In the course of the day the 7th Panzer Division advances all the way from the Seine through Évreux to the vicinity of Laigle.

In compliance with orders received from the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir Alan Brooke completes the embarkation of all remaining British units in France, including those elements that had been incorporated in the 10th Army. By the end of the day 47,000 men and 250 vehicles of all kinds have been evacuated to England.

The German push continues all along the front. In the west the remains of the 10th Army pull back beyond the Dives. Fighting continues along the line Argentan-Mortagne. What is left of the French armies retreats toward Rennes. Thanks to the activities of the Cavalry Corps, having been partially re-formed on return from Dunkirk, the withdrawal can be effected without the units' being overtaken and encircled by enemy tanks. In order to maintain a line with the Paris Army, the Cavalry Corps is ordered to hold out as long as possible along the line Chartres-Châteaudun-Blois.

On the right, the bulk of the 6th and 7th Armies regroups behind the Loire - the 6th, greatly diminished, between Decize and Gien; the 7th betwwn Gien and Orléans. The Paris Army has taken its time: most of it was still in the Châtraudun area. For the second day running the Germans bomb all the bridges over the Loire, causing heavy losses to the columns of refugees and troops massed at the crossing-points.

In the afternoon the 8th Army Chief of Staff telephones to Gen Georges: 'Enemy bombardment of the Loire bridges remains very fierce. Innumerable convoys of refugees. All this conspires to make the situation truly tragic. We have been making superhuman efforts...'

Meanwhile the whereabouts of the 2nd Armored Div is unknown. On leaving Chamarande on June 13th - its stay in the town lasting only a few hours - the division had been ordered to cover the retreat of the Paris Army, in conjunction with the Cavalry Corps and the remains of the 4th Armored Div. Its mission was to do all that it could to impede the German advance through the Beauce area, by carrying out a series of delaying actions along a line running through Étampes, Oinville-Saint-Liphard, Toury and the forest of Orléans.

About noon on June 16th the division, which is fighting a rearguard action in the Angerville-Méréville-Sermaize area, encounters fierce opposition at Boisseaux and Léouville. The position worsens in the early afternoon. It is learned that Pithiviers had fallen into the hands of the Germans, and that the latter has moved detachments forward as far as Châtillon-le-Roi and launches motorized elements along the main road from Pithiviers to Orléans.

It becomes clear that the 2nd Armored Battalion is being methodically outflanked in the east and that its encirclement is imminent. A hasty retreat is called for, especially since fuel is running out and no fresh supplies can be expected. Any delay will mean that the division will have to give up the struggle north of the Loire...

Then come two items of news that are even more alarming. The first, brought in by a liaison officer at about 5pm, announces that fighting is already in progress on the outskirts of Orléans and that enemy units are patrolling the area to the south of where the division stands, thus cutting off its line of retreat. The second, received at 5:30pm, is an order from Gen Besson, Commander of the 3rd Group of Armies, for the tanks of the 2nd Armored Battalion to withdraw to Bourges as swiftly as possible.

There can be no question of making a detour to the west, for fuel supplies are too low. There is only one way out for the division. As soon as darkness falls it must strike directly southward, smashing its way through any obstacles it might encounter.

Two columns are immediately formed:

• 1. The western column, under Col Roche, is to cross the Loire at Jargeau;
• 2. The eastern column, under Commandant Mahuet, will force its way across the river at Châteauneuf.

By nightfall, however, the confusion on the northern bank of the Loire is indescribable. The roads are lined with burned-out cars and skeletal frames of blasted trucks. Here and there a tank lies still smouldering in a field. In the midst of this chaos, hundreds of thousands of refugees are moving forward, rushing back or going in circles, some dumb with horror, others screaming in panic. In pitch darkness the exhausted regiments strive to find a way through this throng, consisting mainly of women and children. Nobody knows where the French units are, or where the Germans are, with the result that hundreds of our batteries, imagining that they are encircled, are inadvertently opening fire on our own troops. To add to this nightmare, Italian planes, newcomers to the battle, intensify their raids on the bridges, particularly at La Charité and Gien.

So it is not without difficulty that the Roche column progresses toward the river, shearing its way through enemy advance parties and tumbling into a German ambush at Chilleurs. Fearing capture, the 40th Tank Battalion and Girier's Group decide to branch westward. They finally reach the Mer bridge and cross it in the small hours.

Meanwhile, the Mahuet column meets with German fire almost throughout its journey. After being attacked at Rebrechien it speeds through Lury and finally reaches Jargeau, where it is unable to cross the river until the next morning. After that these various groups converge on La Ferté-Saint-Aubin, the rallying-point that had been assigned to them.

If the throng of refugees choking the bridges have impeded the withdrawal of the French army, it has also slowed down the advance of the Germans, which is going much faster in other sectors of the front, especially in the area between the Loire and the Saône.

The mass of Guderian's armor, which had occupied Langres the day before, splits up on leaving the town and follows the roads leading to Dijon and the Saône crossings.

Besançon falls during the evening. The Germans take several thousand prisoners and capture 30 tanks in the town. The position of the 2nd Group of Armies is becoming very critical. It is outflanked in the south and attacked from the east, in Alsace, where the enemy is threatening Colmar and Sélestat. Now it is being subjected to an attack in the north, at Gros-Tenquin, where French fortifications are at their weakest. The fortress units make a fine stand, but the line is broken. The Germans push thrust on toward Château-Salins and Sarrebourg.

In fact, they are starting to invest on all fronts. During the morning Gen Prétélat reports on the new situation: 'My left flank is under the orders of Gen Freydenberg. I do not know whether the Germans are in Dijon, but Gen Pagéry, the local commander, has fallen back to Chalon-sur-Saône. Dóle is not occuppied, but Besançon is. This is all part of the enemy's encirclement drive. I have authorized Gen Laure's attempt to save what he can from the Belfort fortress.

That same day Gen Laure decides to hack his way southwestward toward Belfort, before the Germans can cut his last remaining lines of communication. This disengagement drive toward Besançon is to be carried out by Gen Daille with the XLV Army Corps, comprising the 67th Div, the Polish 2nd Div, the 2nd Brigade of Spahis, the 2 artillery groups of the XIII Corps, a heavy artillery regiment and a battalion of the 12th Fortress Infantry Regiment. When news reaches Gen Laure of the forcing of the Saône barrier, he decides to route his withdrawal via the south of the Doubs. The fate of the 3rd, 5th and 8th Armies now hangs entirely on the success of this breakout.