The Breakout from the Ardennes - Panzer Country - TWiE The First Blitzkrieg

Northern France - 16th May 1940: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was rudely awakened, in the early morning hours of 15th of May, by a call from French Premier, Paul Reynaud. Reynaud exclaimed, "We have been beaten, we have lost the battle!" Churchill tried to calm him down, explaining that it was only one penetration, and that they would have to slow down in a few days, this would present an opportunity to counter-attack. Reynaud responded that, "The front is broken near Sedan! We are faced with a torrent of tanks." As the 16th dawned, the extent of the disaster that had befallen the French on the Meuse became clearer. The Germans had smashed through the line and were now racing over the northern plains of France unopposed. The French tried to gather together units to counter-attack, but the French armor forces had been split into penny packets and were spread out all over the place. Desperately, the French began to throw units in piecemeal to staunch the flow of German units flooding in to the plains.