The commander of the Leibstandarte, Dietrich, had no interest in such debates. As soon as his regiment entered the line opposite the French town of Wormhoudt late on 24 May, he ordered his men to attack. Despite the Führer's stop order, Dietrich was determined to capture a key hill east of the canal that dominated the low-lying countryside around the town.

The regiment's 3rd Battalion was sent across the canal in boats under the cover of artillery fire. The hill was quickly seized and held despite several British counterattacks. Guderian, who was now in command of the Leibstandarte's sector, was equally unhappy at the halt and ordered his panzers to back up the SS success, and Dietrich's men were not thrown off the hill.

For two days Hitler refused to allow his troops to advance, but he relented on the afternoon of 26 May and ordered an all-out offensive. The attack began during the night, backed by heavy artillery fire. Waves of Stuka dive-bombers appeared over the British lines at first light to begin relentless bombing runs.

Atrocity at Wormhoudt

Preparations for the Leibstandarte's attack were interrupted by a British spoiling attack by Bren gun carriers, and it was not until 08:20 hours that the SS men were able to move forward along the length of their front. One battalion attacked to the north and another struck to the south of the town, with a third held ready to exploit any breakthrough. The 2nd Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment, proved to be the toughest opponents the Leibstandarte had faced to date. All morning the outnumbered British defenders of Wormhoudt refused to give ground. British machine-gun and rifle fire swept the open fields around the town, causing heavy losses. Well-aimed anti-tank fire also drove off the handful of German tanks sent by Guderian to support the assault.

All through the morning and into the afternoon the Royal Warwickshires held the SS at bay. When Dietrich decided to find out what was going on, he drove into the middle of a firefight and his staff car was set ablaze. For several hours, Dietrich and his adjutant had to take cover in a ditch as the battle raged around them. Realizing that the SS was in trouble, Guderian ordered the 3rd Panzer Regiment forward. Spotter planes found the British 25-pounder artillery batteries and directed shelling to knock them out. The panzers then swung into action, launching an outflanking attack to the south of the town. They quickly knocked out the handful of British anti-tank guns and then began rolling up the Royal Warwickshire's machine-gun positions. This emboldened the Leibstandarte infantry, who now surged forward again. Street fighting raged through the town into the early evening. The intervention of the panzers broke the back of the British defenders, who were now starting to run out of ammunition. A trickle of British soldiers started surrendering, and soon just under 100 were held in a barn by men of Wilhelm Mohnke's 2nd Battalion of the Leibstandarte. He ordered the prisoners to be machine-gunned in cold blood.

A night-time counterattack led by British tanks was beaten off by SS men,who were now in complete control of Wormhoudt. The town was littered with the bodies of dead British and Germans and the burnt-out remains of scores of tanks and military vehicles. In the battle, the Royal Warwickshires had been all but wiped out as a fighting force with hundreds killed and taken prisoner. But the brave regiment had bought a day for the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to retreat inside its defensive lines outside Dunkirk. The day was particularly frustrating for Dietrich, who after he was rescued by the panzers had to go, still covered in mud from head to toe, and explain himself to Guderian, much to the amusement of the panzer general.

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