May 21-28
Western Front, France
British tanks battle with the 7th Panzer Division at Arras until May 23. General Heinz Guderian moves toward Boulogne and Calais unaffected by the Allied 'Weygand Plan,' which attempts to split the tank spearhead from troops and supplies in the German 'corridor.' Boulogne and Calais capitulate after the naval evacuation of Allied troops.

Eager to preserve his panzers for taking Paris, Hitler halts General Gerd von Rundstedt's armor at Gravelines and allows the air force to attack the Allied 'pocket' centering on Dunkirk. British aircraft, however, resist the attacks, enabling the Allies to prepare for an evacuation.

May 25-28
Western Front, Belgium
King Leopold of Belgium's forces are left surrounded as the Allies withdraw to Dunkirk. Resistance seems futile and he decides to surrender on the 28th. Belgium has lost 7550 men killed. The surrender leaves the left flank of the Allied line increasingly vulnerable, and there is no hope of holding out in Belgium. The exiled Belgium government in Paris condemns King Leopold's surrender and assumes his powers.

Plumes of smoke rise from Dunkirk's port area as troops sail back to Britain

May 26
Western Front,France/Belgium
Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from the Dunkirk area, begins. A defensive perimeter established on the Aa, Scarpe, and Yser 'canal line' covers the withdrawal, while an assorted rescue flotilla of pleasure boats, commercial craft, and naval vessels crosses and recrosses the English Channel.

May 31
Politics, United States
President Franklin D. Roosevelt launches a 'billion-dollar defense program' to bolster the armed forces.

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