At this time, Germany can be described as high-spirited, and has already seized the initiative in this super war.

After taking control of all of Belgium, the Germans divided their forces to attack the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and on the other hand, they tried to penetrate into Amiens alone, encircling the Anglo-French-Belgian forces west of Lille and Kortrijk.

According to the data, the troops of the three countries who remained in these areas also had at least 400,000, including 150,000 British troops and 200,000 French troops.

If these troops could be completely surrounded and eaten, it would be much easier for Germany to attack France, and Britain and France would lose a considerable part of their forces.

However, Britain and France naturally understood the catastrophe that followed the encirclement. As early as the siege of Kortrijk, the Anglo-French Joint Operations Command held an emergency meeting and determined the evacuation site of 400,000 troops on the Franco-Belgian border, that is, Dunkirk, the northernmost port in France.

Speaking of Dunkirk, the location of this port city is still relatively important on the Franco-Belgian border.

As the northernmost city in France, Dunkirk is actually located in the rear of the whole of Belgium, and it is also the best evacuation place for British and French troops in Belgium.

Why stop the offensive? This is an unknown puzzle for Britain and France.

What is the basis for Goering?

Because of this, even knowing that Lille was already in danger and that it would only take a few days to break through Lille, Guderian still chose to stop the offensive and wait for further orders from the prime minister.

At the beginning of the offensive, the offensive of the German troops was very smooth.

On the frontal battlefield, the French army in Lille was already unable to resist the offensive of the German army. How to withdraw more than 300,000 Anglo-French troops from Dunkirk in a short period of time has become the biggest problem for Britain and France.

Although, at the request of the ally France, more than 250,000 troops were transported to the French and Belgian regions.

Although it was only a small number compared to the Anglo-French troops stranded on the Franco-Belgian border, the smooth success of the retreat plan on the first day gave hope to the British and French.

In fact, the German Prime Minister's choice cannot be said who is right or wrong.

The commander of the Luftwaffe, Goering, was furious at this time. At that time, he boasted to the prime minister that Haikou was served, and vowed that he could complete the attack on Dunkirk with only the air force and destroy the 400,000 British and French troops.

The resources of the island countries themselves are very poor, and because they are thousands of miles away, it is naturally impossible to help Germany in terms of materials.

The halt of the advance of the armored forces and the defeat of the infantry created enough opportunities for the retreat of Dunkirk.

However, on the very day of the breach of the Belgian capital, Brussels, the British wartime cabinet had already held an emergency meeting and made plans for the rapid withdrawal of British troops from Belgian territory.

The Germans sent a large number of air forces to Dunkirk and also bombed the Lille garrison.

The next day, the Lille garrison launched an even more fierce attack on the German troops.

German troops continued their offensive against the Anglo-French forces, trying to wipe out the Anglo-French forces on French territory.

On July 10, the Luftwaffe and the British and French air forces, which reacted, engaged in a fierce battle in the skies over Dunkirk.

After all, from the perspective of heritage and national strength, Germany has no strength to fight with Britain and France.

Under the orders of an enraged Air Marshal Goering, the Luftwaffe almost poured out, dispatching more than 1,800 planes and engaging the 1,500 planes of the Anglo-French coalition.

The attrition of those armored forces, the beating of any numbers, made the heart ache for the German government.

The terrain of Dunkirk, which was full of swamps and low-lying areas, was not suitable for armored troops, which was why the offensive was hindered when it reached the French area.

However, this terrain had no effect on the Air Force, which could continue to pose a threat to the British and French forces on the front line in Dunkirk and Lille, and help the Army occupy these areas.

In such a situation, if there is a way to save part of the material consumption and preserve the strength of the armored forces, then it will naturally attract the attention of the German government.

If Germany's successive defeats of Poland and the Austrian Empire only made the British see the strength of the German army, then the encirclement and annihilation of more than 100,000 French troops by Germany in the frontal battlefield made the British see the arduousness and difficulties of the previous war.

Under the plan, the British government will mobilize more than 800 transport vessels over the course of a week.

Judging by the combat capabilities and attitudes of most Belgian troops, this retreat will only fail.

The elite German armoured army made the British and French unable to resist at all, and even the carefully deployed French defense line in Lille was in vain.

This also allowed the French army to find an opportunity.

But if we look back at Germany, we can understand why the German Chancellor gave such an order.

Considering the overall situation, although the situation of the German army was very good at this time, the consumption of weapons and equipment was unprecedented.

However, during the attack on 1 July, the armored forces led by German General Guderian did not cooperate with the infantry.

There's no way around it. Counting on the Belgian army was tantamount to handing over the hope of victory in the retreat from Dunkirk to Belgium.

For this great retreat, Britain has actually been preparing for a long time.

But it also represents the exposure of the British evacuation operation. The Anglo-French forces in the line of defense were greatly reduced, and the German army naturally sensed that something was wrong.

On July 9, with heavy fog, nearly 57,000 people were evacuated throughout the day, setting a new evacuation record.

In summer, the air humidity in the Dunkirk region is relatively high. The higher humidity creates a hazy fog that envelops not only the entire beach, but also the modest port city.

But the reality now gave Goering a resounding slap in the face. Britain and France withdrew most of the army under his nose, and even if the air force could help the army occupy Dunkirk, it would only lose two unpopulated cities for Britain and France, and the casualties of the army were actually not large.

As of July 9, it took only 10 days for the British and French forces to evacuate more than 220,000 troops, which is an extremely exaggerated figure.

What's more, it's just across the sea from the English city of Dover, with a straight-line distance of only about 70 kilometres between the two cities.

This also led to the Germans gaining the upper hand in the head-to-head battle of the air force, winning the air battle, and shooting down at least 200 British and French aircraft, sinking more than 21 large ships, severely damaging at least seven British destroyers, and killing tens of thousands of people directly at sea.

Under such circumstances, the German government had to face the major effects of a large-scale war and a general shortage of supplies.

From the night of 1 July, a larger retreat was in full swing and more than 7,500 troops were successfully evacuated that day, seven times as many as the previous day.

On 29 June, German troops launched a full-scale offensive on the line from Dunkirk to Lille.

After all, if the name of the plan is the Dunkirk Evacuation Plan, wouldn't this be equivalent to telling the Germans all the main contents of the plan?

In order to prevent a possible retreat of Britain and France, the Germans deployed a large number of mines in the English Channel, and there were also submarine cruises.

But all the German troops knew it in their hearts, because it was an order from the German government, from their trusted and loyal Chancellor.

As long as any city was conquered, the Anglo-French retreat plan would be shattered, and the 400,000 troops would officially enter the encirclement of the German army.

However, because the French had evacuated the population of these two cities in time, the German air raids caused only a small number of casualties to the army, and most of the shells landed on the seashore or in the open area.

Each additional ship gave the British army in Belgium one more hope of survival.

I thought it would be a tough battle, but what I didn't expect was that there was a problem within the German army itself.

On 5 July, the fighting on the front lines of Lille and Dunkirk finally subsided a little, as the Germans stopped their offensive.

The Anglo-French air force, in order to protect the evacuation of the fleet, was actually fighting with distraction.

That night, 17,800 soldiers were evacuated, setting a new record for the number of evacuees in a single day.

It was German Army Group B that captured Belgium and continued its attack on France. This army group had a large number of armored units and infantry, as well as a sufficient number of artillery.

In the case of armored forces, the effect of fog is actually negligible. But at this time, it was the Air Force that was responsible for assisting the Army, and the Air Force was the army that was severely affected by the fog.

However, the Germans withdrew their armored forces, which also completely relieved the Anglo-French forces along the entire defensive line.

In order to hold off the Germans and not arouse the suspicion of the Germans, some 50,000 French troops would remain as bait to protect more Anglo-French troops from Dunkirk to the UK.

That evening, the retreat plan continued.

If all these troops were allowed to escape, I am afraid that Goering, the commander of the Luftwaffe, would not be able to sit on his laurels.

If you don't look at it from God's point of view, there is nothing wrong with such a decision.

On the first night of the operation, the British managed to evacuate about 1100 people from Dunkirk.

The only thing that could potentially help Germany was Italy. However, Italy itself is not rich in mineral resources, and Germany's domestic mineral reserves are even better than Italy's.

On the afternoon of 1 July, a German infantry division that had launched a rash attack was surrounded by two French infantry divisions and a tank brigade, and the two sides fought fiercely for a long time, which finally ended in the victory of the French army.

If the armored forces were not withdrawn, although it was possible to suffer greater losses, it was quite possible to complete their offensive according to plan and prevent the retreat of the Anglo-French troops from Dunkirk.

Although the German army discovered the British and French movements, the evacuation operation was also nearing the end at this time, and the German army could no longer stop the general trend.

The so-called retreat plan was named "Operation Dynamo", and the main purpose of such a name was to cover people's eyes.

Since it was an order given by the chancellor, the German army naturally had to obey it unconditionally.

Why did the German Chancellor order the army to stop the offensive?

In the case of the German Army, where the situation was very good and the offensive was going well, such an order seemed very brainless, even as if the prime minister who did not understand military affairs acted arbitrarily and interfered with the stupid order of military command.

In such weather, the Luftwaffe canceled the operation as a matter of course, and gave Britain the best chance possible.

It was also the first time that the French army had defeated the German divisional structure head-on in the face of the German army.

In particular, the armored forces, although advancing quickly, could not allow the German army to advance in vain.

Imagining the angry eyes of the Prime Minister, Goering couldn't help but shudder, and hurriedly ordered the air force to launch a full-scale attack at Dunkirk to stop the retreat of the British and French forces.

At least there are still nearly 200,000 Anglo-French troops on the line from Dunkirk to Lille, and these troops will not allow them to flee to Britain.

With such a premise, Britain naturally will not be optimistic about the Belgian battlefield.

In order to conceal the Germans as much as possible, only about 4,000 people were evacuated on the third day of the retreat, and the farthest route was chosen.

As for why not the British Army? After all, this was the border between France and Belgium, and if it was mostly British troops, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the Germans.

But history is such a coincidence. At this time, the British and French troops had reached the most critical moment, and even the French defenders of Lille had reached the critical point of survival and could not hold out for a few days.

On June 30, the Dunkirk retreat, codenamed Operation Dynamo, officially began.

While resolutely resisting in Lille, the Anglo-French on the other hand organized a massive retreat at Dunkirk.

Once Lille falls, not only Dunkirk will be in danger, but even cities such as Calais, Amiens will face German attacks, and even Paris will be threatened.

You know, Germany currently has only two allies, Italy and the island nation.

Among the opportunities created by the Germans themselves, Britain and France also lived up to expectations, evacuating an average of more than 45,000 people per day, and a total of nearly 140,000 people in three days.

You know, the actions of the armored forces are extremely dependent on oil. If there is no oil energy, no amount of armored troops is just a pile of scrap metal.

In order to save more than 300,000 Anglo-French troops, it was necessary to sacrifice more than 50,000 French troops.

After comprehensive consideration, the German Chancellor agreed to the proposal of the commander of the air force, Goering, and ordered the armored forces led by Guderian to rest temporarily, and entrusted the task of assisting the infantry offensive to the air force.

Although the Air Force is also bombing Dunkirk all the time, such bombing is destined to be impossible to maintain all day, and there is still a certain amount of relaxation time at night.

In foggy weather, it is difficult for the Air Force to successfully complete the battle plan, and even casualties due to foggy weather are inevitable.

In the planning of all parties, the German attack on France was officially launched, and the British and French plans for the Dunkirk retreat were also officially carried out.

The good news is that it was as if God was helping both England and France.

On July 3, the Dunkirk area suddenly became foggy, and bad weather directly prevented the Luftwaffe from bombing Dunkirk, and also helped the British and French evacuate their troops in such weather.

In order to create enough opportunities and time for Dunkirk, the French troops on the front line in Lille launched a counteroffensive against the German army, using all means to entangle with the German army.

On 2 July, Guderian, who had regained orders from the German government, drew his own armoured forces.

Of course, although it claims to have more than 800 ships, only half of them are regular transport ships and warships, and the rest are some civilian cargo ships and oil tankers, and even small sailing ships made of wood.

No way, the Germans are not entirely stupid.

Under such circumstances, Goering, the commander of the air force promoted by the German Chancellor, put forward his opinion to the Chancellor, that is, the air force should take over the Dunkirk battlefield and withdraw most of the armored forces.

Although it was difficult, Britain and France also understood the importance of holding Lille.

In the doubts of the German infantry, Guderian gave his armored forces a two-day rest on the grounds that he had not received any orders from the Führer.

Although thousands of people were killed or injured by the bombing of German planes that were lucky, it didn't matter how many people were evacuated.

The day's retreat was met with unparalleled resistance, and less than half of the 46,000 British and French soldiers who boarded the ship eventually fled to Britain, only about 21,000 to be exact.

Let's take a break today.

(End of chapter)