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23rd May 1940
French 9th Army (South)

The French 9th Army's XLI Corps are in a terrible position. The Corps has lost the river defence, but has nowhere to retreat to. But the retreat has to start or, like X Corps to their right, they will end up surrounded. A lone regiment of the 102nd Fortress Division is ordered to hold Mezieres and as many units as possible are ordered into the forest beyond the river valley - where it is hoped they might achieve some degree of respite - at least until Weygand makes sense of what is happening....

In the north of Corap's command, apart from one regiment holding a vital crossing southwest of Givet, the entire XI Corps has been extracted from the front.

Between the two, II Corps has drawn the short straw and 5th Motorised and 4th Cavalry Division have been given the rearguard duty, along with the 4th North African Division from 9th Army reserves.

23rd May 1940
French 7th Army

The units of the French 7th Army that reached the Meuse, now need to head back from whence they came. The 7th Army will have to somehow try and plug the gap left by the entire Belgian Army.....

....quite how that is even remotely possible is something for another day. At the moment the orders are for the entire army to head for Lille as soon as humanly possible.

23rd May 1940
French 1st Army - III Corps and Cavalry Corps

All of the above has meant a world of trouble for Blanchard. His III Corps - 1st Motorised and 2nd North African Divisions - will now have to take the place of Billotte's departing units.

On the III Corps' left flank is Prioux's Cavalry Corps. The thinning out process continues as the 3rd Light Mechanised withdraws toward Thuin and the 2nd Light Mechanised is ordered to defend the river line, taking over the 3rd' positions in addition to their own. The road bridge to Namur is blown.

23rd May 1940
French 1st Army - IV and V Corps

Blanchard's units on the left flank of the Army have the thankless task of trying to hold the line without any water obstacle. I was quite confident about this as I hoped the Germans would wear themselves down and the British could pick at the weakened German units from the north. Instead the retreat is on.

V Corps' 101st Fortress Division are tasked with holding this front, although they will be bolstered by additional units units from the Corps, namely the 5th North African and 12th Motorised Divisions. The Belgian VII Corps will also be 'invited' to help out in advance of their exit from the war....

IV Corps, along with the Army and Army Group armoured assets are ordered to head for Charleroi.

ouch ...

but it does make for a fun read [;)]

23rd May 1940
British Army

First things first. The Line of Communication troops ordered to help the Belgians east of Brussels are ordered to make a volte-face.

Next up is to get Major General Barker's I Corps out of the line. Like Martin's French XI Corps, Barker's units can be expected to be below par (it is said that Barker suffered a nervous breakdown).

That leaves II and III Corps to hold a line from Brussels, north of Waterloo, to the junction with Blanchard's left wing.

After the picture (below) was taken, the 42nd Division attacked the German regiment that strayed into their line of sight. The RAF also attacked the German units harassing the Belgians.

ORIGINAL: loki100

ouch ...

but it does make for a fun read [;)]

warspite1

And it was all going so well.....[:(]


[:D]

23rd May 1940
Belgian Army

The Belgians have 26PP. There is no point leaving anything on the table as they are heading for the exit. Command and Control is increased and two Division are raised - and these appear in Brussels.

VII Corps head east to assist the French V Corps in defending around Gembloux.

On the left flank of the British, VI Corps crowd around Leuven in an effort to stop the Germans from exploiting their bridgehead. An artillery barrage is laid down too. General Verstraete orders the 5th Division to hold to the last (Free Card).

In the north, around Antwerp, an ill-advised attack is carried out against the German 20th Motorised Division. There is little effect on the enemy, but the Belgians have weakened their defence in the process.

24th May 1940
Axis Turn

A summary of events from south to north:

2nd Army
The remnants of X Corps continue to hold out southwest of Sedan against the odds. This is giving valuable time to the rest of the army, though the end for these defenders they know that this will only end one way. Panzer forces are being wasted in trying to reduce this pocket of resistance needlessly.

9th Army (south)
The decision to move out is clearly the right one. Panzers smash through the weak defence south of Meziers and almost surround the city.

9th Army (north)
The Germans continue to fail to mount any meaningful, concerted attack against this sector - much to the relief of Weygand.

24th May 1940
Axis Turn (cont)

French 1st Army and British Army
In the III Corps/Cavalry Corps sector, there is no attempt by the enemy to force a crossing of the river.

But for V Corps - and their Belgian comrades - its a different story. The line is broken north of Namur - although the Germans have not been able to exploit the two local victories. However, it does mean that further ground must be conceded - and this will have an effect on the British Army, which must withdraw in concert with the French.

The British positions don't come under too much of a threat but, as said above, they will have to withdraw or their right flank will be hanging in the wind...

24th May 1940
Belgian Army

So, for the last time in this war, we look at the Belgian Army.

The rumours that the king is to announce a surrender does the rounds and seems to filter through to the troops in the trenches. Army Group B make a breakthrough west of Antwerp and, east of Brussels, opposition starts to melt away.

24th May 1940
French Army

In the last two days the French have received some reinforcement. A fighter unit and an infantry division arrive (9PP) - albeit some way from the front. The infantry will head to the 2nd Army sector, while the fighters will move to assist Blanchard.

24th May 1940 - South
French Army

The big pull back operation begins. The trick is knowing how much to leave behind as a rearguard and so make things difficult - but not so much that too many units get surrounded and destroyed.

Around Meziers, XLI Corps' 102nd Fortress Division and II Corps' 61st Division are designated the sacrificial lambs so that as many units can get away and try - hopefully - to find a line somewhere....

24th May 1940 - Centre
French Army

The threat here seems the least of the three sectors.... unless the Germans switch focus.

24th May 1940
French Army - North

This sector threatens to be the biggest problem. North of the Sambre 1st Army's V Corps seeks to hold the line - but the Germans are very strong. The Belgians will hold the line on V Corps' left flank and the British will start to move back in tandem with the French.

South of the river III Corps and the Cavalry Corps provide the screening.

24th May 1940
British Army

With the imminent surrender of the Belgians and the collapse of the French position on the Meuse, the British start to think about exit from the continent. For the moment they remain wedded to a fighting retreat to a better defensive position, but.....

confused orders are given to the 4th Division south of Brussels and they may well find themselves gobbled up as a result.....

25th May 1940
German Turn

The Belgian surrender is a disaster for the Anglo-French armies. in the north, the Germans are pouring towards Gent, they have entered Brussels and almost surrounded much of the British 5th Division.

Further south the Meuse has been breached in three places between the Sambre and the Viroin.

But the biggest breakthrough is at Mezieres where the Germans now have a fully consolidated position across the Meuse and there is very little left to engage them with....

25th May 1940
French Army

Huzzah!

Cheering for straggler units being created, with obsolete weapons, isn't that a sure sign that times are desperate? [;)]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXh5JprKqiU

ORIGINAL: Orm

Cheering for straggler units being created, with obsolete weapons, isn't that a sure sign that times are desperate? [;)]


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXh5JprKqiU

warspite1

About as desperate as its possible to be, yes.