The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) was the name of the British Army in Western Europe from 1939 to 1940, in the early stages of the Second World War. During the 1930s, the British government planned to prevent war by rearming it from a very low level of readiness in the early 30s and abolishing the Ten Year Rules. Much of the extra money was given to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force but plans were made to replenish a small amount of the Army and Territorial divisions for the foreign service.
The BEF (General Lord Gort) began to move to France in September 1939 and gathered along the Belgian-French border. BEF took the left post of the First French Army as part of France 1 er groupe d'armÃÆ' Â © es (1st Army Group) from Front du Nord-est ( Front North-East). Most of the BEF spent the Phoney War (September 3, 1939 to May 9, 1940) digging field defenses at the border. When the Battle of France (Fall Gelb ) began on May 10, 1940, the BEF constituted 10 per cent of Allied forces on the Western Front.
BEF participated in the Dyle Plan, a swift advance to Belgium to the Dyle river line but the 1st Army Group has quickly retreated through Belgium and northwest France, after Germany's breakthrough further south at the Battle of Sedan (12 -15 May). After the success of the local ant counter-attack of the Battle of Arras (1940) (May 21), BEF, French and Belgian troops to the north of the Somme retreated to Dunkirk on the coast of the North Sea of ​​France and evacuated in Operation Dynamo (26). May - June 4).
The 51st Infantry Division (Highland) with reinforcements as the Saar Force, has taken over part of the Maginot Line for training. The troops fought with the local French unit after May 10, then joined the Tenth Army along with the Improved Division of Beauman and the 1st Armored Division, to fight in the Abbeville Battle (May 27 - June 4) south of the Somme. Britain tried to rebuild BEF with division training in the UK, troops evacuated from France and line-or-communications troops south of the Somme river (informally known as the 2nd BEF).
Following the success of Fall Rot, a second German attack in France, outside the Somme and Aisne rivers, BEF 2 and Allied forces were evacuated from Le Havre in Operation Cycle (10-13 June) and the Atlantic and Mediterranean Ports of France in Operation Ariel (June 15-25, unofficial until 14 August). BEF lost 66,426 people, 11,014 killed or died of wounds, 14,074 injured and 41.338 people missing or imprisoned.
Video British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
​​Latar Belakang
1918-1932
After 1918, the prospect of war seemed so remote, that the government's expenditure on the armed forces was determined by the assumption that there would be no major war. Spending varies from year to year and between services but from July 1928 to March 1932, the formula of the Imperial Defense Committee (CID) was
... that it should be assumed for the purpose of framing forecasts of combat services that on a certain date there will be no major war for ten years.
and spending on equipment for soldiers varied from Ã,  £ 1,500,000 to Ã, £ 2,600,000 per year from 1924 to 1933, an average of Ã,  £ 2,000,000 or about 9 percent of armaments that spent a year. Until the early 1930s, the War Office intended to maintain small, moving and professional troops and early made on the motorization of cavalry and artillery. By 1930, the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) had been mechanized, some artillery could be moved by tractors and some engineers, signals and cavalry units had received the lorries. From 1930-1934, Territorial Army artillery (TA), engineers, signal units equipped with lorries and in 1938 the regular army acquired wheeled vehicles and half of the vehicles tracked, except for tanks. From 1923 to 1932, 5,000 motor vehicles were ordered at a rate of approximately 500 a year, nearly half of which were six-wheeled trucks. In 1936, the army had 379 tanks, which 209 were light tanks and 166 were medium; 304 considered is considered obsolete; 69 from modern light tanks but did not start reaching the army until 1935. The rule had reduced war spending from Ã,  £ 766 million in 1920 to Ã, 102 million pounds when removed on 23 March 1932. British troops had fewer people than in 1914, no organization or equipment for war in Europe and would take the War Office three weeks, to mobilize only infantry divisions and cavalry brigades.
Rearmament
Limited Liability
In March 1932, the Ten-Year Rule was abolished and in 1934, the Cabinet decided to fix the shortage of equipment in the armed forces over the next five years. The army was always the most cherished army but equipment spending increased from £ 6,900,000 from the financial year 1933-1934 (April 1 to March 31), to Ã, £ 8,500,000 the following year and over Ã, Â £ 67,500,000 in 1938 -1939 but the Expenditure section for military equipment grew only outside 25 percent of all military equipment spending in 1938. The relative negligence of the army led to the theory of limited liability until 1937, in which the UK would not send a large army to Europe at the time of the war. In 1934, the CID Defense Needs Sub-Committee (DRC) assumed that regular field troops of five divisions should be equipped as expedition forces, which would eventually be supplemented by sections of the Territorial Army. Air strength and support will act as a barrier that is highly disproportionate to its size; plans were made to acquire sufficient equipment and training for TA to provide at least two additional divisions on the outbreak of war. It is hoped that British troops in Europe will receive continuous strengthening and in 1936, the TA commitments of the twelve divisions were envisioned by Alfred Duff Cooper, the Secretary of State for War.
As the naval and air force armaments continued, the exact nature of troops to participate in the European war continued to be studied and in 1936, the Cabinet ordered the Head of the CID Staff Sub-Committee to report on the role of expeditionary forces and the relative values ​​of the army and air force as a barrier for the same cost. Leaders support balanced weapons balancing but within financial limits, the air force should be favored. In 1937, the Minister argued that continental commitment was no longer viable and that France did not now expect a large army of land along with the navy and air, Germany had guaranteed Belgium neutrality and that if the amount of money was limited, defense against air attacks, trade and defense protection overseas territory is more important and should be secured before the UK can support its allies in defending their territory. The continental hypothesis comes fourth and the main role of the army is to protect the empire, which includes anti-aircraft defenses from the British Isles (with the help of TA). In 1938, limited liability reached its peak, just as the weapons returned to maturity and the army considered the new conspectus a much more ambitious weapon plan.
In February 1938, the CID decided that planning should be based on limited liability; between late 1937 and early 1939, the equipment for the five division field troops was reduced, becoming necessary for colonial warfare in the Far East. In Europe, field troops can only engage in defensive wars and will require major improvements in ammunition and tank repairs. The field strength continued to be the least favored part of the military's most disliked hands and in February 1938, the Foreign Minister warned that the possible allies should be left unquestioned about the effectiveness of the army. The re-weapons plan for field troops remains a deficiency plan rather than a plan for expansion. The July 1934 deficiency plan was charged at £ 10,000,000 but was cut 50 percent by the cabinet; by the first armaments plan of 1936, the cost of a deficit plan for the next five years has increased Ã, £ 177 million. In the first version of the new conspectus, spending was placed at £ 347 million although in 1938, it was cut to Ã, £ 276 million, still much more than the planned shortfall for 1936 but many of this amount is for anti-aircraft defense, a new duty imposed on soldiers.
Continental Commitment
Getting equipment for the Medan Force benefited from plans for the Territorial Army (TA) which, sometimes covertly, was used as a tool to get more equipment that can be used by regular army. Firstly acknowledged in the 1935-1936 deficiency program, where the expansion of TA in the three-to-twelve divisions was to complete the five regular divisions but the Cabinet postponed this plan for three years, where a limited policy of responsibility precluded such developments, except for purchasing the same training equipment for TA as used by the army, which is equivalent to that required to complete two regular divisions. The mobile division is divided into two divisions and some additional equipment is delivered to artillery units and engineers. In 1938, the deficiency program was caused by maturity and in the midst of the Munich Crisis in September and the loss of 35 divisions of the Czechoslovak Army, the Cabinet approved plans for a ten-division army equipped for continental operations and the like. TA sized, as early as 1939. By reacting to events, the British Cabinet made it inevitable,
... The size of the Army would have been adapted to what French thought was the least they needed and the most that the British could do.
and the United Kingdom made a commitment on April 21, 1939, to provide 26 TA troops, 6 regular divisions, introduce the scale of equipment for war and conscription to provide manpower.
Maps British Expeditionary Force (World War II)
Prelude
Shipping BEF
After the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, the BEF was sent to France to gather at the French-Belgian border. Sophisticated troops troops left Portsmouth on Sept. 4 under W4 Plan and the first troop convoy left the port at the Bristol and Southampton Channels on September 9, down at Cherbourg on September 10 and Nantes and St Nazaire next day. German submarines have been restrained by Hitler to avoid provoking the Allies and only a few mines were laid near Dover and Weymouth. On September 27, 152,000 soldiers, 36,000 tonnes long (37,000 tonnes) tons of ammunition, 25,000 tonnes of length (25,000 tonnes) of gasoline and 60,000 tonnes of length (61,000 t) frozen meat has landed in France.
On October 19, BEF has received 25,000 vehicles to complete its first deployment. The majority of troops were stationed along the French-Belgian border but the British division alternately served with the French Third Army on the Maginot Line. In April 1940, the 51st Infantry Division, reinforced by an additional unit and called Saar Force took over part of the French line. Belgium and the Netherlands are neutral and there are no German, French or British forces placed therein. For troops along the Maginot Line, the inactivity and undue dependence on the castle, believed to be immune, causes "Tommy Rot" (pictured in the song "Imagine Me on the Maginot Line"). The high spirits among British troops but the small actions of the Germans on May 9, has led many to assume that there will not be many opportunities for a major German offensive in the area.
In March 1940, the British government decided to send the 12th Division (East), the 23rd Division (Northumbria), and the 46th Division (North Midland and West Riding), the Territorial Army of the Infantry Division to France. The new division consists of 26 new infantry battalions who have spent their first months maintaining vulnerable spots in the UK but have received very little training. New battalions and some engineers were formed into certain brigades and divisions but lacked artillery, signal, or transportation. The divisions were used to work from St Nazaire in Normandy to St Pol in French Flanders, with the understanding that they would not be called to war, before they finished their training. In May 1940, the BEF battle sequence consisted of ten infantry divisions ready for field service, at I Corps, II Corps, III Corps and Saar Force. BEF GHQ ordered BEF Air Component Royal Air Force (RAF) from about 500 Advanced Air Force (AASF) aircraft and long-range bombers. The GHQ is comprised of people from HQ (consisting of 1st Battalion, Welsh Guard, 9th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and 14th Battalion, Royal Fusilier), 1st Armored Tanks Brigade, Layer Reconnaissance Brigade First Steel, HQ Royal Artillery and 5th Infantry Division.
Phoney War
The period from September 1939 to May 10, 1940, was known as the "Phoney War", which consisted of little more than a small clash by a surveillance patrol. The first BEF victim was the 27-year-old Thomas William Priday Corporation, from Battalion 1, the King of Shropshire Light Infantry, attached to the 3rd Infantry Infantry Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, was killed on December 9, 1939, when his patrol triggered booby-captured and fired by friendly troops. In November 1939, the French decided that defense along the Dyle Line in Belgium was viable, but Britain was warm about a progress to Belgium. Gamelin talked about it and on November 9, Dyle Plan/Plan D was adopted and on November 17, Gamelin issued the day's instructions detailing lines from Givet to Namur, Gap Gembloux, Wavre, Louvain and Antwerp. Over the next four months, Dutch and Belgian soldiers worked on their defenses, BEF expanded and French troops received more equipment and training.
Dyle plan, Breda variant
In May 1940, the 1st Army Group defended the Channel of the coast to the western end of the Maginot Line. The Seventh Army (Henri Giraud), BEF (General lord Gort), First Army ( GÃÆ' © nÃÆ' © ral d'armÃÆ'  © e Georges Maurice Jean Blanchard) and the Ninth Army ( GÃÆ' © nÃÆ' © ral d'armÃÆ' © e Andrà © Corap) is ready to advance to the Dyle Line, turning on the right (south) of the Second Army. The Seventh Army will take over Antwerp west, ready to move to Holland and Belgium expected to delay Germany's progress and then retire from Albert Canal to Dyle, between Antwerp and Louvain. The BEF is to defend about 12 miles (20 km) from Dyle from Louvain to Wavre and the First Army to the right of BEF to hold 22 mi (35 km) from Wavre across the Gap Gembloux to Namur. The distance from Dyle to Namur to the north of Sambre, with Maastricht and Mons on both sides, has some natural obstacles and goes straight to Paris. The Ninth Army will take the southern post from Namur, along Meuse to the left (north) wing of the Second Army.
The Second and Ninth Army were dug on the western edge of the Meuse on easy-to-maintain ground and behind the Ardennes, giving many warnings of the German attack. After the transfer of the Seventh Army, the seven divisions remained behind the Second and Ninth troops and the other divisions could be moved from behind the Maginot Line. All but one division is one side of the junction of two soldiers, GQG becomes more concerned about the German attack passing the northern end of the Maginot Line and then southeast through Stenay Gap, where the division behind the Second Army is well placed. On November 8th, Gamelin added the Seventh Army, which contained some of France's best and most mobile divisions, to the left wing of the 1st Army Group to move to the Netherlands and protect the Scheldt estuary. In March, Gamelin ordered that the Seventh Army would advance to Breda to connect with the Dutch. The Seventh Army, on the left side of Dyle's maneuver, will be linked to him and if the Seventh Army cross over to the Netherlands, the left wing of the 1st Army Group will advance to Tilburg if possible and certainly to Breda. The Seventh Army was to take up a post between the Belgian and Dutch troops turning east, a distance of 109 miles (175 km), against the German army only 56 miles (90 km) away from Breda.
Battle
10-21 May 1940
At 4:35 am, the German invasion of France and the Low Countries began. The French Seventh Army drove ahead on the north side and advanced elements reached Breda on 11 May. France collided with the 9th Panzer Division and the progress of the 25th Division d'Infanterie MotorisÃÆ'Â e was stopped by the German infantry, tanks and Ju 87 ( Stuka ) dive-bombers, as the 1ÃÆ'¨re Division LÃÆ'Â © gÃÆ'¨re MÃÆ' Â © canisÃÆ' Â © e forced to withdraw. (The French heavy tanks were still on the train south of Antwerp.) The Seventh Army withdrew from the Op Zoom-Turnhout Canal Line 20 miles (32 km) from Antwerp, to Lierre 10 miles (16 km) on May 12; on 14 May the Dutch surrendered.
In Belgium, German glider forces captured the Eben-Emael fortress at noon on May 11; the catastrophe forced Belgium to retreat to the line from Antwerp to the Louvain on May 12, too early for the First French Army to come and dig. Corps de Cavalerie fought against the XVI Panzer Corps at the Battle of Hannut (12-14 May) first tank-fight-tank battle and Corps de Cavalerie then retreating behind the First Army, who had arrived at Dyle Lines. On May 15, the Germans attacked the First Army along Dyle, causing a dispute that Gamelin tried to avoid. The First Army repelled the XVI Panzer Corps but during the Battle of Gembloux (14-15 May) GQG realized that the main German attack had come farther south, through the Ardennes. France's success in Belgium contributed to the disaster at Meuse in Sedan and on May 16, Blanchard was ordered to retreat to the French border.
Ardennes
From 10-11 May, XIX Panzer Corps involves two divisions of the Second Army cavalry, shocking them with a much larger force than expected and forcing them back. The Ninth Army in the north also sent two cavalry divisions forward, which were withdrawn on May 12, before they met German troops. The first German unit reached the Meuse in the afternoon but the local French commander thought that they were far ahead of the main body and would wait before trying to cross the Meuse. From May 10, Allied bombers have been sent to attack northern Belgium, to delay Germany's progress while the First Army rises but the attack on the bridge in Maastricht is an expensive failure, the day bombers <135 RAF reduced to 72 operational on May 12th. On 7:00 AM on May 13, Luftwaffe began bombing the French defense around Sedan and continuing for eight hours with about 1,000 aircraft in air strikes greatest in history.
Small material damage was done to the Second Army but the morals collapsed. In the 555th Division of France at Sedan, some troops began to move backwards and panicked at night spreading through the division. German troops attacked across the river at 3:00 pm and have gained three footholds on the western edge at night. France and RAF successfully flew 152 fighter and 250 fighter on the Sedan bridge on May 14 but only in the formation of 10-20 aircraft. The RAF lost aircraft 30 of 71 and France was reduced to send an old bomber to attack in the afternoon, also with many losses. On May 16, the 1st Army Group was ordered to withdraw from the Dyle Line, to avoid being trapped by German breakthroughs against Second and Ninth troops but on May 20, Germany reached Abbeville on the Channel coast, cutting off the northern army.
May 21-23
The push by the Army Group A to coast, combined with the approach of Group B of the Northeast, caused the BEF to be surrounded on three sides and on May 21, BEF had been cut off from its supply depot south of the Somme.. England struck back at the Battle of Arras on the same day. The BEF could not evict Germany and it became clear that the Channel ports were threatened. New troops were rushed from Britain to defend Boulogne and Calais but after a tough battle, the two ports were captured on 26 May in the Battle of Boulogne and the Siege of Calais. Gort ordered the BEF to retreat to Dunkirk, the only port where the BEF could escape.
Backtrack to Dunkirk
Le Paradis rear row
The rifle company separated from the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Regiment of Norfolk and Battalion 1, the Royal Scots of the 2nd Infantry Division, provided the rearguard during the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. The 2nd Royal Norfolks held a line at La BassÃÆ'Â © e Canal and with Lancashire Fusiliers 1/8, the 2nd Royal Norfolks and 1st Royal Scots held the villages of Riez du Vinage and Le Cornet Malo and protected the battalion headquarters at Le Paradis, as long as possible. During the battle, the unit has become separate but the Royal Norfolks survives until 5:15 pm when the Norfolks run out of ammunition. 99 victims tried to get out but eventually surrendered to the 2nd Infantry Regiment (SS- HauptsturmfÃÆ'¼hrer and ObersturmbannfÃÆ'¼hrer Fritz KnÃÆ'¶chlein) from the Totenkopf SS Division. The 99 prisoners were herded to a nearby farmhouse, shot by two machine guns; bayonet to kill survivors. Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan, hiding in pigsty and rescued later, before being held captive by the Wehrmacht unit, spent the rest of the war at the prison camp.
Second rear corps II
Commander Corps II Lt. Gen. Alan Brooke, was ordered to take action with the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 50th Infantry Divisions along the Ypres-Comines channel as far as Yser, while the rest of the BEF fell back. At noon on 27 May, Germany attacked the southern Ypres with three divisions. The German infantry was infiltrated through defenders and forced them back. On May 27, Brooke ordered Major General Bernard Montgomery to extend the 3rd Division line to the left, freeing the 10th and 11th Brigades from the 4th Division to join the 5th Division at Messines Ridge. The 10th and 11th Brigades managed to clear the Germans back and on May 28, the brigade was dug in eastern Wytschaete. Brooke ordered a counterattack led by the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards and 2nd Battalion, Northern Staffordshire Regiment from Division 1. The North Staffords advanced as far as the Kortekeer River, while Grenadiers made it to the Ypres-Comines Canal but could not contain it. The counterattack disrupted the Germans, holding them a little longer while the BEF resumed its retreat.
Dunkirk
Germany failed to capture Dunkirk and on May 31, General Georg von KÃÆ'¼chler took command of German forces on the perimeter of Dunkirk and planned a larger attack for 11am morning. on June 1st. The French detained German troops while the last troops were evacuated and just before midnight on 2 June, Admiral Bertram Ramsay, the officer who ordered the evacuation, received the signal "BEF evacuated"; The French began to retreat slowly. On June 3, Germany was 2 mi (3.2 km) from Dunkirk and at 10:20 am on June 4, Germany lifted swastika over the pier. Before Operation Dynamo, 27.936 people started from Dunkirk; most of the remaining 198,315 people, total 224,320 English troop along with 139,097 French and some Belgian troops, evacuated from Dunkirk between May 26 and June 4 , despite having to abandon many of their equipment, vehicles, and heavy weapons.
After Dunkirk
Line-communication
The Allied forces north of the Somme were cut off by German progress on the night of 22/23 May isolating BEF from its supply of Cherbourg, Brittany and Nantes entrepÃÆ'Â'ts . Dieppe is BEF's main medical base and Le Havre is a major source of supply and weaponry. Major BEF and infantry ammunition depots, machine guns and base depots are located around Rouen, ÃÆ' â € ° vreux and ÃÆ'â € Pinay. Three Territorial divisions and three line communication battalions have been relocated north of the Seine on May 17th. The railway movement between these bases and the Somme was blocked by German bombings and trains arriving from the north full of Belgian and French troops; the streets are also filled with troops and returnees. Acting Brigadier Archibald Beauman lost contact with BEF GHQ.
The Beauforce fixing deeds of two infantry battalions, four machine-gun platoon and one Royal Engineers company. Vicforce (Colonel C. E. Vickary) took over five temporary battalions from troops at base depots, which had several weapons and small equipment. The Germans arrested Amiens on May 20, panicked and spread alarmist reports. The Treasures ordered the excavation of a line of defense along Andelle and BÃ © Ã… © thune to protect Dieppe and Rouen. From June 1-3, The 51st Highland Division (formerly Saar Force) of the Composite Regiment and the remnants of the First Support Group, 1st Armored Division, liberated France across Abbeville-St. Valery Bridge. The Beauman Division grasps the 55-mile (89 km) line from Pont St. Pierre, 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Rouen to Dieppe on the coast, which makes the British unit hold 18 mi (29 km) from the front. line, 44Ã, mi (71Ã, km) of Bresle and 55Ã, mi (89Ã, km) of the Andelle-BÃÆ' Â © thune line, with the rest of IX Corps on the right side.
Second BEF
On June 2, Brooke visited the War Office and was given another Second Corps command (Second BEF is an informal post-war term), consisting of the 51st Infantry Division and the 1st Armored Division, with the 52nd Division Lowland) Infantry Division and the 1st British Infantry Division of England, then the 3rd Infantry Division soon after it is ready.. Brooke warns that the company is in vain except as a political movement. A brigade group (157th Infantry) of the 52nd (Lowlands) Division left for France on June 7 and Brooke returned five days later. On June 9, the French port Admiral at Le Havre reported that Rouen had fallen and that Germany was heading to shore. Ihler, commander of IX Corps and Fortune, decided that the only hope of escape was through Le Havre. Admiral of the harbor asks ships from Admiralty to move 85,000 troops but this is contrary to the initial plan to retire IX Corps and Dill hesitated, not knowing that the original plan could not be maintained. Karslake insisted that retirement be expedited but had no authority to issue orders. Only after contacting Howard-Vyse Military Mission in GQG to discuss the situation and receive a message at night from Fortune, that the 51st (Highland) Division retreated with IX Corps to Le Havre, did Dill learn the real situation.
St. Valery
Backtrack to the beach begins after dark and the last troops sneak away from the river BÃÆ' Â © thune at 11:00 pm The unit is instructed to dispose unnecessary equipment and every gun is reduced to 100 rounds to make room for RASC transport for men. The night movement was difficult because French troops, many of which were horse-drawn, were violated on British routes and alarmist rumors spread. Fortune and Ihler set up at the crossroads near Veules-les-Roses to direct the troops into their positions and on the morning of June 11, the IX Corps had formed a defense around St. Valery. French transport continued to arrive at the border and it was difficult in some places to recognize German troops following up, which blocked defensive shots. That night, Fortune hinted that now or never. Troops need not hold the perimeter moving to the beach and harbor. A fleet of 67 merchant and 140 small crafts have been assembled but few have wireless; thick fog damages visual signals and prevents ships from moving to the mainland. Only in Veules-les-Roses at the eastern end of the perimeter, many soldiers were rescued, under German artillery fire, which destroyed the destroyers of HMS Bulldog, Boadicea and Ambuscade . At dawn, troops at the harbor were ordered back to town and at 7:30 am, Fortune hinted that it might still be possible to escape the next night, later discovering that the local French commander had already given up.
Le Havre
Fortune has released the Arkforce consisting of the 154th Infantry Brigade, the Brigade of the Beauman Division, two artillery regiments and engineers to guard Le Havre. Arkforce moved on the night of 9/10 June to camp FÃÆ'Â ©, where most had passed before the 7th Panzer Division arrived. The Brigade managed to force it out but lost its wireless truck to connect with the 51st Division (Highland) and Stanley-Clarke ordered the Arkforce to Le Havre. On June 9, Admiralty ordered Le Havre to be evacuated and Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth sent the fleet leader, HMSÃ, Codrington across the channel, accompanied by six British destroyers and two Canadians, smaller vessels and coasters Dutch (known as schuyts). On June 10th, HMS Vega escorted three blocks to Dieppe and two drowned in the approach channel. The beach party landed in Le Havre on June 10 and the evacuation began on June 11, somewhat hindered by the Luftwaffe bombing. SS soldiers
Step down from Normandy
On June 13, Germany was on the opposite side of the Seine and the Tenth Army was isolated on the Channel coast. The AASF was ordered to retreat towards Nantes or Bordeaux, while supporting the French army and flying armed scout gangs to the Seine from dawn, which cost ten aircraft and crew; limited weather attack to the beach. On 14 June, a continuing attack on German units in the south of the Seine but weather deteriorated and fewer attacks. Seven Blenheim were shot down robbing Merville airfields but ten squadrons of Combat Officers patrolled twice in squadron power or provided bomber bodyguards, the biggest effort since Dunkirk, as an AASF fighter patrolling south of the Seine. The remains of the 1st Armored Division and two Beauman Division brigades have been south of the river, with thousands of communications line troops but only the 157th Infantry Brigade, the 52nd Division (the Lowlands) in contact with Germany, occupied consecutive defense positions -raw. The French army was forced to retreat to various places, without a clear front line. On June 12, Weygand recommended that the French government seek a ceasefire, which led to a failed plan to create a defense zone in Brittany.
On June 14, Brooke was able to prevent the rest of the 52nd (Lower Plains) Division sent to join the 157th Infantry Brigade Group and on that night Brook was told that he was no longer under French command and should be prepared to withdraw British troops from France. Marshall-Cornwall was ordered to take command of all British troops under the Tenth Army as Norman Force and while continuing to work together, to retreat to Cherbourg. The rest of the 52nd (Lowlands) Division was ordered back to the line near Cherbourg to close the evacuation on June 15th. AASF is directed to send the last bomber squadron back to the UK and use the fighters to close the evacuation. German progress resumed in the afternoon, with the 157th Infantry Brigade Group that fought east of Conches-en-Ouche with the Tenth Army, which was ordered back to the line from Verneuil to Argentan and the Dives river, where the British took over 8 mi ( 13 km) front. German troops followed up quickly and on June 16, Altmayer ordered the army to retreat to the Brittany peninsula.
Ariel Operation
From June 15-25, the British and Allied ships were covered by five RAF fighter squadrons in France, assisted by British aircraft when they started British, Polish and Czech troops, civilians and equipment from ports- Atlantic port of France, especially St. Nazaire and Nantes. The Luftwaffe attacked the evacuation ships and on June 17, drowned the RMSÃ, Lancastria trooper at the mouth of the Loire River. About 2,477 passengers and crew were rescued but thousands of troops, RAF personnel and civilians were on board and at least 3,500 people died. Some equipment was launched but ignorance about the progress of the German Army and alarmist reports, causing some operations to be stopped early and many equipment not to be destroyed or abandoned. The official evacuation ended on June 25, according to the terms of the Armistice June 22, 1940 but the informal departure continued from the ports of the Mediterranean of France until 14 August. From Operation Cycle of Le Havre, elsewhere along the Channel coast and the cessation of Operation Ariel, the other 191,870 BEF troops were rescued, bringing the total military and civilian personnel back to England during the Battle of France to 558,032, including 368,491 British troops.
Aftermath
Analysis
In 1953, Lionel Ellis, the British official historian, wrote that at the end of an informal evacuation on August 14, others 191,870 people had been evacuated after 366,162 rescued by Operation Dynamo, total < span> 558,032 people, 368,491 to British troops. In 2001, Brodhurst wrote that many civilians escaped from the Atlantic and Mediterranean ports of France to England via Gibraltar and that 22,656 more civilians left the Channel Islands, from 19-23 June. Many military equipment is missing but 322 weapons, 4,739 vehicles, 533 motors cycles. 32,303 tons of length (32,821 tons) of ammunition, 33,060 tons of length (33,590 t) of booth, 1,071 tons of length (1,088 Â °) of gas tank, 13 light tanks and 9 cruisers were found back. During the evacuation of the BEF, 2,472 weapons were destroyed or abandoned. Also crushed or abandoned are 63,879 vehicles, 76,697 tonnes (77,928 t) of ammunition, 415,940 tons of length (422,610 t) of supplies and equipment and 164,929 tons in length ( 167.576 t) of gasoline.
For every seven soldiers fleeing through Dunkirk, one is abandoned as a prisoner of war. The majority of these detainees were sent by forced marches to Germany to cities such as Trier, a march that took twenty days. The others were moved by foot to the Scheldt river and shipped by barge to the Ruhr. The prisoners were then shipped by train to POW camps in Germany. The majority (who were under the rank of corporal) then worked in German industry and agriculture for five years. An intelligence report by the German IV Army Corps, which had fought against the BEF from the Dyle line to the coast, circulated to the training division for Operation Sealion saying about the BEF guys
The British soldiers were in excellent physical condition. He bore his own wounds with a serene calm. The loss of his own troops he discussed with full calm. He did not complain of distress. In the battle he is tough and steady. His conviction that Britain will conquer ultimately unshakeable.... The British army has always shown itself a worthy fighter. Of course the territorial division is inferior to the Regular troops in training but where their morals are their equivalent.... In defense the Englishman takes the punishment that comes to him.
Victim
BEF lost 66,426 people, 11,014 died and died of injury, 14,074 injured and 41.338 people missing or imprisoned.
Map gallery
- Germany's progress through France, Belgium and the Netherlands
Warning
No campaign medal was awarded for the Battle of France but the officer who had spent 180 days in France between 3 September 1939 and 9 May 1940, or "one day, or part thereof" in France or Belgium between 10 May and 19 June 1940 , passes to 1939-1945 Star.
Note
Footnote
References
Further reading
Buku
- Atkin, Ronald (1990). Pilar Api: Dunkirk 1940 . Edinburgh: Birlinn. ISBN: 978-1-84158-078-4.
- Gibbs, N. H. (1976). Strategi Besar . Sejarah Perang Dunia Kedua Seri Militer Inggris. Saya . London: HMSO. ISBN: 978-0-11-630181-9.
- Mei, Ernest R. (2000). Kemenangan Aneh: Penaklukan Hitler terhadap Prancis . London: I.B.Tauris. ISBN: 978-1-85043-329-3. Â
- Postan, M. M.; et al. (1964). Hancock, K., ed. Desain dan Pengembangan Senjata: Studi di Pemerintah dan Organisasi Industri . Sejarah Perang Dunia Kedua United Kingdom Civil Series. London: HMSO. OCLCÂ 681432.
- Richards, Denis (1974) [1953]. Angkatan Udara Kerajaan 1939-1945: Pertarungan Berseberangan . Saya (pbk. ed.). London: HMSO. ISBNÂ 978-0-11-771592-9 . Diperoleh 21 Oktober 2016 .
- Warner, P. (2002) [1990]. Pertempuran Perancis, 1940: 10 Mei - 22 Juni (Cassell Military Paperbacks repr. ed.). London: Simon & amp; Schuster. ISBN 978-0-304-35644-7.
Reports
- Department of War (March 31, 1942). The German campaign in Poland from 1 September to 5 October 1939 (Report). Digest and Lessons from the recent Military Operations. U. S. Department of War, General Staff. OCLCÃ, 16723453. AG 062.11 (1-26-42) . Retrieved June 23 2018 .
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