Bef.
Hi all,
There seems to be some blame attached to the British Expeditionary Force withdrawing at Dunkirk.
The BEF only comprised 10% of the Allied forces available. Their 10% alone would not have stopped the German adavance.
The BEF were involved in fierce rear guard actions. Indeed, over 200 British prisoners were executed by the SS Liebstandarte because of their rear guard actions. These were not 'heat of the moment' executions but took place the day after capture if my memory serves me right.
The leader of these executions is alive and well in Bavaria and has a German Army pension.
WW2 German Army pensions are far higher than British Army pensions.
Also, thousands of French Army soldiers were evacuated to Britain at Dunkirk.
And France was declared a winner in WW2. She was given a sector in Germany to control after WW2 along with Russia,USA and Britain.
Ok..Churchill refused to send Spitfires to France. Good decision as he could see that the battle was lost in France. The Spitfires helped win the BoB along with French pilots in the RAF. If the BoB had been lost or a draw, France would perhaps still be occupied by the Nazis today?
From what I have read, the allies expected a repetition of WW1 with fixed lines. This of course did not happen.
It's not historically correct to blame the Dunkirk evacuation on the defeat of France.
Sorry for the long post gentlemen!
Best Regards,
MB_Avro.
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