Halt order Battle of Dunkirk

major l. f. ellis wrote:

the day s entry concludes remark: task of army group can considered have been completed in main —a view further explains rundstedt s reluctance employ armoured divisions in final clearing-up stage of first phase of campaign.

halder wrote in diary on 30 may:

brauchitsch angry ... pocket have been closed @ coast if our armour had not been held back. bad weather has grounded luftwaffe , must stand , watch countless thousands of enemy away england right under our noses.

on 24 may, hitler visited general von rundstedt s headquarters @ charleville. terrain around dunkirk thought unsuitable armour. von rundstedt advised him infantry should attack british forces @ arras, british had proved capable of significant action, while kleist s armour held line west , south of dunkirk pounce on allied forces retreating before army group b. hitler, familiar flanders marshes first world war, agreed. order allowed germans consolidate gains , prepare southward advance against remaining french forces.

luftwaffe commander hermann göring asked chance destroy forces in dunkirk. allied forces destruction assigned air force while german infantry organised in army group b. von rundstedt later called 1 of great turning points of war.

the true reason decision halt german armour on 24 may still debated. 1 theory von rundstedt , hitler agreed conserve armour fall rot, operation south. possible luftwaffe s closer ties army s nazi party contributed hitler s approval of göring s request. theory—which few historians have given credence—is hitler still trying establish diplomatic peace britain before operation barbarossa (the invasion of soviet union). although von rundstedt after war stated suspicions hitler wanted british , based on alleged praise of british empire during visit headquarters, little evidence hitler wanted let allies escape exists apart self-exculpatory statement hitler himself in 1945. historian brian bond wrote:

few historians accept view hitler s behaviour influenced desire let british off lightly in [the] hope accept compromise peace. true, in political testament dated 26 february 1945 hitler lamented churchill quite unable appreciate sporting spirit in had refrained annihilating [the] british expeditionary force, @ dunkirk, hardly squares contemporary record. directive no. 13, issued supreme headquarters on 24 may called annihilation of french, english , belgian forces in pocket, while luftwaffe ordered prevent escape of english forces across channel.

whatever reasons hitler s decision, germans confidently believed allied troops doomed. american journalist william shirer reported on 25 may, german military circles here tonight put flatly. said fate of great allied army bottled in flanders sealed. bef commander lord gort agreed, writing anthony eden, must not conceal great part of bef , equipment inevitably lost in best of circumstances .

hitler did not rescind halt order until evening of 26 may. 3 days gained gave vital breathing space royal navy arrange evacuation of british , allied troops. 338,000 men rescued in 11 days. of these 215,000 british , 123,000 french, of whom 102,250 escaped in british ships.