Chapter 45 Volume 2 Chapter 3 The Battle of France‧Second Week‧Weygand

May 17 to May 24 The urgency of the war is increasing Local Defense Volunteers are being reinforced from the East May 18th and May 20th My telegram to President Roosevelt May 19th General Gamelin No. 12 Final order to reshuffle the French cabinet General Weygand Appointment 20th May First order on small ships Dynamo battle plan Weygand's trip to the front Björt dies in car crash The report passed by Parliament the special powers given to the government My second visit to Paris Weygand's plan The danger of the armies in the north The battle around Arras Correspondence with Mr Reynolds Sir John Dill took office as Chief of the Imperial General Staff.

The War Cabinet met at ten o'clock in the morning on the 17th, and I reported to them in as much detail as possible my trip to Paris and the situation I had observed. I said I had told the French that unless they made the best effort, there would be no reason for us to send any more squadrons of fighter jets to France, thus putting our country's security in serious jeopardy.The problem of strengthening the Air Force seems to me to be one of the most serious problems ever faced by a British Cabinet.It is said that the losses of the Luftwaffe are four or five times that of ours, but I have heard that only a quarter of the French fighters are left.On this day Gamelin felt that the situation was over, and it was reported that he had said: I can only guarantee the safety of Paris today, tomorrow (18th) and tomorrow night.On the Norwegian side it appeared that we could take Narvik at any moment, but Lord Cork was told that, from French sources, it was no longer possible to send him reinforcements.

The tenseness of the battle urgency increased every hour.At the request of General Georges, the British Army took up positions along the entire front from Douilles to Peronne, in order to extend its protective wings, and thereby attempt to cover Arras, a junction of roads, which was of great importance for the retreat southwards. .That afternoon German troops entered Brussels. Arrived at Cambrai the next day, drove our small detachment out of Peronne via Saint-Quentin.The French Seventh Army, the Belgian Army, the British Army and the French First Army continued to retreat towards the Scheldt. On that day, the British army held the banks of the Dende River and formed a detachment of Peter's Army (under the command of Major General Peter. ), to defend Arras.

At midnight (May 18th | 19th) General Bjort went to meet Lord Gott at his headquarters.Neither the expression on the face of the French general nor the suggestions he made at the time gave confidence to the Allies.From this moment on, the British commander-in-chief began to realize that it was possible to retreat to the coast.Gott's telegram was published in March 1941, in which he wrote: The present situation (on the night of the 19th) is not a line of defense being bent or temporarily breached, but a fortress being besieged. After my visit to Paris and discussions with the Cabinet, I felt compelled to ask my colleagues a general question.

Prime Minister to Privy Councilor May 17, 1940 If you discuss tonight the possible consequences of the withdrawal of the French Government from Paris or the fall of Paris, and the possible problems of withdrawing the British Expeditionary Force from France, if necessary, along the lines of French communications or through the ports of Belgium and the Channel, I shall be very pleased. gratitude.It goes without saying that in the first place the report merely listed the main problems that arose and could therefore be passed on to the staff for study at a later date.I will meet personally with the military chief at half past six.

Holland's no-nonsense ending is always on our minds.Mr Eden had previously suggested to the War Cabinet the formation of local defense volunteers, a plan which has also been actively pursued.All over the country, in towns and villages, hordes of determined people have assembled, armed with shotguns, shotguns, clubs and spears. This can grow into a huge team in the near future.But the needs of the regular army are also very urgent. Prime Minister to General Ismay, Transfer to the Chiefs of Staff Committee May 18, 1940 1. In view of the possibility of a large number of airborne troops landing after the paratroopers, I feel that there are not enough troops in the UK to rely on.I do not think that danger is imminent at present, since the outcome of the great battle in France is yet to be decided.

I would like you to consider the following suggestions for immediate action: (1) Transport eight battalions of regular infantry from Palestine to Britain in the same boats carrying the Australian troops to Suez, with proper escort, although it is a bit risky, whichever route you think is best.I hope to be able to take the Mediterranean. (2) The Australian fast convoy arrived in early June with 14,000 men. (3) These ships should immediately carry eight battalions of the Home Guard to India, and from India eight battalions (more) of regular troops to England.The speed of the fast convoy should be increased.

2. Every effort must be made to carry out the recommendations of the committee concerning the control of aliens, which I have set out in detail in another paper.Measures should also be taken against Communists and Fascists; a considerable number should be placed in protective or preventive detention, including their leaders.Of course, these measures must be presented to Cabinet before they can be implemented. 3. The Chiefs of Staff should consider whether it would be better to send only half of the so-called armored divisions to France.We must always be prepared to face the fact that Germany may offer France very favorable terms of peace, and the whole burden will fall upon us.

I also consider it necessary, with the consent of my colleagues, to send the following two important telegrams to President Roosevelt, showing him how seriously the interests of the United States would be affected if both France and England were conquered.The Cabinet considered the two draft telegrams, but made no changes. former navy personnel to president roosevelt May 18, 1940 I don't need to tell you the seriousness of the situation.Whatever the outcome of the fierce battle now being waged in France, we are determined to see it through.In any case, we must expect that England will soon be subjected to the same attack as Holland.We hope we can fight this battle ourselves, but if American aid is to be effective, it must be done quickly.

former navy personnel to president roosevelt May 20, 1940 Lothian has reported to me the content of his conversation with you.I understand your difficulties, but I feel sorry for those destroyers.If they can get here in six weeks, they will certainly play an inestimable role.The war in France was a great danger to both sides.Although we are inflicting heavy losses on the enemy's air force and are shooting down their planes by a ratio of two or three, they still have a strong numerical superiority.Therefore, our most urgent need is to bring as many Curtiss P|Forty fighters as possible at the earliest possible date that are currently leaving the factory for your military.

With regard to the concluding part of your talk with Lothian, our opinion is that whatever happens, we must fight to the end on British soil, and, if we can get the aid we ask for, we hope that, as we compare them one by one Strong, we can come close to parity in air combat.If this goes on and the results are not good, members of the current government may step down.But we will never surrender under any conceivable circumstances.If members of the current government step down and someone else comes forward to negotiate with the enemy in these ruins, then you cannot ignore the fact that the only bargaining chip with Germany is the fleet.If the United States had left the country to its fate, no one had a right to blame those in charge, so long as they were able to secure the most favorable peace terms for the surviving inhabitants.Mr. President, please forgive me for bringing this terrible matter up so bluntly.Clearly, I cannot take responsibility for my successors, who, in their extreme desperation and isolation, are likely to bend to the will of the Germans.Fortunately, however, there is no need to think about such things just yet.Thank you again for your kindness. Mr Renault has now launched a far-reaching reshuffle of the French cabinet and high command.On the 18th, Marshal Petain was appointed vice-chairman of the French Military Council. Renault transferred Daladier to be in charge of foreign affairs, and he himself took over as Minister of Defense and Army. At seven o'clock in the evening of the 19th he appointed Weygand, who had just returned from the Near East, to replace General Gamelin. I had known Weygand when he was Marshal Foch's right-hand man, and I admired him for his skillful blocking of the Bolshevik invasion of Poland during the Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, which was a decisive event for Europe at the time. .He is now seventy-three years old, but he is said to be very active and vigorous.General Gamelin issued his final order (No. 12) at 9:45 am on May 19, ordering the Northern armies not to be surrounded by the enemy, but to move southward forcibly at any cost to Songshan. Mu River, and attack the German armored divisions which cut off their lines of communication.Simultaneously, the Second Army and the newly formed Sixth Army were to advance north to Meziers.All these decisions are correct.To be honest, the order for the general retreat of the northern armies to the south has been delayed by at least four days. Once the center of the French line was found to be in danger of being breached at Sedan, the only hope for the northern armies was to move immediately to the Somme.However, they retreated to the Scheldt only gradually, in sections, under the command of General Bjort, to establish a defensive flank to the right.Even then there was still time to retreat south. The confusion of the Northern Command, the apparent paralysis of the French First Army, and the uncertainty of the future made the War Cabinet extremely anxious.All our actions are calm and composed, yet we have a single and definite opinion, behind which there is silent pain.On the 19th (4:30 p.m.), we were told that Lord Gort was studying the possibility of retreating to Dunkirk as a last resort.The Chief of the Imperial General Staff (Ironside) could not accept this suggestion because he, like most of us, was in favor of sailing south.We then sent him to Lord Gort with our instructions, ordering the English army to move to the southwest, to force through all obstacles, to join the French army in the south, and to urge the Belgian army to follow this action, or another The solution is that we withdraw as much of their troops as possible from the ports in the straits.Also tell Lord Gott that our decision will be communicated to the French Government ourselves.At this cabinet meeting, we sent Deal to General George's headquarters, and we had a direct telephone line with his headquarters.Dill was to stay there for four days and tell us all he could learn.Even communication with Lord Gort was intermittent and very difficult, but they were reported to have only four days' provisions and ammunition for one battle. At the War Cabinet meeting on the morning of May 20th we again discussed the situation with our Army.Even if a successful retreat to the Somme was possible, I think that a considerable number of troops would probably have to be cut off or driven to sea.The minutes of that meeting read: The Prime Minister considered that, as a precautionary measure, the Admiralty should have a large number of small ships ready to sail to the ports and bays on the coast of France.On this suggestion the Admiralty acted at once, and intensified its efforts as the days progressed and the situation intensified.Admiral Ramsay, posted at Dover on the 19th, was in charge of the operation, and the vessels at his disposal were thirty-six private vessels of various descriptions at anchor at Southampton and Dover. .On the afternoon of the 20th, on orders from London, a first meeting of all concerned, including representatives of the Shipping Department, was held at Dover to discuss the urgent withdrawal of large numbers of troops across the Channel.The plan was, if necessary, to evacuate separately from Calais, Boulogne, and Dunkirk, with 10,000 men from each port every twenty-four hours.Thirty passenger ferries, twelve naval sea-sweepers, and six coasters were used as the first ships.On the 22nd of May the Admiralty ordered the forty Dutch boats taking refuge with us to be requisitioned and manned by naval sailors.The ships were commissioned between May 25 and May 27.From Harwich to Weymouth, the Maritime Officers were ordered to register all applicable vessels up to a thousand tons, and surveys were made of all vessels in English ports.The battle plan, known as the Dynamo, proved to be the Army's savior after ten days. The direction of the German advance was now more clearly seen.Armored vehicles and mechanized divisions continued to flock to Amiens and Arras through the gap, and then turned west and pushed along the Somme River to the sea.On the night of the twentieth they entered Abbeville after crossing and cutting off all lines of communication of the northern armies.Once the lines were breached, these formidable deadly chariot scythes met little or no resistance.German tanks The fearsome German tanks[1] roamed freely over the open fields, advancing thirty to forty miles a day, aided and supplied by mechanized transport. They passed dozens of cities and hundreds of villages without encountering resistance, their officers peering out from the open turrets of their tanks and beckoning triumphantly to the inhabitants.Witnesses spoke of groups of French prisoners of war walking alongside them, many with rifles, which were periodically collected and crushed under tanks.What amazes me is that the German armored forces with thousands of tanks will completely crush several powerful armies, but France has completely failed to fight them. Once the front line is broken, all French resistance quickly collapses .The entire route of the German march was along the main roads, but there seemed to be no obstacles on any of these roads. [1] The original text is French.translator I asked the Air Force Chief of Staff on the 17th: Is it not possible to find the place where the enemy's armored convoy is camped at night for bombing?We are about to be scattered in the rear of the line by these armored convoys running around. I then sent a telegram to Renault: May 21, 1940 We congratulate you on the appointment of Weygand, whom we have complete confidence here. It was impossible to prevent the tank columns from breaking through the weak front and deep into the rear.All attempts to close the gap and surround the German invading army are wrong.On the contrary, the solution should be: open a few gaps.A couple of tanks got somewhere, and that's nothing special.What was the use of them driving into a town?Towns were supposed to be defended by infantry, and if tankers tried to climb out of their vehicles, they would be shot at.If they don't get food, water and gasoline, they must have messed up and left.Wherever possible, buildings should be blown up to intercept them.Every town with an important intersection should be guarded in this way.Second, tank columns in the open had to be pursued across the open countryside with several small mobile units equipped with a few guns.The tracks of tank vehicles are bound to wear out and their performance will be reduced.This is one way to deal with invading armored forces.As for the main force it doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon Well, the only way to deal with it is to attack its flanks.This confusion can only be clarified by adding to the chaos of the battle, which can make the battle a melee.They attacked our communications, and we should attack theirs.I think I am more confident than I was when the war began; but the armies of all lines must fight simultaneously, and I hope the British will soon have a chance.What has been said above is only my personal opinion, and I am sure that it will not offend you if I express it to you. I wish you success. The first thing Weygand did was consult with his senior commanders.It was only natural that he should want to go and inspect the situation in the North himself and meet with the commanders there.Forgiveness must be given to a general who takes command at the critical moment of lost battle, but there is no time left. He shouldn't be leaving the top job while he's picking up the pieces, and he shouldn't be putting off doing it too much himself.Let us describe in detail what happened next.On the morning of the 20th, after Wei Gang took over the position of Gamelin, he made arrangements to inspect the northern armies on the 21st.When he learned that the road to the north had been cut off by the Germans, he decided to fly there.His plane was attacked and forced to land at Calais.The meeting scheduled for Ypres had to be changed to three o'clock in the afternoon on the 21st.Here he met King Leopold of Belgium and General Bjort.Lord Gort was not informed of the time and place of the meeting and was therefore unable to attend, nor were other British officers present.The King of Belgium described the meeting as four hours of rambling talk.The meeting discussed the coordination of the armies of the three countries, the implementation of Weygand's plan, and the retreat of the British and French troops to the Lys River and the Belgian army's retreat to the Itur River in case the plan failed.At seven in the afternoon, General Weygand had to leave.Lord Gott did not arrive until eight o'clock, when he received a copy of the minutes of the meeting from General Bjort.Weygand drove back to Calais, took the submarine to Dieppe, and turned back to Paris.Bjort drove back to deal with the critical situation, and within an hour he was killed in a crash, so everything was put on hold again. Ironside returned on the 21st to report that Lord Gort, having received instructions from the Cabinet, made the following points to him: 1. The Southward March should also include rearguard operations on the Scheldt as an attack on areas where the enemy's armored and mobile forces are firmly held.In such a movement, the wings should be covered. 2. Sustained offensive warfare is difficult in view of the administrative situation. 3. If it were to act in this way, it seemed impossible that both the French First Army and the Belgian forces would act in unison. Ironside added that there was confusion at the French High Command in the North; that General Bjout had failed to fulfill his duty of coordination and appeared to be unplanned during the past eight days; people.He vividly described the scene on the road, where groups of refugees were strafed by the Luftwaffe.He himself had been in danger once. There were therefore two dire alternatives before the War Cabinet.The first one is that the British Army will open a southward route to the Somme River at any cost, regardless of whether the French army and the Belgian army cooperate or not. Lord Gott doubts whether his troops can complete this task; the second , to retreat to Dunkirk to withdraw from the sea, subject to enemy air attack, and certain loss of all artillery and equipment, which were rare and precious at the time.Obviously, the first method should be carried out at great risk, but there is no reason not to make all possible arrangements and preparations for the sea evacuation, just in case the plan to go south fails.I suggested to my colleagues that I should go to France to meet with Renault and Weygand to make a decision.Dill is available to meet me at the meeting point from General George's headquarters. At this time it was felt by my colleagues that some special powers should be taken from Parliament; to this end a bill has been drawn up during the past few days.This bill is actually to grant the government unlimited power to dispose of the life, liberty and property of all the subjects of His Majesty the King in Great Britain.In the usual terms of law, the powers conferred by Parliament are absolute. The Imperial Defense Act includes the power to make defense regulations by order of the Privy Council, providing that: When His Majesty the King, in the interests of the public order, the defense of the homeland, the maintenance of public order, or the effective conduct of any war in which His Majesty may be engaged, or for the preservation of the public The subjects of His Majesty's subjects shall place themselves, their services, and their property at His Majesty's disposition, when it deems it necessary or expedient to provide or service indispensable to life. As regards persons, the Secretary of Labor is empowered to order any person to perform any service required.The powers conferred on him by this ordinance include a provision concerning fair wages, written in the Act, to regulate wage entries.Labor supply committees will be formed in major central cities.The same applies to control over property in the broadest sense.The control of all enterprises, including banks, shall be governed by the order of the government.Business owners could be required to submit their books for inspection, and excess profits were taxed one hundred percent.A production committee is to be formed, chaired by Greenwood; a labor supply bureau chief is also to be appointed. The bill was then sent to Parliament by Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Attlee on the afternoon of the 22nd, and Mr. Attlee himself proposed the second reading.In one afternoon, the upper and lower houses, with a majority of the Conservative Party, passed the bill unanimously at various stages of voting, and it was approved by the emperor that night. In the days of ancient valor, The Romans strife for Rome, Sparing neither property nor money, Regardless of his wife, he is not afraid of being disabled and dying. This is the mood at the time. When I arrived in Paris on May 22nd, there was a new scene there.Gamelin was gone; Daladier withdrew from the war scene, and Renault was both Chancellor and Minister of War.Since the direction of the German attack must be towards the sea, Paris is not yet directly threatened.The French High Command is still at Vincennes. It was about noon when Mr. Renault and I drove there.In the garden I saw several figures (one of whom was a tall cavalry officer) whom I had seen around Gamelin, pacing up and down melancholy.The adjutant said, "It's still the same old people."Renault and I were ushered into Weygand's room and then into the map room, where we saw the large map of the High Command.Weygand came out to meet us.Although he was tired from work and traveled overnight, he was still full of energy, relaxed and quick in action.He made a very good impression on everyone.He described his battle plan.He did not want the northern armies to move south or retreat. From Cambrai and Arras they were supposed to attack southeast towards Saint-Quentin in order to destroy on the flanks the enemy armored divisions now fighting in what he called the Saint-Quentin-Amiens pocket.He believed that the rear of the northern armies should be given cover by the Belgian army, which would cover them to the east and, if necessary, to cover their attack to the north.At the same time, a new French Army, under General Frère, with eighteen to twenty divisions drawn from Alsace, the Maginot Line, Africa, and various other areas, was to be established along the Somme. A front.Their left flank was to advance through Amiens to Arras, and thus, to the best of their ability, join forces with the northern armies.The enemy's armor must be kept under constant pressure.Weygand said: German panzer divisions are not allowed to maintain the initiative.All necessary orders have been given as far as possible.Then we heard that General Bjort had just died in a car accident and that Weygand had told him the whole plan.Dill and I agreed that we had no choice but to go along with the plan, and indeed we had no other ideas.I emphasized that, through Arras, it was very important to regain contact between the armies of the north and the armies of the south.I explained that Lord Gort had to defend his approach to the coast as he advanced to the southwest.In order to ensure that there would be no mistakes in the decided plan, I dictated it myself, made a summary, and showed it to Weygand, who agreed.I report accordingly to the Cabinet and send the following telegram to Lord Gort: May 22, 1940 This morning I flew to Paris with Dill and others.The conclusions reached jointly by Renault, Weygand, and us are summarized below.These conclusions are exactly in line with the general instructions you have received from the War Office.We sincerely wish you success in your desperate battle to Baboom and Cambrai. The resolution is as follows: 1. The Belgian army should retreat to the defense line of the Isle River and garrison there. The sluice gate is being opened. 2. The British Army and the First French Army should launch an attack on Babaume and Cambrai to the south-west as soon as possible, definitely tomorrow, with about eight divisions, and the Belgian cavalry on the right flank of the British army. 3. Since this battle is of great importance to the armies of both sides and the British army's line of communication depends on the liberation of Amiens, the British Air Force should give the greatest possible assistance day and night during this battle. 4. The newly formed French Army Group is attacking Amiens and establishing a defensive line along the Somme; this Army Group will attack northward and join forces with the British army attacking southward towards Baboom. It can be seen that Weygand's new plan, except for its emphasis, is not different from General Gamelin's order No. 12 which was revoked.There was nothing inconsistent with the resolute stand of the War Cabinet on the 19th.The northern armies took the offensive and marched south, smashing the German panzer advance if possible.They would echo the favorable advance northwards through Amiens of the newly formed French Army Group under General Freire.If this can be achieved, it can make a huge difference. I complained privately to Mr. Reynolds that Gott had not received any orders for four days.Even after Weygand took over, it took three days to reach a decision.The replacement of the Supreme Commander in Chief was right, but the resulting delay was unfortunate. I slept in the embassy that night.The air raid was light and the artillery was loud, but not a single bomb exploded.There is a great difference between what happened to Paris and what London will soon endure.I longed to see my friend General Georges at his headquarters at Compiègne.Brigadier-General Swain, our liaison officer at his headquarters, was with me for a while, and he reported to me what he knew about the French army, and what he knew was only part of it.They advised me that it would be better not to go at the moment when this large and complicated military operation was about to start, with all the administrative difficulties and the constant danger of cutting off communications. Since the Supreme Command had not issued any combat orders, the evolution of the battle had given the enemy the upper hand.On the 17th, Gott had begun to command the army to move to the Louyolcourt-Arles line of defense, garrison Arras, and continued to strengthen its southern flank.The French Seventh Army, except for the Sixteenth Army, which suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Valcheren, has all moved south to join the French First Army.They cut across the rear of the British army, but no serious disturbance occurred.On the 20th Gort had informed Generals Bjoutt and General Blanchard of his proposal to attack south from Arras with two divisions and an armored brigade on the 21st of May, and Bjöutt agreed to attack from the French 1st The group army mobilized two divisions to cooperate.The First French Army consisted of thirteen divisions, assembled in a rectangular area about nineteen miles long and ten miles wide: the area between Maude | Valenching | Denian | Douai.On the 20th the enemy had crossed the Scheldt near Udonnard; on the 23rd the three British corps, still facing east, withdrew to the line we had established in winter along the French-Belgian frontier; Twelve days before, they had charged so aggressively through this line of defense.On this day, the British Expeditionary Force only distributed half of its rations.Impressions of French incompetence, received from many quarters, prompted me to protest to Renault. Prime Minister to Mr Renault May 23, 1940 (copy to Lord Gort) The lines of communication of the northern armies had been cut off by the enemy's powerful armored forces. Only the immediate implementation of Weygand's plan could save these armies.I demanded the strictest orders to the French commanders in the North and South and to the Belgian General Headquarters to carry out this plan and save the day.Due to the lack of supplies, time is extremely tight. At eleven-thirty in the morning, when the War Cabinet met, I read this telegram and pointed out that the complete success of Weygand's plan depended on the initiative of the French, which showed no sign of it.We had another meeting at seven in the afternoon. I sent another telegram the next day: Prime Minister to Mr Reynaud, General Weygand May 24, 1940 General Gott called to say that it is very important for the three armies on the northern front to cooperate with each other.He said that he could not carry out such coordination because he was already fighting on both sides of the North and South and his lines of communication were threatened.At the same time, Sir Roger Case also told me that until three o'clock in the afternoon today (23rd), the Belgian headquarters and the King have not received any instructions.How does this fit your description of Blanchard and Gott working together?I am fully aware that traffic is difficult, but I feel that there is a lack of effective coordinated action on the northern battlefield, while the enemy is concentrating on this area.I have no doubt that you will be able to rectify the situation.Gott also said that any advance by him would be of a breakout nature, and would have to be rescued from the South, since he had run out (repeatedly no) ammunition for a serious fight.However, we have ordered him to stick to your plan.We have not even seen your own orders here, and know nothing of the details of your northern operations.Could you please send us the details through the French Mission as soon as possible?I wish you success. Here it is necessary to describe some of the little battles which the British fought near Arras.The commander, General Franklin, attempted to occupy the Arras | Cambrai | Baboom area.He commanded the Fifth and Fiftieth Divisions of the British Army and the Tank Brigade of the First Army.He planned to attack with this armored force and a brigade of each of the two divisions, under the unified command of General Martel, around the west and south of Arras, with the Senser River as the immediate objective.Two divisions of the French army were operating in coordination on the Cambrai-Arras road to the east.The two British divisions had only two brigades each; the number of tanks was: There are sixty-five Mark I tanks and eighteen Mark II tanks. The tracks of these tanks are very short-lived and are now nearly damaged.The attack began at 2:00 p.m. on May 21, and it soon became apparent that the resistance met was far greater than expected.The support of the French army on the east wing did not materialize, and the west was limited to a light mechanized division.The enemy's armored force actually consisted of about four hundred tanks of the German 7th and 8th Panzer Divisions, with a general named Rommel commanding the 7th Panzer Division.At the beginning, the attack went smoothly, and 400 enemies were captured, but they did not reach the Sense River line. However, the German army counterattacked with an overwhelmingly superior force, with full support from the air force, causing heavy casualties to the British army. The 12th Hussars soon reported that a strong enemy force was moving towards Saint-Pol, and seemed to turn to the west flank.During the night, the Army Tank Brigade, the 5th Division, the 13th Brigade and the 151st Brigade of the 50th Division gradually retreated to the Scarp River.These three brigades of the British army held out here until the afternoon of the 22nd, repelling several enemy attacks in the vicinity.We still hold Arras, but the enemy is gradually turning to Beton.The French light mechanized division guarding our western flank came under pressure from Mont-Sainte-Eiroi, and soon after, enemy tanks approached Suzeze.By 7:00 p.m. on the 23rd, the eastern flank of the British army was under heavy pressure, and the enemy in Darence had surrounded the western flank.The position is at stake.The disparity in strength was too large, and they were besieged by a large number of armored forces, and most of them were surrounded.At ten o'clock at night, General Franklin informed General Headquarters that there would be no retreat unless his troops were withdrawn during the night.He was answered that the order to retreat had been given to him three hours before.The battle had some temporary effects on the enemy; they wrote at the time that they were considerably disturbed by the massive counter-offensive of the British armed forces. In order to carry out the Weygand plan, Gott suggested to General Blanchard, who was commanding Army Group Northern at this time, that two British divisions, a French division and a regiment of French cavalry should attack south between the Canal du Noir and the Scheldt.In fact, two French divisions reached the outskirts of Cambrai twice, but each time they were bombarded by aircraft and retreated.This was the only offensive operation of the French First Army these days. In London we had no idea how the venture from Arras was progressing.However, on the 24th, we received a telegram from Renault blaming us.The shorter of his two telegrams illustrates the situation. （他說）你在今早打電報給我說，你曾命令戈特將軍繼續執行魏剛的計劃。現在魏剛將軍告訴我，根據布朗夏爾將軍的電報，當我們由南往北運動的軍隊順利向北推進並希望在北方與盟軍會師的時候，英軍已擅自向沿海各港口撤退二十五哩。 英軍的這種行動直接違反魏剛將軍今天早晨再次正式下達的命令。這一撤退自然已使魏剛將軍不得不改變他的全部部署。使他不得不放棄封閉缺口和恢復一條連續不斷的戰線的想法。我無須著重指出可能產生的後果的嚴重性。 直到此刻，魏剛將軍一直在指望弗雷爾將軍的軍隊向北推進到亞眠、艾伯特運河和佩龍訥。事實上，他們並沒有取得任何顯著的進展，他們還在整編和集結中。下面是我給雷諾的答覆： 一九四○年五月二十五日 昨晚我在電報中已將我們此間獲悉的一切奉告，我們現在依然沒有從戈特勳爵那裡接到任何與之相反的消息。不過我應該告訴你，有一個參謀軍官曾向陸軍部報告，證實了你在電報中對我提到的兩個師從阿拉斯撤退的消息。我想，迪爾將軍在戈特勳爵處，已經通知他盡快派一名參謀軍官乘飛機回來。一俟我們得悉事實經過，我將向你報告詳情，然而，北方各集團軍實際上顯然已被包圍，除取道敦刻爾克和奧斯坦德外，其他交通線已全被切斷。 一九四○年五月二十五日 我們有充分理由相信，戈特依然堅持向南移動。就我們所悉，他因西側受到壓力並且為了保持和敦刻爾克之間的交通線以取得必不可少的補給，不得不在兩個師中抽一部分兵力佈置在他自己和日益增加的德軍裝甲部隊之間。德軍裝甲部隊的實力顯然是無法抵禦的，他們已相繼佔領阿布維爾和布洛涅，威脅加來和敦刻爾克，並且已佔領了聖‧奧梅爾。除非在右方有掩護，他怎能撤離北方戰線向南移動呢？據我們所知道的英國遠征軍的移動，絕不能成為你們放棄越過松姆河向北推進這一部署的借口，我們相信，你們向北推進是可以取得進展的。 第二，你抱怨說，從勒阿弗爾運走了大量物資。唯一運走的物資是瓦斯彈，把這種東西留在那裡是輕率的，還有一些物資是從勒阿弗爾北岸搬到南岸。 第三，如果我發覺，由於事態演變而產生的極大壓力迫使我們對業經同意的計劃有所改變時，我將立即通知你。迪爾現在同戈特在一起，今晨，他完全相信，我們的軍隊能順利脫圍的唯一希望，在於向南轉移和弗雷爾將軍的積極北進。 你應該知道，自從向南轉移已顯然是（必要的）以來，我們已經等了一個星期，我們發現，我們同海岸之間的通路現在已被敵人大批的裝甲車輛切斷。因此，我們別無他法，唯有繼續向南移動，利用側衛向西轉移，勢在必行。 斯皮爾斯將軍明天早晨將去見你，當局勢澄清後，盡快送他回來。 在內閣和高級將領中，有一種非常強烈的感覺：自從四月二十三日以來擔任帝國副總參謀長的約翰‧迪爾爵士，就其才能和戰略知識來說，應該擔任我們主要的軍事顧問，使他能夠充分發揮他的才能和知識。誰也不懷疑，他在軍事方面的名望是遠遠勝過艾恩賽德的。 由於戰爭的厄運已到達極點，我和我的同僚們都非常希望約翰‧迪爾爵士出任帝國總參謀長。如果我們遭到侵略的話，我們還必須為英國本土的防禦選任一位總司令。五月二十五日深夜，艾恩賽德、迪爾、伊斯梅和我，另外還有一兩個人，在海軍部大樓我的房間裡，研究戰事形勢。艾恩賽德將軍自動建議他辭去帝國總參謀長的職務，說他十分願意擔任英國本土防禦部隊的指揮。鑒於這樣一位指揮官所擔負的工作在當時看來是沒有前途的，所以他的建議是勇敢的和大公無私的，因此，我就接受了艾恩賽德將軍的建議；由於我感激他這時對我們的事業表現的態度，後來便授與他崇高的地位和榮譽。約翰‧迪爾爵士在五月二十七日就任帝國總參謀長。人們普遍認為這種變動在當前是適當的。