Battle of the Lys | |||||||
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Part of the Invasion of Belgium of World War II | |||||||
Final defensive positions of the Allies along the Lys River | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Belgium France[1] United Kingdom[1] | Germany | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Leopold III (POW) Oscar Michiels (POW) Georges Blanchard Alan Brooke |
Fedor von Bock Georg von Küchler | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
500,000[3] | 12 divisions[4] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
40,000+ casualties |
Unknown 320–400+ captured |
The Battle of the Lys (French: Bataille de la Lys, Dutch: Leieslag) was a major battle between Belgian and German forces during the German invasion of Belgium of 1940 and the final major battle fought by Belgian troops before their surrender on 28 May. The battle was the bloodiest of the 18 Days' Campaign. The battle was named after the Leie (French: Lys), the river at which the battlefield occurred.