The Road to Dunkirk: The British Expeditionary Force and the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal, 1940“A detailed and fascinating account” of a little known WWII showdown in Belgium between the British Expeditionary Force and the German army (Barnsley Chronicle). This is an important reassessment of a critical period in the British Expeditionary Force’s fight against the German armies invading France in 1940. On May 25, Lord Gort, the British commander, took the decision to move 5th Division north in order to plug a growing gap in his army’s eastern defenses. Over the next three days the division fought a little-known engagement, the Battle of the Ypres-Comines Canal, to hold the Germans at bay while the rest of the BEF retreated toward Dunkirk. The book describes the British Army of 1940 and outlines the early stages of the campaign before explaining the context of Gort’s decision and why it was made. Then, using British and German sources, it shows how the British doggedly defended their line against heavy German attacks, and demonstrates that the Expeditionary Force was far more than the badly equipped and undertrained army many historians have represented it as. This fresh look at the campaign also casts new light on other aspects such as the impact of the Luftwaffe and the Dunkirk evacuation itself. “This book is important for all those interested in the fighting which proceeded the general retreat to and evacuation from Dunkirk. The author has trawled numerous archival sources, which are well cited in this elegantly produced book.” —Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |
Contents
| 8 | |
| 10 | |
| 15 | |
Case Yellow 1024 May 1940 | |
Decision 25 May 1940 | |
Into Position Evening 2526 | |
Crisis in the South Morning to MidAfternoon 27 | |
The Wider Battle Morning to MidAfternoon 27 | |
Counterattack in the South Late Afternoon 27 May to Early Morning 28 | |
Crisis in the North Late Afternoon 27 May to Early Morning 28 | |
Aftermath | |
Conclusion | |
Appendices | |
Two Case Studies of Sources | |
The Luftwaffe and the British Expeditionary Force | |
Casualties | |
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Common terms and phrases
1/7th Warwicks 12th Lancers 143 Brigade 225th Field Company 245th Field 5th Division 8th Warwicks 97th Field advance Allied Army Group Arras BA-MA Freiburg battalion HQ battery battle Belgian Black Watch Bock Bren Bren carriers Brigade's British army Brooke Brooke's Cameronians casualties Chapter Comines commander Corps counterattack Danchev & Todman defence diary Division’s Dunkirk east Ellis enemy evacuation Field Regiment fighting fire flank forces France Franklyn French front line Fusiliers German army German attack Gilmore Gort Gort's Green Howards Guards heavy Hitler Hollebeke Houthem infantry Inniskillings later London machine guns medium artillery memoir miles morning mortars move night Northamptons officers orders Ox & Bucks panzer platoon Poperinghe position Pownall quote recorded retreat Royal Scots Royal Scots Fusiliers Seaforths sector seems shelling St Eloi staff Staffordshires Stopford tanks TNA WO units Warneton Wiltshires withdrawal wounded Wytschaete Ypres Ypres-Comines Canal