and Air Component Hurricanes were confronted by more Bf 109s over the front line, which shot down at least six of the twelve Hurricanes lost. The two Hurricane forces claimed 60 aircraft shot down, probables or damaged, 27 being attributed to them in a 1999 analysis. 13 May Fifty miles north of the AASF bases, opposite the Meuse, the crisis of the battle of France was beginning but the Allied commanders still took the threat in the Low Countries more seriously. Four Battles of 76 Wing (12, 142 and 226 squadrons) received orders to attack German forces around Wageningen, about away but the raid was cancelled because of poor weather. Later on, seven Battles of 226 Squadron were sent to attack German columns near Breda, distant, despite the target being closer to 2 Group in England. No German columns were found; the Battles demolished a factory to block the road and returned safely. Information about the situation on the Meuse began to arrive and AASF HQ began to consider a contingency plan to evacuate to fields further south. During the evening a French pilot saw Germans crossing the Meuse at Dinant and landed at the 12 Squadron base, which was the closest, quickly to attack the German crossing but Playfair and Barratt refused to allow it. Pressure on the British air commanders increased during the night when Billotte, the commander of 1 (1st Army Group), told Barratt and d'Astier that "victory or defeat hinges on the destruction of those bridges". The Germans had bridgeheads on the west bank of the Meuse and were building pontoon bridges to get tanks across; Barratt and d'Astier were told to make an immediate maximum effort. Unlike the permanent bridges attacked on 12 May, the German defences at Sedan were not organised, pontoon bridges were more vulnerable and the river was much closer to the AASF airfields, commensurately further from bases. French bombers made two attacks during the day and overnight the French bombed German rear areas as the Blenheims of 2 Group attacked the Maastricht bridges and railways at Aachen and Eindhoven. Ten Hurricanes were lost on 13 May, six to German fighters for a claim of five Bf 109s and five Bf 110s, double the number eventually attributed to AASF and Air Component Hurricanes. Total claims were 37 German aircraft shot down, probables or damaged and 21 recognised in a 1999 analysis. The