Minor correction..."Viking" did not exist then, The division marked as SS-"V" was the SS-Verfügungs-Division, which was motorized infantry, cobbled together with Czech equipment and weapons. No tanks, but a few armored cars.jesk wrote:On May 24 near Dunkirk were 1,6,8, Viking, Tottenkopf panzer divisions.16 -23 May tanks passed hundreds of kilometers. Hitler stopped them.
Nor was Totenkopf a "Panzer Division" or even "Panzergrenadier". It too was a motorized infantry formation quickly thrown together from concentration camp guards and of relatively poor quality at that time...notorious for having "run away" during the Franco-British counterattack at Arras.
Notice also the indications of "Tle." on the map, which denotes "Teile" or "parts". Those divisions were considerably scattered during the pursuit to the Channel. SS-V did gain a small bridgehead over the canal at La Bassée-Kanal near St. Venant and Guerbecque, but then spent the next four days trying to get a bridge in during violent counterattacks by the British and French. IIRC, 1., 6., and 8. Panzer had little or no success in gaining bridgeheads over the canal, Hitler order or not.
