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"Erwin
Rommel got command of the Seventh Panzer Division for the attack on
France in 1940, although he had no practical experience with tank warfare.
He suprised the officers of his division with a "Heil Hitler"
greeting and distributed to them copies of his book.
His crossing of the River Meusse on May 13th was a tactical triumph,
and he began moving out of this bridgehead in the morning of the 15th.
Within hours he encountered a French division of Char Bs, who had run
their fuel tanks dry in their attemp to reach the battlefield. The 37mm
guns were quite unable to make any impression on the armor of the Char
B, so Rommel called up Stuka dive-bombers to destroy the French and
set off for the west. To break the created Panzer corridor, two British
tank regiments broke into the 7th Panzer Division's line of march behind
its armored spearhead near Arras on 21 May, inflicting serious losses.
Rommel reacted with uncharacteristic panic, but halted the enemy's advance
by concentrating the entire sources of his artillery, including his
88mm anti-aircraft guns. He emerged from the campaign with an established
reputation as a tank leader with real flair. During the French campaign
the 7th Panzer Division earned the title "Ghost Division"
as no one knew were it was, including the German High Command."
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