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EDITOR'S PREFACE

The military series of the United Kingdom history of the Second World War, of which Major Ellis's volume on the campaign in France and Flanders in 1939–40 is the second to appear, has been planned in accordance with a Government decision announced to the House of Commons on 25th November 1946. The purpose of the history, said the then Prime Minister, was 'to provide a broad survey of events from an inter-Service point of view rather than separate accounts of the parts played by each of the three Services'. The historians have thus felt themselves under no obligation to tell the story of operations in the same detail was was thought appropriate in the case of the war of 1914–18. For such detailed narratives the student must turn to the unit or formation histories, of which many have already appeared. We have set ourselves to present a single series of volumes in which the whole military story, and every part of it, is treated from an inter-Service aspect. Here and elsewhere throughout our work the word 'military' is use to cover the activities of all three fighting Services, as distinct from the other sides of the national war effort which are treated in the Civil Histories edited by Professor W. K. Hancock.

Even on the military side, however, it seemed that a 'broad survey' which confined itself to a description of campaigns and operations would fail to give a satisfactory account of how the war of 1939–45 was waged. The vast area over which operations were progressively extended, the number and the variety of the campaigns being fought simultaneously, the constant need of coordinating policy and strategy with government overseas, together with the centralisation of command rendered possible by modern systems of communication—all these increased the range and importance of the part played by the supreme authority at home and seemed to demand that a fuller treatment of the higher direction of the war should be attempted than has been usual in military histories. It was accordingly decided to allot several volumes to Grand Strategy as devised in Whitehall and at Washington, including one volume on developments prior to the actual outbreak of war in September 1939.

For the rest, the history has been planned to cover the following themes or theatres: the defence of the United Kingdom, the maritime war viewed as a whole, the two campaigns of the early period in Norway and in north-west Europe, the strategic air offensive, and three epic series of military operations on the grand scale in the Mediterranean and Middle East, in the Far East, and again in the north-west of Europe in 1944 and 1945. Additional volume have been allotted to the history of Civil Affairs or Military Government

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in view of the novelty and importance of the problems involved in this field of military responsibility.

In order to avoid undue detail, the standpoint from which campaigns have been viewed is that of the theatre commander. The intention has been to treat all the campaigns on the same scale; but it must be confessed that in some cases when the total forces involved were small, as in Norway in 1940 and in the Western Desert in the early phases, the narrative has descended to describe the operation of detached units in greater detail than their size would normally justify.

No doubt the proposed dual treatment of strategic problems, at the Whitehall level and at the level of theatre headquarters, involved a risk, indeed a certainty of some overlapping. This would be the case even if it were not our aim, as it is, to make each group of volumes intelligible by itself and to that extent self-contained. We cannot unfortunately assume that the general reader, for whom as much as for military students our history is intended, will be prepared to buy or read the whole of our twenty or thirty volumes. We think that a moderate amount of overlapping is excusable and may even be welcomed if it avoids the necessity of constant reference to other volumes.

The description of a war waged by allies, in which 'integration; was successfully carried to lengths unattempted in previous campaigns raises further problems. Granted that our commission is to write the history not of the Second World War as a whole but of the military effort of the United Kingdom, on what principle ought we to handle campaigns or actions in which men from the United Kingdom and from other nations fought side by side? Where United Kingdom forces served under foreign or Dominion command, or vice versa, it seems clear that decisions or actions of our fellow combatants must be described with sufficient fullness to preserve a proper balance in the story. On the other hand it is not desirable to duplicate the accounts given in the histories sponsored by our Allies and by other nations of the British Commonwealth, especially when the primary sources are under their control. Arrangements had indeed been mad with them for mutual exchange of drafts; it is hoped that these arrangements will at least reduce the likelihood of controversy due to ignorance of another nation's point of view,. thought they will not, of course, eliminate differences of interpretations. It has not been possible to make such arrangements in the case of the U.S.S.R.

With regard to German military records, however, the Allied historians are fortunate, to an unprecedented degree, in having access to a mass of original documents, some of them of the highest importances, which were captured during the occupation of Germany and

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are now held under joint Anglo-American control. In the case of the other enemy Powers both the volume and the value of the documents captured are considerably less and details of their military plans and operations have of necessity been obtained from more conventional sources of information.

To the official United Kingdom records we have been allowed full access, and we have done our best to supplement them by reference to unofficial accounts, published and unpublished, written and oral. What we have written has, however, been subject to censorship from the aspect of military 'security', and in some cases cipher telegrams have been paraphrased, thought not in such a way as to affect the sense. In accordance with the recognise British constitutional principle we have not held ourselves free to reveal individual differences of opinion within the War Cabinet nor, as a rule, to lift the veil of Civil Service anonymity.

We have taken it as our prime duty to present an accurate narrative of events. But events, properly speaking, include plans and intentions as well as actions, and it is the duty of a historian, as opposed to a mere annalist, to say why, as well as how, things happened as they did. He must interpret, not merely narrate, and interpretation implies a personal judgement. In any case the need to select of from the vast mass of material implies a personal judgement of what is most relevant and important.

We all share the contemporary outlook, and some of us are laymen in military matters; it would be unbecoming in us to attempt to pronounce what a commander should have done or should not have done in a particular situation. Our ideal would be to let the facts speak for themselves, to point out how such a decision led to such a result, and to leave speculation and moralising to the strategists; but the facts can only speak to our readers as we have selected and presented them, and we have not shrunk from stating what seemed to use the lessons that emerged from a particular course of events.

Lord Tedder has remarked that as a nation 'we have a tendency to concentrate too much on our successes and our enemies' failures and consequently to draw our lessons too much from the final stages of war', when 'after some years of lavish expenditure' the Commander knows that he can more or less 'count on a blank cheque'. 'Surely', he says, 'it is the problems of the early stages of the war which we should study. Those are the difficult problems; those are the practical problems which we and every democratic nation have to solve. There were no big battalions or blank cheques then. Here is the real and vital test of our defence policies'.1

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Lord Tedder's words apply with poignant relevance to the campaign described by Major Ellis. The conditions under which it was waged were determined by a Government policy improvised in the course of the six months preceding the outbreak of war, during which period not only the organisation of the Army as a whole but the composition of the Expeditionary Force itself was radically changed. But the predicament of the British land and air forces in France was due to a national defence policy extending much further back than the spring of 1939. To trace the development of this policy lies outside Major Ellis's task.

It is normally the duty and desire of a historian to support his assertions and arguments by detailed references to his authorities. such references serve partly as an indication  of his sources, partly as a challenge to his readers to verify his statements. Where, however, the main authorities are official documents which are not at present, and for some time are not likely to be, open to public inspection, published references have comparatively little point, since the challenge cannot be taken up. The nature of the material used can, we think, in most cases be sufficiently indicated in the prefaces or bibliographical notes to the several volumes. Accordingly our normal practice has been that explained by Professor Hancock in his introduction to the Civil Histories.2 'It has been decided not to clutter the published pages with references to official files that are not yet generally available to students. In the published series, footnotes have been confined to material that is already accessible. The completed documentation has been given in confidential print. There it will be immediately available to critical readers within the government service. No doubt it will become available in due time to the historians of a future generation. The official historians of this generation have consciously submitted their work to the professional verdict of the future.'

In the use of enemy documents the historians' labours have been immensely lightened by the help of their colleagues charged with the collection, collation and interpretation of this vast mass of material. Work on the German and Italian documents has been directed by Mr Brian Melland; Colonel G. T. Wards has advised with regard to the Japanese. Valuable assistance in this matter has also been rendered by Commander M. G. Saunders, R.N., of the Admiralty Historical Section, and by Squadron Leader L. A. Jackets, of the Air Historical Branch.

The maps have been prepared under the experienced direction of Colonel T. M. M. Penney, of the Cabinet Office Historical Section.

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The spelling of place-names follows in the main the system approved at an informal conference of British and American experts in October 1947, but current usage has been adhered to where not to do so would be pedantic. In the representation of Allied and enemy troops the conventional symbols and colours, where used, are those officially recognise during the war. Apart from the fact that work on some of our maps had begun before November 1950, when the British Army changed its system, it seemed natural to follow the convention used in contemporary maps.

The appointment of a civilian editor to be responsible for the production of the military histories made it desirable that on general questions as well as special points he should be able frequently to consult authorities whose opinions on Services matters would command respect; I am fortunate to have had so helpful a panel of advisers as Vice-Admiral Sir Geoffrey Blake, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pownall, Air Chief Marshals Sir Douglas Evill and Sir Guy Garrod, and Lieutenant-General Sir Ian Jacob. These distinguished officers not only have given me the benefit of their experience and judgement in the planning of the history and the selection of writers but have read and commented on the volumes in draft; in all these matters, however, responsibility rests with the Editor alone.

The history could not have been written without the constant assistance of the Service Historical Sections, and the historians would express their gratitude to Rear-Admiral R. M. Bellairs, Brigadier H. B. Latham and Mr. J. C. Nerney, and also to Lieutenant-General Sir Desmond Anderson, of the War Office, and their staffs. The monographs, narratives and summaries produced by the Service Departments have greatly reduced the labours, though not the responsibilities of the historians, and the staffs concerned have been lavish of their help in supply information and comment. Similar acknowledgements are due to the authors of the Civil Histories, and we are grateful to Mr Yates Smith of the Imperial War Museum, and to other librarians for the loan of books.

Finally, the historians in general and the Editor in particular are deeply indebted to Mr A. B. Acheson, of the Cabinet Office. His advice and help have been of the greatest service to us in many ways; indeed, without the relief provided by Mr Acheson in administrative matters, a part-time editor could have performed his task.

J.R.M.B.

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AUTHOR'S PREFACE

The story of this dramatic campaign, in which German conquered three countries in six weeks, contains within it the story of a small British force which though compelled to fall back with its Allies under the pressure of the enemy's stronger forces never lost its cohesion or ability to fight; when its final overthrow seemed certain it was withdrawn to England, there to lick its wounds and prepare to fight again.

It was too small a force to affect the final issue of a campaign in which German brought to battle 136 divisions, France over 100, Belgium 22 and the British Expeditionary Force only 14. Yet the part which it played in the northern phase of the campaign was an essential one, for it held a key position in the Allies' main front, and held it to the end. Its fighting withdrawal to the coast, while two groups of German armies attacked from east and west, was a notable military achievement. The following chapters tell how this was done, but there was one contributing factor which cannot easily be brought out in the telling and therefore should be mentioned here.

Before the war the Army had been so reduced in numbers that an unusually large proportion of its officers knew each other personally. The British Expeditionary Force was thus commanded and staffed for the most part by regular solders who had not only been trained for their work but had come to know and trust each other. They were not, therefore, greatly put out when, in the course of the withdrawal, normal procedure was interrupted by events and reliance on individuals took the place of orthodox administration. Amid confusion they were not confounded. A cement of mutual confidence strengthened the whole Expeditionary Force and helped it to withstand the appalling shock it had to suffer.

In addition to the intrinsic interest of the story, the student of military history will find in its indications that new methods would distinguish the Second World War from the First. This campaign was the overture, in which the sounded themes to be developed throughout the war. The use of airborne troops to seize in advance positions of tactical importance; of massed formations of tanks rapidly to exploit a breach; of wireless to control a quickly moving battle; of air forces to assist ground troops in attack and for the transport of men and supplies; of mechanical transport and specially designed vehicles (the British Universal Carrier was an early example)—all these are illustrated, for the first time or on a new scale, in operations which involved British forces.

This volume deals only with the history of British operations in France and Flanders between the outbreak of war in September the

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3rd, 1939, and the fall of France in June, 1940. It describes and discusses these as fully as is possible in a book of the size prescribed; it only describes those of Allied and enemy forces in so far as they affected the conduct of British operations. As, however, the British Expeditionary Force served under the orders of the French High Command, the bearing of the orders and actions of the High Command is considered more fully.

The amount of contemporary material available to a military historian is, today, truly appalling. Every unit and every formation keeps a day-to-day record of its doings and of all important telegrams, messages and orders received and issued. There are also innumerable returns and statistical record of its doings and of all important telegrams, messages and orders received and issued. There are also innumerable returns and statistical records of each branch of the Services and many minutes of meetings and conferences on every level. Our Allies have a similar body of information in regard to their own operations, and for this campaign there is also a comprehensive collection of the enemy's contemporary records and documents. It would take a lifetime to study all this information; the historian can but select the more important, and since this history might be thought to mirror an official view it will be well to indicate the material on which this account is based and to state that I have had complete freedom in its use.

The Historical Sections of the three Services have all compiled detailed, factual and carefully checked narratives of day-to-day events from the War Diaries and other contemporary records. These have been used as the basis for the account of operations but I have gone behind them to the original records where this was necessary to reach a clear understanding of what happened or to appreciate what was of chief significance.

The principal commanders have all written dispatches, most of which have since been published. These have been studied as giving their authors; considered views of what happened, in so far as they knew the relevant facts.

A number of personal diaries and reports, written at the time, have been generously made available and, with many regimental histories, have been useful in showing how actions and events affected those engaged at various levels. In a book which is intended to give a broad survey of the campaign there is unfortunately little room for these detailed accounts, though they are rich in human interest; only one or two extracts have been quoted to serve as illustrations.

The minutes and papers of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and its sub-committees and the other high-level documents have been examined but only decisions and orders which were conveyed to commanders in the field and therefore directly affected operations have been specifically taken into account.

The most authoritative published accounts of our Allies' operations

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have been used, after consultation with the official Historical Sections of the French and Belgian Armies. Both have also most kindly supplied all additional information for which they have been asked.

German War Diaries and other contemporary documents captured from the enemy, including those subsequently produced at the Nuremberg trials, have been used, and enough are available to explain enemy operations. The post-war statements, published memoirs and studies of generals and others who occupied positions of responsibility at the time have also been carefully considered; but where there is a conflict of evidence between such post-war recollections and writings and contemporary records the evidence of the latter has been accepted. 'History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.'3 For the convenience of readers, quotations from French and German sources have been given in English, but since 'everything suffers from translation except a bishop'4 the original texts are given in Appendix II.

All the ground in France and Belgium over which the British Expeditionary Force fought has been examined on the spot, in order to see how far physical conditions explain the course of operations; and a few photographs are reproduced to give the reader who doe snot know the country some conception of the waterways and coasts which figure prominently in the story. Similarly portraits of the principal commanders are included to supplement what is said of them in the text. Where the names of individuals are mentioned, orders and the decorations have been omitted for the sake of brevity and the rank they had at the time is given; many subsequently rose to higher rank and greater fame.

The names of regiments, squadrons and ships have been given where this would not confuse the broad picture, but it is impossible to mention all in so small a book. Equally it is not possible to do full justice to the services which sustained the fighting forces. The forces in action were only there by virtue of work which cannot be brought within the focus of this volume. A list of the principal British forces employed with some notes on their organisation and equipment is given in Appendix I.

Many have helped me in the preparation of this book by information, advice or comment. In would first thank the Historical Sections of the three Services and in particular Rear-Admiral R. M. Bellairs and Commander Lloyd Owen; Brigadier H. B. Latham and Lieutenant-Colonel H. F. Joslen; and Mr. J. C. Nerney. Mr Brian Melland, Mr R. R. A. Wheatley and Squadron Leader L. A. Jackets have given me invaluable help in the translation and study of enemy documents.

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I must also thank the many officers of all three Services who have been kind enough to read and comment on the manuscript from their personal experience in the campaign. It is impossible here to mention all by name, but I am most grateful to them.

The Imperial War Museum kindly supplied many of the photographs reproduced. The portrait of Air Marshal Barratt was painted for the National Collection by the Late R. C. Dugdale, R. A. The photograph of General Weygand is from the collection of the Press Portrait Bureau.

All the maps have been specially drawn under the direction of Colonel T. M. Penney, most of them by Mr D. K. Purle. General maps fold out to the left so that they may be referred to while several chapters are being read. Situation maps are usually at the end of the chapter in which the day's actions are described and fold out to the right. Places, roads and railways which are not mentioned in the text have for the most part been omitted. While this makes for clarity it is liable to give a false impression of the country. A full-scale map would show far more numerous villages and towns, linked in a network of communications by road, rail and waterways/

Finally, I would acknowledge with gratitude the continuous help I have had from Professor J. R. M. Butler. I am, of course, solely responsible for any mistake of fact or inference.

L. F. ELLIS

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Contents  *  Next Chapter (I)


Footnotes

1 Lord Tedder: Air Power in War, Hodder and Stoughton (1947), p. 25.

2 History of the Second World War: British War Economy, by W. K. Hancock and M. M. Gowing, H. M. Stationery Office, 1949, p. xii.

3 Lord Acton: Lectures on Modern History, Macmillan, 1950, p. 17.

4 Lord Chesterfield: Letters to His Son.


Transcribed and formatted for HTML by David Newton, HyperWar Foundation