Evening star., 1940-11-22

rAlllk. nc GOld uiC tiioe i1o ACd4 CsA-
dence had passed under his notice
of any reason for alarm because oi
the alleged Dutch ultimatum.
It was a little after O'Clock or
May 10 when the Germans came
emerging from the disc of the ris-
ing sun like dark geese on the
Wexford fats. There were II o1
them in this first squadron and q
little behind and to the left an
other group of the same number
All the anti-aircraft set off with q
great row. There was the smash
ing conclusion of artillery and the
rattle of machine guns as the Ger
man f1iers passed out of sight to
the west.
Leaves for Command.
When it became evident that
nothing could avert the storm and
only force could answer force, the
King left during the late night
hours of May 9 to take personal
command of his armies in the field
And at least the question Of mill
tary cooperation between the
armies allied for the defense OF
Belgium was determined. On May
II meeting was held for this pur-
pose at Casteau near Mons, at
tended by Leopold, Gen. Gort, COM
mander-in-chief of the British ex-
peditionary force and Gen. Billotte
of the French army. 1t was agreed
that Gen. Billotte would have dt-
rection of operations and that the
Belgians and British would be sub
iect to his orders, he in turn being
under the supreme command OF the
Generalissimo, Gamelin.
The first line of Belgian defense
was the Albert Canal. which paral-
leled the Dutch frontier few miles
from the border line and extended
from Antwerp east to the River
Meuse. A few hours after the
opening of hostilities, this primary
position had been penetrated when
German tanks passed over the
bridges at Maastricht, Vroenhoven,
Veldwezelt and Briegden and moved
rapidly into the interior OF Belgium.
Why these crucial crossings were
not destroyed ''has never been salts
factorily explained" to use the
cryptic words of the Belgian gen.
eral staff. But once the canal was
passed, this whole line became un-
tenable and the Belgian Army had
no other course but to fall back to a
series of strong points and fortiflca-
tions 40 miles further west.
Regarded as Unassailable.
This iron wall was designed as
the decisive defense of the country.
It described a bow formation from
Antwerp, Malines, Louvain and
Wavre to the fortress of Namur on
the Meuse, and was considered an
almost unassailable stand.
Hardly had defensive positions
been consolidated on the Antwerp,
Malines, Louvain, Namur line when
news came of the capitulation Of
the Dutch armies and the crushing
defeat Of Gen. Giraud's army In
Holland. This meant that if the
Germans were advancing in strength
across Holland, the iron wall of Bel
gium might be turned on its left
flank. Following this diSconcerting
prospect came the heart-breaklng
order from Gen. Gamelin that there
would be no fight on the iron wall.
What had happened was that the
French 9th Army had collapsed
on a front of nearly so miles from
Mosieres nearly to Dinant and
through this great breach German
mechanical divisions were rushing
across southeastern Belgium to the
sea. Another German force had
struck the French 1st Army, which
had manned the iron wall from
Wavre to Namur, and had rolled
this army back. The movement OF
the allied armies in Belgium mad
become a precipitous retreat.
On May % the German advance
had gained Boulogne, and Calais fell
the day following. Retirement to
the south was now impossible. The
German thrust had wedged barrier
between France and Belgium. This
was the dark outlook when Gen.
Weygand was summoned from
SYRIA to take command Of the de-
feat. He had flown from Paris
through a lively bombardment, was
forced to the ground at Calais,
narrowly escaping being shot down.
Weygand's first words on reaching
the Kings headquarters were, They
have given me a disaster"
Hopelessness Outlined.
To the commander in chief the
King told in detail the hopelessness
of his POSITION; how his troops,
ranged on a 50-mile front, were
overwhelmed by the smashing Ger
man air attack; how great hordes
of panic-driven refugees had
swarmed across the country, had so
cluttered Flanders roads that mill
tary movements became almost i'm
possible; how, wild with panic and
craZed by lack OF Ioou anu Wdtei'
they had spread decentralization
among the Belgian troops.
Where we're the French? The
King had no information and Gen
Weygand could give him none.
Gen. Gort had been notified OF
Weygand's expected coming and had
agreed to be present at this i'm
portant conference of May 81, but
hours passed and he did not appear
and in the later afternoon the
French commander in chief was
forced to return to Paris without q
meeting with the commanding officer
of the British Army.
At 9 o'clock that night, Gen. Gort
came to the Belgian headquarters
at Saint Andre, near Bruges, ano
there was another conference be-
tween Gort, the King and Gen
Billotte. Again the King described
the military impossibility Of hi,
position. He told how Weigand hae
agreed that the only hope was 6
determined counterattack to breal
up the armored German column thai
had gained the coast, separated th'