Why did Hitler fail to wipe out the British army at Dunkerque?

Answer 1

two main reasons, one he feared losing all his Tanks in the battle he was scared to lose too many and hesitated and then there was Goering who promised he could defeat them on the beach from retreating with the Luftwaffe and he failed miserably.

so his trust in Goering and his lack of initiative with his tanks for fear of losing them is what made it such a great success for the British and failure for Hitler.

Yes Mc Duff the Brits were also on top of things and very organized where the French were in dissaray mostly but the Brits managed a very organized retreat and save hundreds of thousands of lives.

EF N yes that is correct it is a true story that is what I am saying above too.

Answer 2

There are different opinions about this.

Hitler was amazed by the success of the German army in its swift defeat of the British and French armies and wanted to show his generals who had great freedom to act independently that he was still in charge of strategy by ordering them to halt before Dunkerque.

The German advance had been so rapid that they had overstretched their lines of communications so they had to halt while they received fresh supplies of ammunition etc.

Hitler was known as a great admirer of the British Empire and still hoped that Britain would agree an Armistice so that he could concentrate on his real target the following year which was the Soviet Union.

Whatever the reason the Evacuation of Dunkerque saved hundreds of thousands of British and French troops to fight another day.

Answer 3

Hitler decided to stop the final assault on Dunkirk until the infantry could catch up with the Panzer divisions. The armored formations had out-run the infantry. They didn't want to attack the army at Dunkirk without infantry support and then Goering promised Hitler that the Luftwaffe could destroy the British before they escaped, without the Army. Hitler ordered the Army to stop until the infantry caught up, by the time Hitler realized the Luftwaffe couldn't do it alone over 300,000 British and French escaped.

Answer 4

Stupidity - - - despite the 90 percent of Yahooers who somehow think Hitler a Military Genius, he was AN IDIOT. Oh yea, someone will trot out the whole 'Herman Goring' misled his beloved Fuhrer by saying 'his' Luftwaffe could do the Job. And it is true that the German Navy SCREWED Up - - - BUT The ultimate blame is Adolf.

Adolf actually believed that the British were running away. He felt certain that the British People would say, "Gee Adolf, What A Man, What A Man," and hand over the royal sceptre & crown to deposed Edward and sue for Peace. Adolf the Humanitarian would gain British Trust by letting them run away.

There were lots of other factors involved but all evolved around a largely incoherent German battle Plan. And oddly enough if you truly read into history you find that for all the brave battles & heroic deeds much is left to fate & luck. But the British are a tenacious bunch witness the wee Irish lad beaten & buggered by a squad of big hulking Aussies, yes he ran away, only to return with a gun and a few friends.

Peace..........

PS Your Spelling is Fine - - - Dunkirk gets spelled various ways - - - it is literally caa-caa bay // a Kirk is an inlet.

Also racing to Paris was more of a priority. The Germans wanted to experience Gay Paree....

Answer 5

1st - Goering ask Hitler to stop the advance of the armored and infantry division because he wants a peice of action and boasted that his Lufwaffe can destroy the cornered British, Belgian and French army at Dunkirk
2nd - Due to the fast advances of the Panzer division the infantry division were left behind and they stopped to wait for the infantry division to catch up and Dunkirk is unsuitable for Armor
3rd - Although Lord Gort (BEF Commander) was beaten badly he managed to defend his rear by using rear guard tactics. (One Scottish regiment manage to stop several advancing tanks by using sharpshooters)
4th - The true reason for Hitler's decision to halt the German armour is a matter of debate. The most popular theory is that Von Rundstedt and Hitler agreed to conserve the armour for future operations further South

Answer 6

one theory is that he wanted to negotiate. He might have felt that he would have wanted an alliance for his forthcoming war against the Soviets.
Another theory is that the Panzer divisions had initially run ahead of their supplies, and we being prepared for the attack on the rest of France
The best theory is that it was a classic cockup!
And I'll be the bloke who trots out the idea that Goring (the fat fool) had also told Hitler that his airpower alone could do the job.
What is for certain, is that the Allies were very lucky

Answer 7

They evacuated the area before his army closed in. In fact, I believe the British were warned and fled across the channel which saved countless lives.

Answer 8

One of the many military blunders of the second world war. Hitler stopped his Panzers short of Dunkirk. Had they continued their advance, he could've bagged the entire BEF....

Answer 9

Ahhh, the Brits were a slippery lot with their deft oarsmen
and uncanny seamanship .

Answer 10

Homework question. You need to do the research yourself. And it's Dunkirk.