0524_01: Dunkerque: "Panzers, forward!"_Alt - PzC 12 France '40

Dunkerque, France, 24th May 1940: On May 22nd, the German high command ordered Army Group A to swing its axis of advance north towards the English channel. This would sever the channel ports from the mainland and cut off and isolate the allied armies within. Army Group B was ordered to wheel right and reinforce the walls of the huge trap. By May 24th, 1st Panzer Division had reached the Aa canal and was closer to Dunkerque than any other BEF division. Total victory was within the grasp of the German Army. At this moment Adolf Hitler, frightened by his own success, ordered the advance to halt. Hitler had been afraid that the allies were planning an all out offensive that would reverse the situation and deny him his emminent victory. The panzers were ordered to hold and reconsolidate and the honor of the final victory was to be granted to the Luftwaffe. However, the Luftwaffe, stretched thin by the lightning campaign across France, would fail. This scenario assumes that Hitler did not order the advance to halt, but instead ordered the 'Panzers Foward' for a chance at total victory before the British could organize a rescue. [Size large]