123-512: Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The British Expeditionary Force ( BEF ) was the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War . The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when
246-650: A British army in Europe would receive continuous reinforcement and in 1936, a TA commitment of twelve divisions was envisaged by Duff Cooper , the Secretary of State for War . As rearmament of the navy and the air force continued, the nature of an army fit to participate in a European war was kept under review and in 1936, the Cabinet ordered the Chiefs of Staff Sub-Committee of the CID to provide
369-427: A brief stop, her party crossed the border at 07:45. Meanwhile, Hereditary Grand Duke Jean and two of his sisters, accompanied by an aide-de-camp , Guillaume Konsbruck , were to wait at the border for confirmation of occupation. Around 08:00 the prime minister and his entourage passed over the border before making contact with French troops at Longlaville . Last minute telephone calls with Luxembourg City revealed
492-684: A careful non-belligerent stance towards its neighbours. In accordance with the treaty's restrictions, the only military force Luxembourg maintained was its small Volunteer Corps under Captain Aloyse Jacoby , reinforced by the Grand Ducal Gendarmerie under Captain Maurice Stein . Together they formed the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires under Major-Commandant Émile Speller . At noon on 1 September Radio Luxembourg announced that in order for
615-583: A crossroads manned by German units, and was forced to detour through the countryside to avoid capture. French Ambassador Jean Tripier followed the government party but was stopped by the Germans and forced to return to the capital. Belgian Ambassador Kervyn de Meerendré was also stopped by German soldiers at the border and ordered to turn back, as was the Luxembourgish Minister of Education, Nicolas Margue, who had attempted to escape by taxi. Bodson later fled
738-594: A direct phone call to his superiors at Longwy. Also that day a German national working in Luxembourg as a gardener and a member of the German fifth column warned his Luxembourgish employer, Carlo Tuck, that an invasion was impending. Tuck passed the warning on to government officials. Late that evening, the Grand Ducal government came into possession of a document from a German divisional command. Dated 23 April 1940, it detailed
861-463: A distance of 109 mi (175 km), against German armies only 56 mi (90 km) distant from Breda. At 4:35 a.m., the German invasion of France and the Low Countries commenced. The French Seventh Army drove forward on the northern flank and advanced elements reached Breda on 11 May. The French collided with the 9th Panzer Division and the advance of the 25 Division d'Infanterie Motorisée
984-423: A flight of Fairey Battle bombers from the 226 Squadron to attack German tank columns. They went unescorted and encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Most were damaged by flak but managed to escape. One received a direct hit and crashed near Bettendorf . German soldiers pulled the three injured crew from the burning wreckage, one of whom later died in a local hospital. The Grand Ducal Gendarmerie resisted
1107-723: A frontage double that recommended in British manuals. The rest of the BEF formed a defence in depth back to the River Escaut. The Dyle north of Louvain was occupied by Belgian troops who refused to give way, even when Brooke appealed to the King of the Belgians and Georges ordered them out. The British infantry began to arrive on the Dyle on 11 May and dug in screened by light tanks and Bren carriers operating west of
1230-460: A little longer while the BEF continued its retreat. The Germans failed to capture Dunkirk and on 31 May, General Georg von Küchler assumed command of the German forces on the Dunkirk perimeter and planned a bigger attack for 11:00 a.m. on 1 June. The French held the Germans back while the last troops were evacuated and just before midnight on 2 June, Admiral Bertram Ramsay , the officer commanding
1353-608: A military conflict between Germany and France grew. Germany stopped the export of coke for the Luxembourgish steel industry . Abwehr agents under Oskar Reile infiltrated the country, posing as tourists. This was observed by Captain Fernand Archen, an undercover senior French intelligence officer in Luxembourg City , posing as a wine merchant. He reported his findings to his superiors at Longwy on 7 May, understanding that
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#17328694419711476-475: A rate of about 500 a year, just under half being six-wheeler lorries. By 1936, the army had 379 tanks, of which 209 were light tanks and 166 were mediums; 304 were considered obsolete; 69 of the light tanks were modern but did not begin to reach the army until 1935. The rule had reduced war spending from £766 million in 1920 to £102 million when it was abolished on 23 March 1932. The British army had fewer men than in 1914, no organisation or equipment for
1599-506: A regular field army of five divisions was to be equipped as an expeditionary force, eventually to be supplemented by parts of the Territorial Army. The force and its air support would act as a deterrent greatly disproportionate to its size; plans were made to acquire sufficient equipment and training for the TA to provide a minimum of two extra divisions on the outbreak of war. It was expected that
1722-760: A remote farm near the Moselle . At 11:45 on 9 May he radioed Longwy: "Reports of important German troop movements on the German-Luxembourg frontier." Throughout the night his messages became more and more frantic. Two Luxembourgish customs officials at Wormeldange heard horses and soldiers across the Moselle, but were unable to make out the Germans' activities due to heavy fog. At around midnight, Captain Stein, Minister of Justice Victor Bodson , and Police Commissioner Joseph Michel Weis held an emergency meeting. Bodson requested that
1845-520: A report on the role of an expeditionary force and the relative values of the army and the air force as deterrents for the same cost. The chiefs were in favour of a balanced rearmament but within financial limits, the air force should be favoured. In 1937, the Minister argued that a continental commitment was no longer feasible and that France did not now expect a big land army along with the navy and air force, Germany had guaranteed Belgian neutrality and that if
1968-561: A war in Europe, and it would have taken the War Office three weeks to mobilise only an infantry division and a cavalry brigade. In March 1932, the Ten-Year Rule was abolished and in 1934, the Cabinet resolved to remedy equipment deficiencies in the armed forces over the next five years. The army was always the least favoured force but equipment spending increased from £6,900,000 from 1933–1934 financial year (1 April to 31 March), to £8,500,000
2091-609: The Luftwaffe began bombing the French defences around Sedan and continued for eight hours with about 1,000 aircraft in the biggest air attack in history. Little material damage was done to the Second Army but morale collapsed. In the French 55 Division at Sedan, some troops began to straggle to the rear and in the evening panic spread through the division. German troops attacked across the river at 3:00 p.m. and had gained three footholds on
2214-536: The Luftwaffe en route; the survivors were able to withdraw to Dieppe and later fought on the Seine Crossings. The 139th Brigade fought on the River Scarpe and later defended the Dunkirk perimeter. By the end of 20 May, the divisions had ceased to exist, in most cases having only delayed the German advance by a few hours. The push by Army Group A towards the coast, combined with the approach of Army Group B from
2337-568: The 1st Infantry Division and 2nd Infantry Division began to take over the front line allocated to the BEF and II Corps with the 3rd Infantry Division and 4th Infantry Division followed on 12 October; the 5th Infantry Division arrived in December. By 19 October, the BEF had received 25,000 vehicles to complete the first wave. The majority of the troops were stationed along the Franco-Belgian border but British divisions took turns to serve with
2460-765: The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and reinforcements, had taken over part of the Maginot Line for training. The force fought with local French units after 10 May, then joined the Tenth Army south of the Somme, along with the improvised Beauman Division and the 1st Armoured Division , to fight in the Battle of Abbeville (27 May – 4 June). The British tried to re-build the BEF with Home Forces divisions training in Britain, troops evacuated from France and lines-of-communications troops south of
2583-452: The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Infantry Division from Home Forces in Britain, then the 3rd Infantry Division as soon as it was ready. Brooke warned that the enterprise was futile, except as a political gesture. On 6 June, the Cabinet decided to reconstitute the BEF (Second BEF is an informal post-war term) with Gort remaining as commander in chief. The 157th (Highland Light Infantry) Brigade (a brigade group ) of
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#17328694419712706-449: The Battle of Boulogne and Siege of Calais . On May 26, Gort ordered the BEF to withdraw to Dunkirk, the only port from which the BEF could still escape. In his biography of Bernard Montgomery , Nigel Hamilton described Gort's order as 'the greatest decision of his life'. Detached rifle companies of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment of the 1st Battalion and Royal Scots of the 2nd Infantry Division provided rearguards during
2829-636: The Battle of Sedan (12–15 May). A local counter-attack at the Battle of Arras (1940) (21 May) was a considerable tactical success but the BEF, French and Belgian forces north of the Somme River retreated to Dunkirk on the French North Sea coast soon after, British and French troops being evacuated in Operation Dynamo (26 May – 4 June) to England after the capitulation of the Belgian army. Saar Force,
2952-524: The Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces . After 1918, the prospect of war seemed so remote, that Government expenditure on the armed forces was determined by the assumption that no great war was likely. Spending varied from year to year and between the services but from July 1928 to March 1932, the formula of the Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) was ...that it should be assumed for the purpose of framing
3075-644: The Durham Light Infantry in the southern sector was awarded a Victoria Cross . German bridgeheads across the Dyle were either eliminated or contained by British counter-attacks. From 10–11 May, the XIX Panzer Corps engaged the two cavalry divisions of the Second Army, surprising them with a far larger force than expected and forced them back. The Ninth Army to the north had also sent its two cavalry divisions forward, which were withdrawn on 12 May, before they met German troops. The first German unit reached
3198-663: The 1st Army Group ( Groupe d'armées n° 1 [ fr ] ) defended the Channel coast to the west end of the Maginot Line. The Seventh Army (Général d'armée Henri Giraud ), BEF (General Lord Gort), First Army ( Général d'armée Georges Maurice Jean Blanchard ) and Ninth Army ( Général d'armée André Corap ) were ready to advance to the Dyle Line, by pivoting on the right (southern) Second Army. The Seventh Army would take over west of Antwerp, ready to move into Holland and
3321-556: The 2nd Royal Norfolks fell back to the headquarters at the Cornet Farm outside Le Paradis. They were told by radio that their units were isolated and would not receive any assistance. German forces attacked the farmhouse with tanks, mortars and artillery, which destroyed the building and forced the Norfolks to retreat to a nearby barn. The Royal Norfolks continued their defensive stand into the evening, by which point many had been wounded by
3444-504: The 52nd (Lowland) Division, departed for France on 7 June; Brooke returned five days later. On 9 June, the French port Admiral at Le Havre reported that Rouen had fallen and that the Germans were heading for the coast. Ihler and Fortune decided that their only hope of escape was via Le Havre. The port admiral requested British ships for 85,000 troops but this contradicted earlier plans for the IX Corps retirement and Dill hesitated, ignorant that
3567-713: The BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas. General Lord Gort
3690-407: The BEF lost 66,426 men of whom 11,014 were killed or died of wounds, 14,074 wounded and 41,338 men missing or captured. About 700 tanks, 20,000 motor bikes, 45,000 cars and lorries, 880 field guns and 310 larger equipments, about 500 anti-aircraft guns, 850 anti-tank guns, 6,400 anti-tank rifles and 11,000 machine-guns were abandoned. As units arrived in Britain they reverted to the authority of
3813-752: The Belgians were expected to delay a German advance and then retire from the Albert Canal to the Dyle, between Antwerp to Louvain. The BEF was to defend about 12 mi (20 km) of the Dyle from Louvain to Wavre and the First Army on the right of the BEF was to hold 22 mi (35 km) from Wavre across the Gembloux Gap to Namur. The gap from the Dyle to Namur north of the Sambre, with Maastricht and Mons on either side, had few natural obstacles and led straight to Paris. The Ninth Army would take post south of Namur, along
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3936-511: The British Cabinet made it inevitable that ...the size of the Army was bound to be adjusted to what the French thought was the least they needed and the British the most that they could do. The British made a commitment on 21 April 1939 to provide an army of six regular and 26 Territorial divisions, introduced equipment scales for war and began conscription to provide the manpower. In February 1939,
4059-567: The Far East. In Europe, the field force could only conduct defensive warfare and would need a big increase in ammunition and the refurbishment of its tank forces. The field force continued to be the least-favoured part of the least-favoured military arm and in February 1938, the Secretary of State for War, Leslie Hore-Belisha , warned that possible allies should be left in no doubt about the effectiveness of
4182-561: The French Third Army on the Maginot Line . In April 1940, the 51st Highland Infantry Division , reinforced by additional units and called Saar Force took over part of the French line. Belgium and the Netherlands were neutral and free of Allied or German military forces and for troops along the Maginot Line, inactivity and an undue reliance on the fortifications, which were believed to be impenetrable, led to "Tommy Rot" (portrayed in
4305-503: The French 3rd Light Cavalry Division under General Petiet, supported by the 1st Spahi Brigade under Colonel Jouffault and the 2nd company of the 5th Armoured Battalion, crossed the southern border to conduct a probe of German forces; these units later retreated behind the Maginot Line . Five Spahis were killed. British Air Marshal Arthur Barratt , impatient with the reluctance of the French Air Force to conduct air strikes , ordered
4428-596: The French Atlantic coast two days later. German submarines had been held back by Hitler to avoid provoking the Allies and only a few mines were laid near Dover and Weymouth . By 27 September, 152,000 soldiers, 21,424 vehicles, 36,000 long tons (36,578 t) tons of ammunition, 25,000 long tons (25,401 t) of petrol and 60,000 long tons (60,963 t) of frozen meat had been landed in France. On 3 October, I Corps with
4551-607: The French in 1938. The mobile division was split into two divisions and some extra equipment went to artillery and engineer units. By 1938 the deficiency programme was due to mature; in the wake of the Munich Crisis in September and the loss of the 35 divisions of the Czechoslovak Army, the Cabinet approved a plan for a ten-division army equipped for continental operations and a similar-sized TA, in early 1939. By reacting to events,
4674-400: The German bombardment. The last contact with Brigade Headquarters at L'Epinette occurred at 11:30 a.m. but despite the lack of support the Norfolks held on until 5:15 p.m. when they ran out of ammunition. Cornered, outnumbered and with many wounded, 99 Royal Norfolks made a rush into the open but eventually, under the orders of their commander Major Lisle Ryder, the Norfolks surrendered. In
4797-593: The German breakthrough against the Second and Ninth armies but on 20 May, the Germans reached Abbeville on the Channel coast, cutting off the northern armies. The plan for the BEF withdrawal was that under cover of darkness, units would thin-out their front and make a phased and orderly withdrawal before the Germans realised what was happening. The objective for the night of 16/17 May was the Charleroi to Willebroek Canal (the Line of
4920-516: The German troops, but to little avail; the capital city was occupied before noon. The Gendarmerie chain of command in the south was thrown into disarray by the influx of refugees and the arrival of German and French troops. Most gendarmes escorted refugees over the border, while some abandoned their posts and fled to France. Total Luxembourgish casualties amounted to six gendarmes and one soldier wounded, while 22 soldiers (six officers and 16 non-commissioned officers ) and 54 gendarmes were captured. By
5043-420: The Germans attacked south of Ypres with three divisions. German infantry infiltrated through the defenders and forced them back. On 27 May, Brooke ordered Major-General Bernard Montgomery to extend the 3rd Division line to the left, freeing the 10th and 11th Brigades of the 4th Division to join the 5th Division at Messines Ridge. The 10th and 11th Brigades managed to clear the ridge of Germans and by 28 May,
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5166-610: The Germans attacked the First Army along the Dyle, causing the meeting engagement that Gamelin had tried to avoid. The First Army repulsed the XVI Panzer Corps but during the Battle of Gembloux (14–15 May) GQG realised that the main German attack had come further south, through the Ardennes. The French success in Belgium contributed to the disaster on the Meuse at Sedan and on 16 May, Blanchard
5289-505: The Gort Line. The first BEF fatality was 27-year-old Corporal Thomas Priday , from the 1st Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry , attached to the 3rd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division, killed on 9 December 1939, when his patrol set off a booby-trap and was fired upon by friendly troops. By November 1939, the French had decided that a defence along the Dyle Line in Belgium
5412-460: The Luxembourgish government and Grand Ducal court of the invasion. Foreign Minister Joseph Bech , in the presence of Prime Minister Pierre Dupong , attempted to contact the German ambassador at the legation and at his private residence, but they were informed that he was present at neither. At 06:30 the majority of the government, including Dupong and Bech, evacuated the capital by motorcade to
5535-456: The Meuse in the afternoon but the local French commanders thought that they were far ahead of the main body and would wait before trying to cross the Meuse. From 10 May, Allied bombers had been sent to raid northern Belgium, to delay the German advance while the First Army moved up but attacks on the bridges at Maastricht had been costly failures, the 135 RAF day bombers being reduced to 72 operational aircraft by 12 May. At 7:00 a.m. on 13 May,
5658-496: The Meuse to the left (northern) flank of the Second Army. The Second and Ninth armies were dug in on the west bank of the Meuse on ground that was easily defended and behind the Ardennes, giving plenty of warning of a German attack. After the transfer of the Seventh Army, seven divisions remained behind the Second and Ninth armies and other divisions could be moved from behind the Maginot Line. All but one division were either side of
5781-450: The RASC transport for the men. The night move was difficult as French troops, many horse-drawn, encroached on the British route and alarmist rumours spread. Fortune and Ihler set up at a road junction near Veules-les-Roses to direct troops to their positions and by the morning of 11 June, IX Corps had established a defence round St Valery. French transport continued to arrive at the perimeter and it
5904-590: The Scheldt estuary. In March, Gamelin ordered that the Seventh Army would advance to Breda to link with the Dutch. The Seventh Army, on the left flank of the Dyle manoeuvre, would be linked to it and if the Seventh Army crossed into the Netherlands, the left flank of the 1st Army Group was to advance to Tilburg if possible and certainly to Breda. The Seventh Army was to take post between the Belgian and Dutch armies turning east,
6027-547: The Schuster Line's tank traps. Fire was exchanged, but the Germans did not encounter any significant resistance except for some bridges destroyed and some land mines since the majority of the Luxembourgish Volunteer Corps stayed in their barracks. The border was defended only by soldiers who had volunteered for guard duty and gendarmes . A handful of Germans secured the Moselle bridge at Wormeldange and captured
6150-614: The Seine on 17 May. Rail movements between these bases and the Somme was impeded by German bombing and trains arriving from the north full of Belgian and French troops; the roads also filled with retreating troops and refugees. Acting Brigadier Archibald Beauman lost contact with BEF GHQ. Beauman improvised Beauforce from two infantry battalions, four machine-gun platoons and a company of Royal Engineers. Vicforce (Colonel C. E. Vickary) took over five provisional battalions from troops in base depots, who had few arms and little equipment. The Germans captured Amiens on 20 May, setting off panic and
6273-505: The Senne), the following night to the River Dendre from Maubeuge to Termonde and the Escaut to Antwerp (the Dendre Line), and finally on 18/19 May, to the Escaut from Oudenarde to Maulde on the French border (the Escaut Line). The order to withdraw was greeted with astonishment and frustration by the British troops who felt that they had held their own, but they were unaware of the deteriorating situation elsewhere. The withdrawal went mainly according to plan but required hard fighting from
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#17328694419716396-435: The Somme river (informally known as the 2nd BEF) but BEF GHQ was not reopened. After the success of the second German offensive in France ( Fall Rot ), the 2nd BEF and Allied troops were evacuated from Le Havre in Operation Cycle (10–13 June) and the French Atlantic and Mediterranean ports in Operation Aerial (15–25 June, unofficially to 14 August). The Navy rescued 558,032 people, including 368,491 British troops but
6519-474: The Somme were cut off by the German advance on the night of 22/23 May, which isolated the BEF from its supply entrepôts of Cherbourg , Brittany and Nantes. Dieppe was the main BEF medical base and Le Havre the principal supply and ordnance source. The main BEF ammunition depot and its infantry, machine-gun and base depots were around Rouen, Évreux and Épinay . Three Territorial divisions and three lines-of-communication battalions had been moved north of
6642-407: The TA in three stages to twelve divisions, was to complement the five regular divisions. The Cabinet postponed this plan for three years, during which the policy of limited liability precluded such developments, except for the purchase of the same training equipment for the TA as that used by the army, equivalent to that needed to equip two regular divisions, which was the maximum commitment promised to
6765-486: The agents were to be used to seize key bridges over the Sauer , Moselle and Our rivers. Luxembourg authorities also took notice, and Captain Stein worked to stop the Germans' activities. On 3 March, the French Third Army was ordered to occupy Luxembourg in the event of a German attack. On the evening of 8 May, the Grand Ducal Government ordered for the first time that all doors of the Schuster Line be closed at 11:00 and remain so regardless of circumstance until 06:00
6888-436: The army. The re-armament plans for the field force remained deficiency plans, rather than plans for expansion. The July 1934 deficiency plan was estimated at £10,000,000 but cut by 50 per cent by the cabinet; by the first rearmament plan of 1936, the cost of the deficiency plan for the next five years had increased to £177,000,000. In the first version of the "new conspectus", spending was put at £347,000,000, although in 1938 this
7011-416: The assistance of the TA). In 1938, "limited liability" reached its apogee, just as rearmament was maturing and the army was considering the "new conspectus", a much more ambitious rearmament plan. In February 1938, the CID ruled that planning should be based on "limited liability"; between late 1937 and early 1939, equipment for the five-division field army was reduced to that necessary for colonial warfare in
7134-403: The border town of Esch . Bodson stayed behind at the Saint-Esprit Barracks to monitor the situation. In Esch a group of 125 German special operations troops had landed by Fieseler Storch , with orders to hold the area until the main invasion force arrived. A gendarme confronted the soldiers and asked that they leave, but he was taken prisoner. The government motorcade encountered a roadblock at
7257-399: The border. When the Battle of France ( Fall Gelb ) began on 10 May 1940, the BEF constituted 10 per cent of the Allied forces on the Western Front . The BEF participated in the Dyle Plan , a rapid advance into Belgium to the line of the Dyle River , but the 1st Army Group had to retreat rapidly through Belgium and north-western France, after the German breakthrough further south at
7380-401: The brigades were dug in east of Wytschaete. Brooke ordered a counter-attack led by the 3rd Battalion, Grenadier Guards and the 2nd Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment of the 1st Division. The North Staffords advanced as far as the Kortekeer River, while the Grenadiers managed to reach the Ypres–Comines Canal but could not hold it. The counter-attack disrupted the Germans, holding them back
7503-426: The capital and, having learned many of the secondary roads by memory, was able to avoid German roadblocks and navigate his way to France. Following consultation with her ministers, Grand Duchess Charlotte decided to abandon the palace. Accompanied by her husband, Prince Felix , her mother, Dowager Grand Duchess Marie Anne , and members of the Grand-Ducal suite, she departed for the border village of Redange . After
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#17328694419717626-448: The capital be reinforced by gendarmes from the south, and told Weis to forward this information to the capital's district commissioner to give the necessary orders. Weis later tried to contact the district commissioner by phone, but failed to reach him; reinforcements never came. A short time later the gendarmes at Diekirch were ordered to patrol the local railway bridge and be wary of unfamiliar persons. Luxembourgish authorities received
7749-460: The capital to be completely surrounded. Charlotte's party was able to link up with the government motorcade at Longwy. Meanwhile, Jean's party's car was strafed by a German aircraft while stopped at a cafe. Near Esch, the group was delayed by a German roadblock, and they escaped when their chauffeur drove straight through the soldiers. The party ultimately joined Charlotte and the Grand Ducal government at Sainte-Menehould . At 08:00, elements of
7872-508: The cavalry and the artillery. By 1930, the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) had been mechanised, some of the artillery could be moved by tractors, and a few engineer, signals and cavalry units had received lorries. From 1930–1934, the Territorial Army (TA) artillery, engineer, signals units were equipped with lorries and in 1938 the regular army gained its establishment of wheeled vehicles and half of its tracked vehicles, except for tanks. From 1923 to 1932, 5,000 motor vehicles were ordered at
7995-427: The coast, which left the British units holding 18 mi (29 km) of the front line, 44 mi (71 km) of the Bresle and 55 mi (89 km) of the Andelle–Béthune line, with the rest of IX Corps on the right flank. On 31 May, GHQ BEF closed and 2 June, Brooke visited the War Office and was given command of a new II Corps, comprising the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division and the 1st Armoured Division, with
8118-514: The command of the BEF on 3 September, subordinate to General Alphonse Georges , the French commander of the North-eastern Theatre of Operations, with the right of appeal to the British government. The BEF was to assemble on the Franco-Belgian border and advanced parties of troops left Portsmouth on 4 September under "Plan W4" and the first troop convoy left the ports on the Bristol Channel and Southampton on 9 September, disembarking at Cherbourg on 10 September and Nantes and Saint Nazaire on
8241-528: The confusion of battle and in part due to battle fatigue, the Norfolks had surrendered not to the German company they had been fighting but rather to the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the SS Totenkopf Division (Death's Head) (SS- Hauptsturmführer and Obersturmbannführer Fritz Knöchlein ), which had been fighting another isolated BEF unit, the Royal Scots, at an adjacent farm. The Knöchlein Totenkopt unit, notorious for their ruthlessness, had been engaged in mopping-up operations against Allied forces to
8364-444: The corps rearguards. A communication breakdown caused a loss of co-ordination with the Belgian Army to the north-west of II Corps and a dangerous gap opened up between the two; fortunately it was covered by British light armour before the Germans could discover and exploit it. The three Territorial divisions, which had arrived in April equipped only with small arms , intended for construction and labouring tasks, were distributed across
8487-405: The country and a government-in-exile was created in London . On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland , initiating World War II . This put Luxembourg's Grand Ducal government in a delicate situation. On one hand, the population's sympathies lay with the UK and France; on the other hand, due to the country's policy of neutrality since the Treaty of London in 1867, the government adopted
8610-439: The country to remain unambiguously neutral it would cease broadcasting. Exceptions were a daily 20 minute-long message at midday and in the evening reserved for government announcements. For the rest of the month, the government supplied full transcripts of its broadcasts to the foreign legations in the country. Later that day several German stations posed as Radio Luxembourg by broadcasting in the Luxembourgish wavelength, making, in
8733-413: The country's gold reserves to Belgium, and began stockpiling funds in its Brussels and Paris legations in the event it was forced to flee due to German attack. The Paris legation was also given a sealed envelope detailing a formal request of military assistance from the French government in case communications were cut-off in an invasion. After several false alarms in the spring of 1940, the probability of
8856-515: The country. Since an invasion had not yet occurred they still enjoyed diplomatic privilege and the police were forced to release them. One group of fifth columnists was arrested while attempting to reach the legation. Meanwhile, Captain Archen had received his subordinate's report, but by that point, he had been told by informants in the Gendarmerie that shots had been exchanged with German operatives at
8979-506: The disaster forced the Belgians to retreat to a line from Antwerp to Louvain on 12 May, far too soon for the French First Army to arrive and dig in. The Corps de Cavalerie fought the XVI Panzer Corps in the Battle of Hannut (12–14 May) the first ever tank-against-tank battle and the Corps de Cavalerie then withdrew behind the First Army, which had arrived at the Dyle Line. On 15 May,
9102-522: The division's chief of staff's orders to various units to occupy strategic points within Luxembourg. The Grand Ducal government put all border posts and Grand Ducal Gendarmerie stations on full alert. In Luxembourg City , gendarmes mobilised to defend public buildings and dispatched vehicle patrols to arrest fifth columnists. The economic councillor and the chancellor of the German legation were detained for questioning regarding allegations that they had used legation cars to organise subversive activities within
9225-412: The east end of the perimeter, were many soldiers rescued, under fire from German artillery, which damaged the destroyers HMS Bulldog , Boadicea and Ambuscade ; 2,137 British and 1,184 French troops were evacuated. Near dawn, the troops at the harbour were ordered back into the town and at 7:30 a.m., Fortune signalled that it might still be possible to escape the next night, then discovered that
9348-464: The estimates of the fighting services that at any given date there will be no major war for ten years. and spending on equipment for the army varied from £1,500,000 to £2,600,000 per year from 1924 to 1933, averaging £2,000,000 or about 9 per cent of armaments spending a year. Until the early 1930s, the War Office intended to maintain a small, mobile and professional army and a start was made on motorising
9471-486: The evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. The 2nd Royal Norfolks held the line at La Bassée Canal with the 1/8th Lancashire Fusiliers , while the 2nd Royal Norfolks and 1st Royal Scots held the villages of Riez du Vinage and Le Cornet Malo , protecting the battalion headquarters at Le Paradis for as long as possible. After an engagement with German forces at dawn on 27 May in Le Cornet Malo, C Company and HQ Company of
9594-585: The evacuation, received the signal "BEF evacuated"; the French began to fall back slowly. By 3 June, the Germans were 2 mi (3.2 km) from Dunkirk and at 10:20 a.m. on 4 June, the Germans hoisted the swastika over the docks. Before Operation Dynamo, 27,936 men were embarked from Dunkirk; most of the remaining 198,315 men, a total of 224,320 British troops along with 139,097 French and some Belgian troops, were evacuated from Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June, though having to abandon much of their equipment, vehicles and heavy weapons. Allied forces north of
9717-450: The evening of 10 May 1940, most of the country, with the exception of the south, was occupied by German forces. More than 90,000 civilians fled from the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette as a consequence of the advance. 47,000 evacuated to France, 45,000 poured into the central and northern part of Luxembourg. On 11 May the Grand Ducal government reached Paris and installed itself in the Luxembourg legation. Fearing German aerial attack and finding
9840-430: The event of a German invasion. Charlotte decided that if possible she and the government would flee abroad in the event of an attack to advocate for the country's sovereignty. During World War I , her elder sister and then-Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde had elected to stay during Germany's occupation of the country , bringing the monarchy into disrepute; Charlotte wanted to avoid such problems. The government moved some of
9963-470: The farm's owner, Mme Creton and her son. The two soldiers were later captured by a Wehrmacht unit and spent the rest of the war as prisoners of war . The II Corps commander Lieutenant General Alan Brooke , was ordered to conduct a holding action with the 3rd , 4th, 5th and 50th Infantry Divisions along the Ypres–Comines canal as far as Yser, while the rest of the BEF fell back. At mid-day on 27 May,
10086-554: The first four regular army divisions of the Field Force had been promised to the French, scheduled to reach the assembly area in France on the thirtieth day after mobilisation. Until this commitment, no staff work had been done, there was no information about French ports and railways and no modern maps. After the Invasion of Poland by Germany on 1 September 1939, the Cabinet appointed General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (Lord Gort) to
10209-530: The first reports of exchanged fire at around 02:00 on 10 May when two gendarmes were ambushed near the German border by plainclothes agents. The Germans retreated to the Fels mill near Grevenmacher and around 20 soldiers who volunteered were dispatched to arrest them. The government then ordered all steel doors along the border locked. At 02:15 soldiers stationed in Bous were attacked by Germans in civilian clothes. One soldier
10332-498: The following morning. Throughout the day Luxembourgish authorities witnessed much less activity on the far side of the border and made no reports of tank or machine gun movements. On the afternoon of 9 May, a French intelligence officer stationed in Clervaux witnessed German troops preparing pontoon bridges in the Sauer . He attempted in vain to contact Captain Archen, and resorted to making
10455-487: The following year and to more than £67,500,000 by 1938–1939 but the share of spending on army equipment only grew beyond 25 per cent of all military equipment spending in 1938. The relative neglect of the army led to a theory of "limited liability" until 1937, in which Britain would not send a great army to Europe in time of war. In 1934, the Defence Requirements Sub-Committee (DRC) of the CID assumed that
10578-610: The forces required to defend the United Kingdom against an enemy incursion or invasion. The post was created for Field Marshal Sir John French in December 1915, after his enforced resignation as the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force in the aftermath of the Battle of Loos . Bitterly disappointed, Lord French regarded the appointment as a demotion. Despite this, he energetically restructured
10701-402: The invasion, but his reports never reached the 3rd Army at Metz . General Charles Condé, the army's commander, was unclear about the situation and at 05:30 dispatched aerial reconnaissance units to investigate. At 06:00 the French 3rd Light Cavalry Division was ordered to intervene. Telephone and radio messages from the border posts to the Gendarmerie and Volunteer Corps headquarters informed
10824-462: The junction of the two armies, GQG being more concerned about a German attack past the north end of the Maginot Line and then south-east through the Stenay Gap, for which the divisions behind the Second Army were well placed. On 8 November, Gamelin added the Seventh Army, containing some of the best and most mobile French divisions, to the left flank of the 1st Army Group to move into Holland and protect
10947-460: The last post to fall, in Wasserbillig , transmitted until the Germans breached the operating room. The steel doors of the Schuster Line were ordered closed on 10 May 1940 at 03:15, following reports of movement of German troops on the east side of the border rivers Our , Sauer, and Moselle. At 03:30 Luxembourgish authorities released interned French pilots and German deserters. The Royal Family
11070-574: The local French commander had already surrendered. German invasion of Luxembourg The German invasion of Luxembourg was part of Case Yellow ( German : Fall Gelb ), the German invasion of the Low Countries — Belgium , Luxembourg and the Netherlands —and France during World War II . The battle began on 10 May 1940 and lasted just one day. Facing only light resistance, German troops quickly occupied Luxembourg. The Luxembourgish government, and Grand Duchess Charlotte , managed to escape
11193-468: The morning of 21 May with a devastating artillery barrage. Shortly afterwards, infantry assaults started along the whole front, crossing the canalised river either by inflatable boats or by clambering across the wreckage of demolished bridges. Although the Escaut line was penetrated in numerous places, all the German bridgeheads were either thrown back or contained by vigorous but costly British counter-attacks and
11316-423: The north and east of Cambrai . The 99 prisoners were marched to farm buildings on a nearby farm and lined up alongside a barn wall. They were then fired upon by two machine-guns; Knöchlein then armed his men with bayonets to kill the survivors. All but two of the Norfolks were killed and their bodies buried in a shallow pit. Privates Albert Pooley and William O'Callaghan, hiding in a pigsty, were discovered later by
11439-420: The north-east, left the BEF enveloped on three sides and by 21 May, the BEF had been cut off from its supply depots south of the Somme. The British counter-attacked at the Battle of Arras on the same day. This was well to the south of the main BEF force on the Escaut, where seven BEF divisions were placed in the front line. The British divisions were facing nine German infantry divisions, who began their attack on
11562-422: The opinion of United States Chargé d'Affaires George Platt Waller , "grossly unneutral announcements". On the evening of 21 September, the Grand Ducal government suspended all broadcasts pending the resolution of the war. On 14 September the volunteer corps was bolstered by the addition of a 125-strong auxiliary unit. German military manoeuvres and river traffic made the population increasingly nervous, so in
11685-660: The original plan was untenable. Karslake urged that the retirement be accelerated but had no authority to issue orders. Only after contacting the Howard-Vyse Military Mission at GQG and receiving a message that the 51st (Highland) Division was retreating with IX Corps towards Le Havre, did Dill learn the truth. The retreat to the coast began after dark and the last troops slipped away from the Béthune river at 11:00 p.m. Units were ordered to dump non-essential equipment and each gun were reduced to 100 rounds to make room on
11808-626: The path of the German spearhead. On 16 May, Georges realised that the Panzer divisions might reach the coast and outflank all the Allied armies to the north of them. He asked for the 23rd Division to defend the Canal du Nord at Arleux . The British Staff was of the opinion that the German breakthrough consisted of small detachments of light reconnaissance troops and that using these lightly armed and largely untrained troops against them did not seem unreasonable. The area
11931-403: The portfolios for Interior, Transportation, and Public Works; Joseph Carmes managed Finance, Labour, and Public Health; Louis Simmer oversaw Education, and Mathias Pütz directed Agriculture, Viticulture, Commerce, and Industry. In the days after the invasion Luxembourgish officers walked about the capital freely, though the regular soldiers were mostly confined to their barracks. Colonel Speller
12054-458: The process they were caught in the open by elements of 6th and 8th Panzer Divisions, from which only a few hundred survivors escaped. The 69th Brigade defended Arras and the 12th Division fought to delay 2nd Panzer Division on the Canal Line near Arras, at Doullens , Albert and Abbeville. The 138th Brigade of the 46th Division fought on the Canal Line but the 137th Brigade trains were attacked by
12177-403: The quantity of money was limited, defence against air attack, trade protection and the defence of overseas territories were more important and had to be secured before Britain could support allies in the defence of their territories. The "continental hypothesis" came fourth and the main role of the army was to protect the empire, which included the anti-aircraft defence of the United Kingdom (with
12300-424: The remaining German troops were ordered to retire across the river by the night of 22 May. Later that same night, events further south prompted an order for the BEF to retire again, this time back to the Gort Line on the Franco-Belgian border. The Channel ports were at risk of capture. Fresh troops were rushed from England to defend Boulogne and Calais but after hard fighting, both ports were captured by 26 May in
12423-536: The responsibility of civilian engineers, while technical advice was sought from the French, who took great interest in the line's establishment. A series of nine radio outposts were established along the German border, each manned by gendarmes, with a central radio receiver in Captain Stein's official office near the volunteers' Saint-Esprit Barracks in the capital. On 4 January 1940, the Cabinet convened under Grand Duchess Charlotte and outlined steps to be taken in
12546-427: The river until 14 May, when the front line units were ready; the bridges were then blown. Later that day probes by reconnaissance troops of three German infantry divisions were dispersed. Next day, attacks on Louvain by the German 19th Division were repulsed by the 3rd Division. Further south, the river was only about 15 ft (4.6 m) wide, preventing tanks from crossing but passable by infantry. Richard Annand of
12669-575: The small facilities unsuitable, the government moved further south, first to Fontainebleau , and then Poitiers . It later moved to Portugal and the United Kingdom, before finally settling in Canada for the duration of the war. In exile, Charlotte became an important symbol of national unity. Her eldest son and heir, Jean, volunteered for the British Army in 1942. The only official representative left behind
12792-1055: The song " Imagine Me in the Maginot Line "). Morale was high amongst the British troops but the limited extent of German actions by 9 May 1940, led many to assume that there would not be much chance of a big German attack in that area. From January to April 1940, eight Territorial divisions arrived in France but the 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division , 23rd (Northumbrian) Division and 46th Infantry Division , informally called labour divisions, were not trained or equipped to fight. The labour divisions consisted of 26 new infantry battalions which had spent their first months guarding vulnerable points in England but had received very little training. Battalions and some engineers were formed into nominal brigades but lacked artillery, signals or transport. The divisions were used for labour from St Nazaire in Normandy to Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (St Pol) in French Flanders, on
12915-610: The spread of alarmist reports. Beauman ordered the digging of a defence line along the Andelle and Béthune to protect Dieppe and Rouen. From 1–3 June, the 51st Highland Division (formerly Saar Force) a Composite Regiment and the remnants of the 1st Support Group, 1st Armoured Division , relieved the French opposite the Abbeville–St Valery bridgehead. The Beauman Division held a 55 mi (89 km) line from Pont St Pierre , 11 mi (18 km) south-east of Rouen to Dieppe on
13038-467: The spring of 1940 fortifications were erected along the borders with Germany and France. The so-called Schuster Line , named after its chief constructor, consisted of 41 sets of concrete blocks and iron gates; 18 bridgeblocks on the German border, 18 roadblocks on the German border, and five roadblocks on the French border. Since the Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires had no pioneer unit, construction fell to
13161-410: The system of military training, drew up plans to defend the country against a German invasion and devised the first British air defence system, so that incoming Zeppelins and bombers could be tracked and countered by fighters and anti-aircraft artillery . The post of Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was resurrected for Sir Walter Kirke on 3 September 1939. He devised the first anti-invasion plan of
13284-555: The two customs officers there, who had demanded that they halt but refrained from opening fire. The partly demolished bridge over the Sauer at Echternach was quickly repaired by engineers of the Großdeutschland regiment , allowing the passage of the 10th Panzer Division. Planes flew overhead, heading for Belgium and France, though some stopped and landed troops within the country. Captain Archen repeatedly alerted his superiors at Longwy of
13407-621: The understanding that they would not be called upon to fight before they had completed their training. By May 1940 the BEF order of battle consisted of ten infantry divisions ready for field service, in I Corps, II Corps, III Corps and Saar Force. BEF GHQ commanded the Field Force and the BEF Air Component Royal Air Force (RAF) of about 500 aircraft but the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF) long-range bomber force
13530-512: The west bank by nightfall. The French and the RAF managed to fly 152 bomber and 250 fighter sorties on the Sedan bridges on 14 May but only in formations of 10–20 aircraft. The RAF lost 30 of 71 aircraft and the French were reduced to sending obsolete bombers to attack in the afternoon, also with many losses. On 16 May, the 1st Army Group was ordered to retreat from the Dyle Line, to avoid being trapped by
13653-487: Was Albert Wehrer [ de ] , head of the Ministry of State Affairs, as well as the 41 deputies. By the end of May Wehrer and several high ranking functionaries established a provisional "Administrative Commission" to govern Luxembourg in lieu of the Grand Ducal family and the other ministers. Wehrer retained the Ministry of State Affairs and assumed responsibility for Foreign Relations and Justice; Jean Metzdorf held
13776-692: Was appointed to the command of the BEF on 3 September 1939 and the BEF began moving to France on 4 September 1939. The BEF assembled along the Belgian–French border . The BEF took their post to the left of the French First Army under the command of the French 1st Army Group ( fr:Groupe d'armées n° 1 ) of the North-Eastern Front ( Front du Nord-est ). Most of the BEF spent the Phoney War (3 September 1939 to 9 May 1940) digging field defences on
13899-406: Was badly injured, as was one German who was detained. Shortly thereafter a gendarmerie lieutenant and his chauffeur were ambushed and exchanged fire with German-speaking cyclists; no one was hurt. Fifth columnists successfully severed the telephone wires between the capital and the border posts, forcing the gendarmes to communicate via shortwave radio. German agents gradually seized the radio stations;
14022-527: Was briefly incarcerated by the Gestapo , though he was later released under close supervision. Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces was a senior officer in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars . The role of the appointment was firstly to oversee the training and equipment of formations in preparation for their deployment overseas, and secondly, to command
14145-445: Was cut to £276,000,000, still substantially more than the deficiency plan for 1936 but much of this sum was for anti-aircraft defence, a new duty imposed on the army. Obtaining equipment for the Field Force benefited from plans for the TA which, sometimes covertly, was used as a device to get more equipment which could be used by the regular army. At first it was admitted in the deficiency programmes of 1935–1936, in which an expansion of
14268-446: Was difficult in some places to recognise German troops following up, which inhibited defensive fire. That night, Fortune signalled that it was now or never. Troops not needed to hold the perimeter moved down to the beaches and the harbour. An armada of 67 merchant ships and 140 small craft had been assembled but few had wireless; thick fog ruined visual signalling and prevented the ships from moving inshore. Only at Veules-les-Roses at
14391-578: Was evacuated from its residence in Colmar-Berg to the Grand Ducal palace in Luxembourg City. Around 30 minutes later, at dawn, German planes were spotted flying over Luxembourg City towards Belgium. The German invasion began at 04:35 when the 1st , 2nd , and 10th Panzer Divisions crossed the border at Wallendorf-Pont , Vianden , and Echternach respectively. Wooden ramps were used to cross over
14514-523: Was feasible but the British were lukewarm about an advance into Belgium. Gamelin talked them round and on 9 November, the Dyle Plan/Plan D was adopted and on 17 November, Gamelin issued a directive that day detailing a line from Givet to Namur, the Gembloux Gap, Wavre, Louvain and Antwerp. For the next four months, the Dutch and Belgian armies laboured over their defences, the BEF expanded and the French army received more equipment and training. By May 1940,
14637-516: Was known as the " Phoney War ", which consisted of little more than minor clashes by reconnaissance patrols. The section of the Franco-Belgian border to be held by the BEF at that time stretched from Armentières westward towards Menin , then south to the junction of the border and the River Escaut (the French name for the Scheldt ) at Maulde , forming a salient around Lille and Roubaix . The British began to dig trenches, weapons pits and pill boxes of
14760-402: Was ordered to retreat to the French border. The armoured cars of the 12th Royal Lancers crossed the border at 1:00 p.m. on 10 May, cheered on by Belgian civilians. The BEF sector ran along the Dyle about 22 mi (35 km) from Louvain , south-west to Wavre . The 3rd Division (II Corps) took the north with the 1st Division and 2nd Division (I Corps) the south, some battalions defending
14883-456: Was otherwise devoid of Allied units, so there was little alternative. The three divisions were grouped together in an improvised corps called Petreforce and on 18 and 19 May, the Territorials, lacking motor transport, began to march or entrain towards their defence positions. The 70th Brigade of the 23rd Division dug in on the Canal Line but was ordered to withdraw towards Saulty on 20 May; in
15006-515: Was stopped by German infantry, tanks and Ju 87 ( Stuka ) dive-bombers, as the 11 Division Légère Mécanisée was forced to retreat. (French heavy tanks were still on trains south of Antwerp.) The Seventh Army retired from the Bergen op Zoom–Turnhout Canal Line 20 mi (32 km) from Antwerp, to Lierre 10 mi (16 km) away on 12 May; on 14 May the Dutch surrendered. In Belgium, German glider troops captured fort Eben-Emael by noon on 11 May;
15129-408: Was under the control of RAF Bomber Command . GHQ consisted of men from Headquarters (HQ) Troops (consisting of the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards , the 9th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment and the 14th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers ), the 1st Army Tank Brigade , 1st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade , HQ Royal Artillery and the 5th Infantry Division. The period from September 1939 to 10 May 1940
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