel Balk's 1st Infantry Regiment also crossed the river in a shallow section. Guderian had been satisfactorily observing the river crossings and bridge-building of the 17th and 18th Panzer Divisions all morning, and he personally encountered three Allied air raids. The Allied Air Force, despite its losses, repeatedly attacked the German bridges over the Maas River (as mentioned earlier, 50 bombers lost 18 of them.) The French heavy artillery deployed in Sedan also accurately bombarded the German bridge-building work. In the air, Allied fighters showed what kind of results would be if used correctly. Five American-made Chlutis fighters attacked 12 unescorted Stuka dive bombers, shooting them all down, followed by another wave.

By the end of the morning, Guderian's armored forces had already crossed the Maas River for the most part and began to storm France. According to the road signs, Sedang is 18 km away. German armoured units had already passed through the "impassable" Ardennes Forest, and in the thin morning light it was already possible to see the heights on the Metz River. There, 70 years ago, the Prussian king and Bismarck commanded the 1st Franco-Prussian War.

By this time, the commander of the 2nd French Army, General Hunter Ziger, had already realized that the cavalry units had to retreat due to the outflanks being outflanked. A battalion of the 55th Infantry Division, assigned to the cavalry units, was in disarray during the retreat: "The soldiers were scattered in the woods, panicked, unable to find routes and transports, and one battalion could only concentrate 300 men, completely incapacitated", which almost foreshadowed the outcome of the French reserve units of the same level behind Sedan, under the onslaught of the German armored forces.

The 2nd French Cavalry Division remained relatively calm in the morning, mainly because the German 18th Panzer Division opposite it also turned in the direction of Sedan, but due to the retreat of the 5th French Cavalry Division, the division was also ordered to retreat. The retreat proceeded in an orderly manner, and many soldiers wept at abandoning the fortifications without firing a single shot. However, General Hunter Ziger's plan to hold the border fell through within hours. The tanks of the German 1st Panzer Division bit the French 5th Cavalry Division to the death and pursued fiercely. By 2 p.m., the 5th French Cavalry Division had to retreat again to Sedan. Four hours later, the 5th Cavalry Division retreated across the Mes River and abandoned Sedan despite Ganmarin's order to defend Sedan to the death. By dusk, the main forces of the German 1st Panzer Division were already stationed in Sedan. The bridges over the river have all been blown up (after the defeat of France, many people made excuses, including Prime Minister Reynaud, accused someone of treason and deliberately did not blow up the bridge. Guderian's only concern was that the 2nd Panzer Division had not yet caught up because of yesterday's traffic chaos...... (To be continued.) )