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WWII On This Day: May 23

What happened on May 23 during World War II? This date brings together 4 events from 1940 and 1941, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1940
German troops in northern France during the campaign of 1940.
Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-299-1808-10A · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · Source
Battle of France 1940

Rundstedt orders the mobile formations to halt and close up

Army Group A ordered its mobile formations to halt and close up on 23 May as the panzer advance approached the canal line west and south of Dunkirk. Rundstedt and Kleist were dealing with stretched formations, ground conditions, flank security and the need to bring infantry forward behind a rapid advance. The order arose inside the operational command before Hitler reviewed the position the following day. The pause became one element in a wider sequence that shaped the northern pocket. Allied withdrawals, Belgian resistance, French fighting around Lille, port defence…

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British troops rescued in a ship at Dunkirk (France, 1940).
Divide and Conquer (Why We Fight #3) directed by Frank Capra
Dunkirk: Operation Dynamo

Rundstedt orders the armoured forces to halt and close up

Army Group A ordered the mobile formations to stop on the canal line while the command secured its flanks, repaired units and brought infantry forward. The order reflected concern about counterattack, the condition of the armoured formations and preparations for the next phase in France. It was not originally issued by Hitler.

Continue in Dunkirk: Operation Dynamo →
1941
German paratroopers descending on Crete during Operation Merkur in May 1941.
Bundesarchiv Bild 141-0864 · CC BY-SA 3.0 DE · Source
Battle of Crete

The western front pulls back from Maleme

With the counterattack defeated and mountain troops continuing to arrive, the New Zealand force abandoned attempts to restore the original Maleme perimeter. The western line contracted through Platanias toward Galatas and Canea. German formations were now freshening their front with troops flown directly into Maleme, while Creforce units had been fighting under almost continuous air attack and possessed little transport for moving reserves or ammunition. The Germans also began using mountain routes south of the coastal road to threaten the flank of successive defensive positions. The battle moved eastward from…

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The German battleship Bismarck in Grimstadfjord near Bergen on 21 May 1941, photographed from Prinz Eugen before the Atlantic breakout.
Naval History and Heritage Command · Public domain
The Bismarck Chase

Suffolk establishes contact in the Denmark Strait

HMS Suffolk sighted the German ships in poor visibility and used radar to maintain contact while HMS Norfolk joined the shadowing force. Rear-Admiral Frederic Wake-Walker's task was to report rather than force a close engagement with Bismarck. The contact allowed Vice-Admiral Lancelot Holland to steer Hood and Prince of Wales toward an interception. Every break in radar or visual contact still created uncertainty over the Germans' exact course, so the British heavy ships approached on estimated positions through the night.

Continue in The Bismarck Chase →