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Von Bock's Group is now advancing 4 armies almost abreast: the 4th Army (von Kluge), the 18th Army (von Küchler), the 6th Army (von Reichenau) and the 9th Army (Strauss), supported by the 5th and 7th Panzer Divisions of Hoth's Panzer Corps. Fully exploiting its successes of the day before, it now begins a dual maneuver to outflank Paris:
In the early morning Hoth's Panzer Corps reaches Rouen; further up river von Manstein's Army Corps is in sight of Les Andelys and Vernon, and sweeping toward the latter. The western portion of Altmayer's 10th Army is withdrawing as swiftly as possible toward Yvetot and the Lower Seine. Rommel is ordered to move toward the coast so as to bar the way to Le Havre and encircle these units. The eastern portion of the 10th Army manages to re-establish itself along the lower reaches of the Oise, where it will amalgamate with Héring's Army. Farther east things are going particularly badly with Frère's 7th Army, which is pulling back to the Oise between Compiègne and Chantilly. The river has to be crossed in very difficult conditions. Things go fairly smoothly during the morning, but at 6pm Sainte-Maxence bridge is bombed and blown up. At 8pm the Verberie bridge is likewise blown up, before any units had crossed it. This leaves only the suspension bridge at Lacroix-Saint-Ouen, which is jammed with convoys, the railway bridge and a foot bridge at Pont-Sainte-Maxence. By late evening the French are under ever increasing pressure along the river. Losses have been severe. The I and XXIV Army Corps have had to abandon much of their equipment on the west bank. By the time they reach the east bank their numbers have been substantially reduced. But, however important these incidents may be, the main event of the day has been the expansion of the German offensive in the Champagne district. So far the operations, confined to the sector stretching from the mouth of the Somme to the Ailette Canal, have been carried out exclusively by von Bock's Group of Armies. Now von Rundstedt's Group in turn moves forward all the way down the Aisne to the left bank of the Meuse. The action begins at 3:30am with a fierce artillery and aerial bombardment. From 5:30am onward the Germans are attacking along a hundred-mile front. Gen von Rundstedt's forces are considerable. They are positioned as follows:
At the very outset of this offensive Guderian has named Langres and Besançon as objectives for his armor. Von Rundstedt's troops have 8 panzer divisions - about 2,000 tanks - to support their attack on the French positions held by the 6th Army (Touchon) and the 4th Army (Réquin). On the morning this new battle began, Gen Weygand addresses the following proclamations to his troops:
The Germans, however, attacking with fresh troops, lose no time in crossing the Aisne and forming bridgeheads on the south bank. Their main effort is directed against Château-Porcien and by afternoon they are within easy reach of Saint-Loup. Farther westward they succeed in establishing bridgeheads at Guignicourt and Pontavert. The Germans have been gaining ground particularly rapidly in the Soissons sector. That evening GHQ leaves La Ferté-sous-Jouarre for Briare. In view of the worsening situation Gen Weygand sends the following note to M. Reynaud:
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