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Originally Posted by Wolverine
It was a German victory in the sense they had removed the one real threat to them on mainland Europe. At that time. However, being that the troops were not captured or killed it was a bittersweet victory. I was always fascinated by that. Why would Hitler just stop, so close to all out victory?
Maybe Hitler looked at it from the aspect of Honor. He could'nt sink the rescue vessels. Which is what they were, the boats evacuating the soldiers were ferries, fishing and pleasure craft. The evacuation was not an orderly withdrawal of military targets.
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Why would Hitler just stop?.....well you are partly right in that it was an aspect of honour. In May of 1940 Hitler remarked to Generals Blummentritt, Rundstedt and...and...I can't remember right now. But he said something to the effect that Britain was, like the Catholic Church, an essential element of world stabilty and that he hoped to make peace with Britain on terms that would be honourable to Britain. That would mean that a large portion of the BEF remain intact. Hitler also did not believe that Britain would come back in to the war. (Rundstedt, in an interview with Liddell Hart after the war claimed that Hitler let the BEF escape on purpose so that peace negotiations would be easier and quicker. I'm not sure how true Rundstedt's statement is, that he halted the panzers for that purpose).
I have also read that Goering wanted a piece of the action and asked Hilter to let the Luftwaffe finish off Dunkirk and the BEF. Hitler liked the idea because, if it succeeded, would give the Luftwaffe some prestige over the army and navy.