First published in 1958, this first German-perspective account of
Dunkirk is available in English for the first time.
The German Army invaded France on 10 May 1940, and in just over ten days
their rapid advance, led by three panzer corps, had left three French
field armies, Belgian forces and the British Expeditionary Force with
their backs to the sea, trapped along the northern coast of France.
General Gort realized that evacuation was the only option, and so began
a chaotic withdrawal towards the port of Dunkirk.
While the Luftwaffe continued to attack pockets of Allied forces, the
German ground forces were ordered to halt their advance on 22 May. These
orders were changed four days later, but these crucial four days of
inaction allowed the Allies time to retreat into Dunkirk and prepare a
defensive perimeter.
The fighting during the last days of May was desperate, with the
remnants of the French First Army surrounded at Lille, holding off seven
German divisions until finally forced to surrender, and the Belgian Army
forced to capitulate to the east of Dunkirk. Though the cost was
devastatingly high, Dunkirk was held long enough for over 300,000 Allied
troops to be evacuated back to England, with the remainder of the
rearguard of French troops surrendering on 4 June.
The British narrative of the retreat and evacuation that prompted
perhaps Winston Churchill's most famous wartime speech has always been
well-known; however only now is Hans-Adolf Jacobsen's detailed account
of the battle from the German perspective available in English.
