Battle of the Lys (1940)

For the First World War battle, see Battle of the Lys (1918).
Battle of the Lys
Part of the Invasion of Belgium of World War II

Final defensive positions of the Allies along the Lys River
Date24–28 May 1940[2]
Location
Region of Kortrijk (Southwest Flanders), Belgium
51°3′18″N 3°44′3″E / 51.05500°N 3.73417°E / 51.05500; 3.73417
Result

German victory

Belligerents
 Belgium
 France[1]
 United Kingdom[1]		  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Belgium Leopold III (POW)
Belgium Oscar Michiels (POW)
French Third Republic Georges Blanchard
United Kingdom Alan Brooke		 Nazi Germany Fedor von Bock
Nazi Germany 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.

  1. ^ a b "HyperWar: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940 [Chapter XI]". www.ibiblio.org.
  2. ^ "National Leie Monument" Archived 9 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, toerismekortrijk.be
  3. ^ Veranneman 2014, pp. 40–45.
  4. ^ Epstein 2014, pp. 251–256.