This episode of History Date Night covers May 23rd through the 26th, 1940.

As German tanks race across France with Allied forces seemingly on the verge of total disaster, the German advance suddenly comes to a halt. Why did the tanks stop when victory appeared within reach? And was this pause one of the most consequential decisions of World War II?

This episode follows the chaos surrounding the northern Allied armies as their command structure begins to unravel, including a series of missed meetings and a fatal car crash that leaves the French high command struggling to coordinate its forces at the worst possible moment.

Meanwhile, Britain launches a sweeping arrest of hundreds suspected of fascist sympathies, and in Mexico City, Leon Trotsky survives an assassination attempt involving bombs and machine guns.