The remnants of the 1st Army, which had been fighting in the Lille area, surrender after running out of ammunition. At 9am two battalions, drawn from all the units that had taken part in the battle, march past Gen Wegner in the main square of Lille. A German detachment presents arms.

Gen de Gaulle, summoned by Gen Weygand, drives to French GHQ in the Château at Montry. The Commander-in-Chief congratulates him on his fine leadership of the 4th Armored Div at Montcornet and Abbeville. Then the two generals turn their minds to the second phase of the battle, which seems imminent. 'Any day now I shall be attacked along the Somme and the Aisne,' says Weygand. 'I shall be saddled with twice as many German divisions as we ourselves have... If things don't happen in too much of a rush, if I have time to remuster the French forces that escape from Dunkirk and if the British army returns to share in the fight and the RAF is prepared to pull its weight in Europe, we still have a chance. Otherwise...!' Gen Weygand concludes his exposé with a wave of the hand that is fully indicative of his helplessness. Gen de Gaulle recalls that he left GHQ 'with a heavy heart'. One can well believe him.

M. Reynaud summons Gen Spears and tells him, for Churchill's immediate information, that the French Secret Service has just received news that the Germans will attack across the Somme between June 3rd and June 5th, in the direction of Amiens-Paris and Rheims-Paris. He then announces that at the moment 9 German panzer divisions have been almost entirely withdrawn from the fighting for overhaul. This great mass of armor, while temporarily immobilized, would be a sitting target for air attacks. He asks that the RAF intervene without delay at points that will be indicated by Gen Georges.

Gen Spears telephones London and passes on the request to Gen Ismay. Gen Ismay tells him that tension is mounting between Adm Abrial and the British Command in Dunkirk.

A few hours later Churchill sends Paul Reynaud the following telegram:

Crisis in evacuation now reached. Five fighter squadrons, acting almost continuously, is the most we can do, but six ships, several filled with troops, sunk by bombing this morning. Artillery fire menacing only practicable channel. Enemy closing in on reduced bridgehead. By trying to hold on till tomorrow we may lose all... Situation cannot be fully judged by Adm Abrial in the fortress, nor by you, nor by us here. We have therefore ordered Gen Alexander, commanding British sector of bridgehead, to judge, in consultation with Adm Abrial, whether to try to stay over tomorrow or not. Trust you will agree.

'And pray, what do you think Gen Alexander's decision will be?' Reynaud asks acidly.

Spears, who had delivered the message, says he can not be certain, but he will not be surprised if Alexander decides to close the harbor some time during the night.

'I note,' says Reynaud icily, 'that the decision to have a united command only lasted 24 hours.'

At 4pm Sir Ronald Campbell, British ambassador in Paris, calls on M. Reynaud and delivers a telephoned message from Churchill, confirming the previous one:

It is hardly possible that embarkation can be prolonged beyond daylight tomorrow. It is therefore desirable that the operation should come to an end tonight. Up to date 225,000 men have been embarked...'

A little later in the day Gen Spears informs the French Premier that Gen Alexander has decided to stop embarkation on the night of June 1st-2nd.

Meanwhile, the evacuation of Dunkirk is continuing in increasingly dramatic conditions. Enemy pressure is intensifying hourly. The sky, streaked by the flashes of exploding bombs, is blacked out by the thick spiral cords of smoke rising from town and harbor. Spitfires and Stukas spin round and round in this apocalyptic setting. The constant drone of their engines is drowned by the shrill whistle of bombs and the roar of the German coastal batteries, which hold the town's approaches trapped in their crossfire.

In the midst of this inferno, Adms Abrial and Platon (the latter having been appointed governor of Dunkirk) are doing all that was humanly possible to ensure the movement of troops through the town and direct the escaping columns to the beaches that are least exposed to the enemy's fire.

At 6pm, when all units not taken prisoner are within the perimeter and the embarkation of the Cavalry Corps is complete, Gen Blanchard sails for Dover aboard the Bouclier. Other passengers are Gen Langlois, commander of the Cavalry Corps, and his staff.

Commandant Marchal remains in Dunkirk with a group of some 20 tanks, to share in the last-ditch stand.