Calais — Nicholson facing the ultimatum
Brigadier , 41, commands at Calais the : the 1st Battalion , the 2nd , the 7th Battalion and the — roughly 3,000 infantry and some fifty Cruiser tanks.
His brigade was first ordered to dash to the rescue of Boulogne, then to escort a supply convoy to the BEF. Orders change hour by hour as the Panzers reach the coast behind him.
Facing Calais is General Schaal's . During the night of 24-25 May, General Ironside, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, reports that the French port commander, General Fagalde, has forbidden any evacuation. On 25 May, Schaal sends in an ultimatum: surrender the town, on pain of destruction.
From London, War Secretary Eden circulates a phrase: "The eyes of the Empire are upon the defence of Calais." Nicholson must answer the German emissary.
Should Nicholson accept the German ultimatum to spare his brigade, or refuse and hold on?
Nicholson chose B. To the emissary he replied on 25 May: "The answer is no, as it is the British Army's duty to fight as well as it is the German's." That same evening, Churchill confirmed: "Evacuation will not take place... every hour you continue to exist is of the greatest help to the BEF." The brigade held the citadel and the seafront until around 16:00 on 26 May, when it was overwhelmed; some 3,000 British troops were taken prisoner. Their resistance pinned the for several days and cost it dearly — roughly a third of its infantry and half its tanks. This effort helped protect the Dunkirk perimeter during the launch of Dynamo. As a prisoner, Nicholson died in captivity at Oflag IX-A/H at Rotenburg on 26 June 1943, aged 44, in circumstances never elucidated. His defence has remained a symbol.
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