24 May 1940
Western Front
Hitler orders the Panzers to halt, allowing the British to concentrate at Dunkirk
1,300 British are rescued from Boulogne in the early hours, but 300 men have to be left behind. German troops from II Panzer Division storm the citadel, which is being defended by the French.
Heavy fighting develops at Calais between the British and the 10th Panzer Division. The British pull back into the inner defences of Calais.
General
Hoare appointed new British ambassador to Franco's Spain
Related Books
The War at Sea, 1939-1945, Volume I: The Defensive, S. W. Roskill. This first volume in the British official history of the war at sea covers the period from the outbreak of the war through to the first British disasters in the Pacific in December 1941. Amongst other topics it covers the Norwegian campaign, the evacuation from Dunkirk and the first two years of the Battle of the Atlantic. The text is meticulously researched, and is rooted in a detailed study of wartime records, both British and German. [
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How to cite this article: Rickard, J (28 December 2007), 24 May 1940, http://www.historyofwar.org/secondworldwar/date/1940_05_24.html