May 25
(evening) In France, British commander John Gort cancels a planned advance to the south, and orders his troops north, so they could embark for England.

May 26
Adolf Hitler lifts his panzer halt order. Army headquarters directs panzers to move south to attack across the Somme River.

Wilhelm Keitel issues an order for the German Air Force to attack British food supplies, public services, and aircraft industry.

Evacuation of Allied troops begins, from Dunkirk, France, across the English Channel.

May 27
German forces in France begin their advance again.

The British War Cabinet approves the view of the Chiefs of Staff that Britain and the Commonwealth nations alone could produce a crisis in Germany by the middle of 1941.

May 28
King Leopold III of Belgium ordered the Belgian army to cease fighting. Unlike his father, King Albert, who refused to surrender to the Germans in World War I, Leopold decided to end the fighting on Belgian soil. Members of the Belgian government, who had moved to France, declared that Leopold was deposed from the throne. King Leopold's decision to surrender also exposed the British Expeditionary Force to German attack and the British government decided to evacuate as many troops as possible.

French General Béthouart leads a force from Bjerkvik on Narvik, Norway.

Polish troops attack Narvik, Norway, from south of the village.

Allied troops complete taking Narvik, Norway.