Dunkirk

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Lang

The great unanswered question is why did the Germans give the allies a reprieve which enabled most of the British Army to be rescued?

Lang

Why? It's because the German commanders were ordered to hesitate by their political master. The delay was to try one last time to get the British to 'see reason' and make a deal to join Germany as a lesser partner. Should that happen, an intact British army would be useful. It sounds wacky but there was enough support in the British parliament to make it a possibility. A possibility, that is, until Winston Churchill rightly dug his heels in. The same perceived support for a possible British/German deal by some British parliamentarians and The Duke of Windsor was also responsible for the setting up of a clandestine meeting with Rudolf Hess when he flew his Me110 into Scotland. Of course it was a trap, but it only worked because Germany thought it was possible. Read "Ten Days to Destiny" by John Costello.