In May of 1940, the German Army had trapped British, French, and Belgian forces at Dunkirk, along the northern coast of France. The successful evacuation of 300,000 soldiers to safety in Britain was one of the greatest successes of the war, and "the Miracle of Dunkirk" was a major morale booster. But how did the Germans perceive it? A veteran of the war, Hans-Adolf Jacobsen's 1958 account chronicles how and why the German ground forces—seemingly on the brink of ending the war early—were ordered to halt their advance on May 22, allowing the Allies to retreat into Dunkirk and prepare a defensive perimeter.