On 25 May, the British, realizing that further counteroffensives were no longer possible, began to withdraw to the port of Dunkirk. All hopes of saving the Belgian Army were lost. It became clear from this point on that all the Belgians could do was buy enough time for the Allies to evacuate. The British spared a brigade and a machine gun battalion, their only reserves, to assist in the delay. At 06:30, the 12th Royal Lancers, an armoured car regiment, was dispatched to the north of the Lys to cover the left flank of the British 2nd Army Corps and reestablish contact with the Belgians in the area. The regiment reported that the Belgians were retreating in the face of superior forces, and they themselves sporadically engaged the Germans. In an order to his troops that day, King Leopold III informed the Army, "Whatever may happen, I shall share your fate". Low morale prompted sections of the Belgian 5th and 17th regiments to surrender the bridgehead at Meigem without a fight. That was in direct contradiction of their officer's orders, which were ignored. In one instance, fed-up soldiers shot their superiors.Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh. Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man The elite Chasseurs Ardennais were deployed to the small village of Vinkt. Here the 1st Division successfully repulsed numerous attacks by Germany's 56th Infantry Division. Lieutenant Colonel George Davy, head of the British Military Mission to the Belgian Army Headquarters, was informed that the Belgians would be unable to extend their front any further. Starting that night, 2,000 wagons were lined up side by side along the rail line from Roeselare to Ypres to act as an improvised anti-tank barrier.
