The British Soldier Sent to France with the BEF
The United Kingdom declares war on Germany on 3 September 1939. In the days that follow, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) is mobilised: the first convoys cross the Channel from 9-10 September 1939 to take up position alongside the French army, awaiting the German offensive in the west.
The ranks bring together regular soldiers, recalled reservists and, soon, conscripts. Many have never left Britain; some still remember the bloodletting of 1914-1918 and dread a new continental front.
A man called back to the colours and assigned to France must decide: join his unit and embark, refuse service across the Channel and face court martial, or desert.
Should the British soldier serve loyally, refuse deployment to France, or desert?
The vast majority of men join their units and serve; the desertion rate remains negligible. The BEF holds the front during the "Phoney War," then faces the German offensive of May-June 1940. During this campaign in France and Flanders, it suffers on the order of 11,000 killed and roughly 41,000 missing or taken prisoner; some 338,000 men (British and Allied) are evacuated from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo (26 May-4 June 1940).
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Lwów — Langner between two occupiers
Brześć — Plisowski faces Guderian
The Bzura — Kutrzeba faces the trap
Krojanty — Mastalerz and the 18th Uhlans
Maria Wittek — Wzgórze Wuleckie
Modlin — Thommée at the last fortress
Mokra — Filipowicz and the Volhynian Brigade
Praga — Rommel facing the siege
Tomaszów Lubelski — Piskor between two fronts