military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) (06/02/90)
Friday, 17 May, 1940 Guderian's XIX Panzerkorps turns northwest short of Paris, crossing the Oise and nearing Saint-Quentin. The French 4th armored division, under Colonel Charles DeGaulle, attacks the flank of the German spearhead near Montcornet, but is repulsed. General Kleist orders Guderian to halt his forward drive until 12th Army can fill in behind him. Guderian offers his resignation, which Kleist accepts. Later in the day, Colonel-General von Rundstedt orders Guderian not to resign, informs him that the stop order originated with Army High Command (OKH), and grants permission for a "reconnaissance in force." Guderian's corps HQ is to remain at its current position, and he has telephone wires strung to a forward HQ to prevent intercepts of his wireless transmissions by OKH listening posts. In the north, German troops enter Brussels, while two further panzer corps are detached from 6th Army and sent south. The cruiser HMS Effingham capsizes after striking rocks off Bodo. German aircraft mine French ports on the English Channel from Le Havre to Dunkirk. Venezuela creates a diplomatic incident by siezing two German freighters at Maracaibo. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Bill Thacker military@cbnews.att.com Send submissions for "50 Years Ago" to military-request@att.att.com "Every unit that is unable to advance must accept death rather than abandon that part of the national territory entrusted to it. As always in the critical hours of our history the watchword today is 'Conquer or die.' We must conquer." - General Maurice Gamelin, order of the day.