SS troops did not take part in the thrust through the Ardennes and the river Meuse.[127] Instead, the SS-Totenkopf was summoned from the army reserve to fight in support of Generalmajor Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division as they advanced toward the English Channel.[128] On 21 May, the British launched an armored counterattack against the flanks of 7th Panzer Division and SS-Totenkopf.