defense of the Sloedam was considered to be the last bit of useful resistance. Should that position fall, a general retreat of the French troops would become inevitable. Since the objective of safeguarding Antwerp and the Scheld canal had not been achieved, the battles that continued at Zuid-Beveland and Walcheren had only one objective; to cover the north flank of the French forces north of Antwerp. Early that morning, the Germans opened fire with their medium and heavy howitzers, which were all positioned near Lewedorp. The French artillery and the joint Allied navy units replied with a heavy barrage on the first German troops. The assault stalled immediately and for the first time in the Zeeland campaign the Germans faltered and withdrew, leaving a considerable number of dead and wounded behind. The Dutch offered their assistance, but the French Commander declined the offer. The Germans then launched a massive assault onto the French defenses, by the end of the day Walcheren lay open to the SS. The Germans then turned their attention on Vlissingen. They began to advance toward the city, they did not meet any resistance until they were at the outskirts. Many Dutch and French troops began to evacuate; however, the French commander—General Deslaurens—gathered the remaining troops and set up defensive positions. They were soon pushed back, and Deslaurens was killed. He would be the only general to die on Dutch soil in May 1940. During the night, the last pockets of resistance were cleared by the Germans. Here and there Dutch and French troops put up a brief fight, but before morning all resistance had faded away. The remaining troops on Walcheren—mostly Dutch—had surrendered. Bombing of Middelburg On 17 May, the Germans launched a massive raid on Middelburg, which would only to be surpassed for severity by the Rotterdam Blitz. Nearly 600 buildings were destroyed by the bombing and resulting fire. 800 people were made homeless. The Dutch press—one of the first official sources that had been "Nazified"—reported the devastation of Middelburg later that month and in early June. The massive fires in the town would continue to grow until the evening of 18 May, when about 500 fire-fighters and volunteers, managed to control the fires and prevent further destruction. The last of the fires were not extinguished until some 40 days after the raid. Surrender By late afternoon on 17 May, it was clear that the