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| combatant2= Germany | commander1= René Prioux Gabriel Bougrain Jean-Léon-Albert Langlois | commander2= Erich Hoepner Horst Stumpff Johann Joachim Stever | strength1=2 Armoured Divisions 20,800 personnel 600 AFVs 〔Gunsburg gives these numbers: 2nd DLM: 400 officers, 10,000 men, 300 AFVs 3rd DLM: some 400 officers,10,000 men, 300 AFVs〕 | strength2=2 Panzer Divisions 25,927 personnel 618 tanks (some sources say 674) 108 artillery pieces 〔〔Gunsburg gives these numbers, including ''Befehlspanzer'': 3rd Panzer Division: 400 officers, 13,187 men, 343 tanks, 48 artillery pieces, 4th Panzer Division: 335 officers, 12,005 men, 331 tanks, 60 artillery pieces〕 1,252 aircraft | casualties1= 121 tanks destroyed/damaged or abandoned personnel: unknown | casualties2= 60 killed 80 wounded 49 tanks destroyed 111 Tanks damaged |campaignbox = }} The Battle of Hannut (not to be confused with the Battle of Gembloux Gap) was a Second World War battle fought during the Battle of Belgium which took place between 12 and 14 May 1940 at Hannut, Belgium. It was the largest ever tank battle at the time. The primary purpose of the Germans was to tie down the strongest elements of the 1st French Army and remove it from the German's Army Group A main thrust through the Ardennes, as laid out in the German operational plan ''Fall Gelb'', or "Case Yellow", by ''General'' Erich von Manstein. The German breakout of the Ardennes was scheduled for 15 May, five days after the German attacks on the Netherlands and Belgium. The delay was to entice the Allies into believing the main thrust would, like the Schlieffen Plan in World War I, come through Belgium and then down into France. When the Allied armies advanced into Belgium, they would be tied down by German offensive operations in eastern Belgium at Hannut and Gembloux. With the 1st French Army flank exposed, the German could thrust to the English Channel which would encircle and destroy the Allied forces. For the French Army, the plan in Belgium was to prepare for a prolonged defence at Gembloux, some 21 miles to the west of Hannut. The French sent two armoured divisions to Hannut, to delay the German advance and give strong French forces time to prepare a defence at Gembloux. Regardless of what happened at Hannut, the French planned to fall back on Gembloux. The Germans reached the Hannut area just two days after the start of the invasion of Belgium. The French won a series of delaying tactical engagements at Hannut and fell back on Gembloux as planned. However, the Germans succeeded in tying down substantial Allied forces at Hannut which might have participated in the decisive blow through the Ardennes. The Germans failed to neutralise the French 1st Army completely at Hannut, despite inflicting significant casualties and it withdrew to Gembloux. There, the French once again scored tactical successes at the battle of Gembloux during 14–15 May. In the aftermath of that battle, although seriously damaged, the French 1st Army was able to retreat to Lille, where it delayed the ''Wehrmacht'' and was instrumental in the British Expeditionary Force's escape from Dunkirk. ==Background== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Hannut」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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