At this time, the British and French coalition forces still in Belgium had already noticed their dangerous situation. The coalition forces in Belgium were ordered to withdraw from the Dale River to the Scheldt River in three stages: the first step was to withdraw to the Senne River; The second step withdrew to the Dunder River, and the third step finally withdrew to the Scheldt River. By the time the river was captured, it was already May 18th. The Belgian army held the left, the British army was in the center, and the French First Army held the right section of this seventy-five-mile defense line, which extended south to Arras, and further south to the twenty-five-mile line. Gap before arriving at Pilonni. Since the German army was advancing extremely rapidly, the problem faced by the British Expeditionary Force and the French First Army was how to consolidate their right flank and rear - that is, how to cover the northern flank of this gap.
Lord Gaut launched a chariot attack south from Arras. Although this was a small thing, it was an unpleasant surprise attack for the German army. Guderian said: It made a huge impression on the headquarters of the Kleist Armored Corps, making them suddenly feel nervous.
For this reason, the German 8th and 6th Armored Divisions were ordered to withdraw to Amfin, Saint-Puré, Chafer, Salt and other places to form a flank facing the north of the gap. This small but unsuccessful operation clearly proved that if the French armored divisions had been trained to counterattack and were concentrated behind the left flank of the coalition, which was their correct position from a tactical point of view, then Hitt ? It seems impossible to say that Le and Rundstedt's nerves were unreasonable. It is recorded that Rundstedt always had a high estimate of General Gamelin and the French General Staff, and often said: "My little Gamelin will definitely know what he should do." !”
But Hit? If Le and Rundstedt had known each other's situation, they would have felt that there was little reason for their nervousness. If they could still remember how paralyzing the tank breakthroughs at Cambrai and Amiens were in the last war, they might have made a correct guess. Then think of the French's easily excited temper, which will amplify the effect tenfold, and perhaps you can imagine the real chaos in their enemy's camp.
Foreigners in general, especially the British, have always believed that the French army is the most powerful in Europe. In fact, it is completely different. Although its equipment is still very advanced, its tactics are backward. In terms of morale, it has never recovered from the trauma of the First World War. In addition, since Broome formed it in 1936, After defeating the government, the Army was even more corrupted by defeatism. The attitude of the people is so indifferent and full of defeatism, and many people have publicly stated that they would rather accept Hit? Le's occupation, but not willing to go to war. There were many officers in the French Army who believed that they would rather accept Nazism to avoid being ruled by Communism. Although these phenomena are easy to discover, the British have never been willing to expose them publicly because they do not want people to know that France is so weak and Germany is so strong. So most British people are always kept in the dark. In 1940, France's Colonial Minister Mandel told the British Lord Speirs: "The French have no will to fight, their general psychology is towards defeatism, and the country's collapse is imminent." , no wonder it would surprise him. General Gamelin also felt the same. A week ago, he wrote a report saying: "The personnel mobilized today did not have any strength in the period between the two wars." Being educated in a patriotic spirit, they were mentally unprepared for the duel that would determine the fate of the country. The main reason why our front was broken through by the enemy was the automatic retreat of the troops. First of all, it was always localized. Often at important points, when the brave enemy dares to advance at his own risk, our troops begin to disperse." This is exactly what Colonel Stoff said before the war of 1870.
Indeed, it is not easy for the Allied forces to escape from this encirclement with disastrous consequences. The only hope is that the troops trapped in Belgium immediately turn to the southwest, get rid of the German Sixth Army that is attacking them, and break through the army that stretches into northern France. The German wedge armor reached the seaside and fought its way to join the new French force from the Somme. This was actually the order issued by General Gamelin on the morning of May 19.
That evening, however, General Maxime Weygand took over and immediately rescinded the order. As a result, three days passed. By the time they moved, the communication between the various headquarters of the Allied Powers was in chaos, and the actions of each army were in chaos under pressure.
On May 17, General Wei Gang was recalled from Syria to take over Gamelin's position. When he went to inspect the northern front on May 20, he wrote to Bao Duoyin: "This shocked him the most. Yes, the German armored divisions and aircraft have caused panic in the French soldiers. This can be regarded as the greatest success of the German army." So what should be the countermeasures? Bao Duoyin said: "Because we lack combat defense weapons, it can be said that we are almost helpless. We must integrate these 75-caliber artillery among the infantry and use them like pistols." Speed, tactics The novelty, the inability to adjust to the errors in the initial deployment, the almost complete lack of reliable intelligence, and more importantly, the lack of time available for use, all of these results completely paralyzed the coalition's command system.
When Weygand inspected the front lines in northern France on May 20, he arranged for General Leopold Birot and Lord Galt to meet with him at Ypres to study a new plan of action. Unfortunately Galt was unable to attend. The plan agreed upon at this meeting, which Gamelin, Georges and Birot had already considered, was to launch a two-sided counterattack in the waist of the gap between Arras and the Somme. . Part of the First Army attacked south, and the Seventh Army attacked north. When the plan was agreed upon, Weygand returned to Paris via Cherbourg. Then the god of fate intervened again, because not long after he left, Birot died in a car accident, and his successor Blanchard was not familiar with the general situation.
Wei Gang gained a high military reputation during World War I. He hoped to decide on any action after consulting with Allied commanders in Belgium. As a result, by the time Weygand decided to adopt exactly the same plan as his predecessor, three days had passed. This delay in military aircraft cost a huge price. At this time, France, Britain and Belgium still have forty divisions of combat-experienced troops in the north. If they follow Gamelin's order and rush south on May 19th and break through the weak German armored defenses, The breakout may have been successful. But by the time they moved, communications between the Allied headquarters were in chaos, and the armies were under pressure and their actions were in disarray. In short, General Weygand's plan existed only in his own mind; in fact the French troops did not move north from the Somme.
The British and French forces in the north have almost completely withdrawn from Belgium. General Bock, commander of Army Group B, immediately ordered the troops to quietly follow the British and French forces. General Kuechler's Eighteenth Army and General Reichenau The Sixth Group, pressing forward step by step, has been clinging to the British and French forces, preventing them from escaping from their sight.
On May 22, the Supreme War Council of the Allied Forces met in Paris and decided that when the Belgian army retreated to the Isre River, eight British divisions and the French First Army should attack southwest on the 24th. Target Bapham and Cambrai. The French Seventh Army, which is south of the Somme River, should attack north. Although sound enough on paper, this plan completely lacks a sense of reality because it does not take into account the current tense and chaotic situation in northern France. On the 23rd, the Seventh Army began to move according to the plan, but was immediately blocked and only reached the Somme at one point. Galt reported that the best he could manage was a breakout. As for the French First Army, it has not yet completed preparations for action. By the next day, the British authorities realized that the counterattack was a dream at best, and Galt received permission to retreat to the coast. Then a war of words broke out between Britain and France, blaming each other.
On May 20, the German armored forces advanced so rapidly that Rundstedt couldn't help but feel nervous about its long and exposed southern flank, because he would naturally think that he was trapped. The enemy will break out towards the Somme River. At the same time, he also noticed that another French army was moving towards the Somme River from the south. In addition, he and the German High Command have also begun to consider the "Red Plan."
A few days were enough for the SS Prince Eugen/Police and the Viking Division, who had been on the road, to arrive at the place and meet up with General Paul Hauser who had been with Guderian, and Lin Wei had already given the Viking Division A separate order from the division commander Felix Stanel was: "If Guderian is under pressure from the base camp and cannot complete the opportunity to encircle and annihilate the British and French coalition forces in the north, Paul Hauser and Felix Stanel will Kes Starner immediately commanded the six SS armored divisions to complete it independently!"