Hitler explicitly ordered that the British and French be allowed to cross the channel back into Britain.
Why? Did he think his conquest was already won and he didn't want to spill anymore blood?
Hitler loved British culture. He saw it as very similar to German culture and didn't want to have conflict with them.
>>1323690
No, he ordered the German Army not to attack. He still tried to bomb the shit out of them as they were leaving.
He did this because he still had to deal with the French Army in the West. His troops were over extended, and there was a real chance if they pressed the Dunkirk pocket, the dunkirk pocket would press back.
>>1323690
No he didn't. He ordered the Luftwaffe to keep them bottles up until he could deal with them.
Didn't work.
>>1323690
It is my understanding that he didn't ALLOW anything. He legitimately thought the army was overextended and told them to stop. German commanders correctly realized it was an absurd order, but there wasn't much they could do.
Nazi Germany was incompetent.
>>1323729
Just saying, no one agreed with Hitler's decision then or since. A LOT of Allied troops escaped because of Hitler's decision. Having thousands of additional POWs instead of thousands of enemy combatants would have helped Nazi Germany greatly.
>>1323740
A few hundred thousand less troops wouldn't mean too much. Allies eventually had millions of them. A more dire victory would've hurt enemy morale more though.
>>1323742
Drop in the bucket fallacy.
Regardless, scale has nothing to do with the fact that it was a bad decision. One of many examples of Hitler micromanaging and screwing things up. It's an inherent problem with fascism.
>>1323752
I wouldn't jump the gun on what is and isn't a bad decision. Intel wasn't amazing back then, and there were tons of military paradigm shifts. Look no further than the African front, where Rommel gained 500 miles of land because British tank treads had pins that weren't made for desert combat, then they regained it because German tanks had no fuel.
>>1323740
>Just saying, no one agreed with Hitler's decision then or since.
That isn't true at all. Gerd Von Rundstedt was basically the author and the person who justified the halt order even before Hitler gave it, and he's a well respected commander.
You have numerous military historians since who also defend the stop order as necessary, in part because THEY STILL HAVEN'T DEFEATED FRANCE AND THAT SHIT TAKES PRIORITY.
Stop trying to portray Hitler's decisions at Dunkirk as militarily infeasible. They weren't idiocy by a long way. And even if you do eliminate the pocket, you'd almost certainly allow the French to disengage and re-entrench, which would have hurt Germany very badly.
>>1323759
>Intel wasn't amazing back then, and there were tons of military paradigm shifts.
Yet another reason fascist micromanagement is bad. Party leaders make decisions that others have a lot better grasp of.
>>1323729
>It'd still be Hitler thinking the war would end sooner than it did and not going for the required plays.
Honestly, it was one of Hitler's good plays. The number of British Troops involved was not significant, and the Dunkirk troops wouldn't be re-equipped for months.
The bulk of the French Army is still on your left flank, and memes aside, the French Army is still one of the best in Europe. It is entirely possible that an attack on the pocket could have lost the Germans the war right there. The French get to regroup, the British find they can fend off a german offensive, and begin a counteroffensive in the German rear, resupplying and reinforcing as they go.
>>1323775
Every single account I've heard is of the German military putting pressure on escaping Allied troops but then not only having to stop the assault due to Hitler's orders but actually having to retreat. That not pursuing the Allies to the beaches let thousands of Allied soldiers get away needlessly.
>>1323804
>Every single account I've heard
Then you should read more widely. I would recommend this for starters
The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt 1875–1953. Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-84884-662-3.
Halder, Chief of the General staff wanted to stop for at least 2 days to rest the troops. Rundstedt himself wanted at least a temporary halt, mainly because Kliest, running most of his armor, had suffered close to 50% operational losses by this point and wanted time to put things in repair. The infantry was well behind the armored and motorized units, and needed time to catch up (Remember, the army group that's going after Dunkirk is 7 armored, 3 motorized divisions. It has 35 infantry divisions).
It's only after the war he starts opposing it, as part of the usual round of "Blame Hitler for everything that ever went wrong and then some" that the Wehrmacht brass loved to engage in.
>That not pursuing the Allies to the beaches let thousands of Allied soldiers get away needlessly.
So, let's not forget that roughly 1/3 of those forces that "got away" were French and would be interned some weeks later. And let's not also forget that to attack Dunkirk would involve redirecting Army Group B from going south, which is where little things like Paris are. Dunkirk had about 15 divisions pocketed, and there are about 100 French divisions the other way.
It really is not some militarily indefensible call done only because Hitler is stupid.
>>1323831
Good point(s).
>>1323752
>It's an inherent problem with fascism.
This statement tells me you're a mongoloid and talking out of your ass.
>>1324034
Fascism by definition has two things: the centralization of authority, usually into the hands of some cult of personality, and a endlessly touted national mythology. Eventually the leadership drinks the very koolaid they are selling and thus thinks they can't make wrong decisions, leading to micromanagement and generally bad decisions.
>>1323702
this 100%
guys stop with your shitty history channel theories hitler and his generals werent that dumb they had to stop.
both flanks unprotected no fuel and ammunition left supply far behind infantry far behind armies on 3sides
I bet you degeneratwd company of heroes shitheads would have pushed and lost the entire army
fucking use your brains
>>1323690
He really, really, wanted to be allies with Britain.
>>1326735
no he wanted them to surrender
