http://www.onwar.com/chrono/1940/jun40/f17jun40.htm
Their Finest Hour
Monday, June 17, 1940 www.onwar.com
In Britain... Churchill broadcasts saying that the Battle of France is over and that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. His message is “Let us so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour.”
In France... The Petain Cabinet takes office. Weygand is Minister of Defense. They announce that they are asking Germany for armistice terms. The British government understands that these will only be accepted on the condition that the French Fleet does not fall into German hands. Equally it is the German policy to stop the French Fleet and colonies from joining Britain and this is the reason for their comparative leniency in allowing the establishment of Vichy as a focus for the loyalty for the French. French representatives in the USA do allow the British to take up arms orders they have made under the “Cash and Carry” rules.
On the Western Front... Pontarlier, almost on the Swiss border, is reached by Guderian’s forces. Other units have nearly reached the Loire and still more are advancing in Brittany and Normandy.
As the French campaign plays out, Stalin decides it’s a good time to cash in his part of the Secret Protocol to the Non-Aggression Pact. The Soviet occupation of those states does not sit well with most inhabitants.
Interesting to note that the refugees of the Baltic States governments, as well as many people of German descent, are looking to exit those former countries. And they are trying to get to Germany. People who know the roads, the villages, the cities and all the important terrain.
Hmmm....I wonder if the Soviets will hear from them again. Maybe about a year from now.