General Rudolf Schmidt's...

history · 14 May 1940 · 84 years ago

General Rudolf Schmidt's German 9th Panzer Corps threatened the Dutch city of Rotterdam with aerial bombardment, and the Dutch garrison surrendered; some Luftwaffe aircraft, however, did not get the order to abort; 95 tons of bombs were dropped on Rotterdam, killing 1,000 civilians and rendering 85,000 homeless. Elsewhere in the Netherlands, Dutch Commander-in-Chief General Winkelman ordered his forces to cease fighting as the situation became hopeless. In Belgium, Erwin Rommel personally led a 30-tank charge near Dinant, pushing back French and Belgian forces three miles. Near Sedan, France, Heinz Guderian's three armored divisions crossed the Meuse River. In central Belium, German Gernal Erich Hoepner sent 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions in pursuit of the French defeated at the Battle of Hannut in the previous two days, but French anti-tank artillery fire destroyed many pursuers. 

More history on 14 May