The Battle of Britain Five Months That Changed History, May—October 1940 by James Holland (z-lib.org).epub

a bandage. He and his men were filthy – covered, as were their vehicles, in
thick dust. It gave them the feeling that they were chewing dried biscuits all
the time.
Hans and his men had just paused to have some breakfast when a runner
arrived ordering Hans to go to Rommel’s command post immediately. He
hurried there as artillery shells began falling around them, not from the
French, but from their own side – they had now almost linked up with the
Sixth Army in Army Group B. Hans found Rommel at the edge of the town
brushing dust from his uniform. Nearby, in front of a house lay a body,
which Hans now saw was that of his commanding officer, Major Erdmann.
The general looked upset.
‘Von Luck,’ he said, ‘you will take over command of Panzer
Reconnaissance Battalion 37 at once. You will receive fresh orders
immediately.’
‘General,’ Hans replied, ‘some of the company commanders are older
than me. Does your decision stand in spite of that?’
‘You’re in charge, full stop. If the company commanders obstruct your
orders, I will replace them.’ Rommel had had plenty of opportunity to see
Hans’s mettle and liked what he saw, but, nonetheless, it was a big
responsibility for a young captain to become a battalion commander. For
Rommel, however, performance counted for more than seniority – and Hans
had clearly performed.
In the north, Army Group B was also pressing forward, but with the
sudden and dramatic collapse of the Belgians the German Eighteenth Army
had to clear away the half a million prisoners and then move forward again,
something that took time. In 56th Division, Unteroffizier Hellmuth Damm
and his machine-gun platoon reached Dixmunde, still some dozen miles to
the east of the Dunkirk perimeter. Hordes of Belgian companies were
surrendering, wandering towards them in loose groups with their hands in
the air, all of whom had to be cleared and corralled. Later that day they
reached the old battlefields of the last war. ‘We could still see some
remains,’ noted Hellmuth. Still, they would not be attacking the British that
day. The next day, though, 29 May, Hellmuth and his men would be
attacking them for the first time. The net was closing in. Gort had been
right: for the BEF, there was not a moment to lose.