‘Dunkirk’: Why Didn’t Hitler Go in For the Kill?

COL Charles Williams my goodness, I have to see it today, will look at going to see it. I have always pondered this question myself. I do like the perspective of this statement however:

But the psychological effect of the unexpected resistance was more powerful than the British tanks. Von Rundstedt, with the support of Hitler, stopped the panzers driving toward Dunkirk and ordered that, first, the resistance at Arras should be dealt with.

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Hitler, being a politician and not a military commander, made numerous strategic mistakes during the war. Germany had the best military in the world at the start of WWII. On paper, he should have easily taken Europe. The decision to back off of Dunkirk was made by his generals and approved by him. It would be one of the first of many mistakes that cost him the war.

I read the article and I still believe that the most compelling argument behind Hitler’s issuance of the stop advance order at Dunkirk was Hitler's belief of Field Marshal Hermann Goering’s assurances that the Luftwaffe was more than capable of stopping the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at Dunkirk without the assistance of Guderian's Panzers. Prior to Hitler acquiescing to Goering s proclamation Field Marshall Von Rundstedt had informed Hitler that he (Von Rundstedt) was concerned about the way the Panzer forces had been reduced during the long and expeditious advance across France and, more importantly, the possibility of further engagements with the enemy from the north and the south. Hitler subsequently agreed with Von Rundstedt’s reservations and wanted to save his Panzer force for the drive on Paris. Now, recall that Goering was with Hitler in the 1923 Putsch and was wounded in the aborted attempt to overthrow the government. Accordingly, Goering was always one of Hitler's closet advisers. So it is not out of the realm of possibility that Goering’s insistence that the Luftwaffe could finish the job without the aid of the army may have influenced Hitler’s decision. Therefore, with assurances from Goering that the Luftwaffe could interdict and Dunkirk evacuation as well as Hitler sharing Von Rundstedt’s concerns over a depleted Panzer force; Hitler issued the stop order. Regarding the assumption that Hitler believed that by allowing the BEF to escape from Dunkirk it would have eased peace relations with Britain; it would appear that was a poor assumption in that if it was true Hitler would have never ordered Goering’s Luftwaffe to attack. Nonetheless, Manstein, Guardian and Rommel were appalled at Goering's cavalier proclamations of assured victory.