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British Expeditionary Force


 

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British army sent to France and Belgium in World War I and British Forces in Europe from 1939 - 1940 during World War II. The BEF was established by Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Boer War in case Britain ever needed to deploy quickly a force to take part in an overseas war. A senior German commander during the 1914-1918 war had called them a 'contemptible little army' - the name stuck and the BEF proudly referred to themselves as the 'Old Contemptibles'

World War II

Following the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the British Expeditionary Force was sent to the Franco-Belgian border. By May 1940, when German attacks began, it consisted of ten infantry divisions in three corps, a tank brigade and an RAF detachment of about 500 aircraft. Commanded by General Lord Gort, although constituting only a tenth of the defending Allied force it sustained heavy losses during the German advance and the remainder were evacuated from Dunkirk in June, leaving much of their equipment behind.

Related Topics:
German invasion of Poland - Infantry - Corps - Tank - RAF - General - Lord Gort - Evacuated from Dunkirk

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Order of Battle (WWII)

I Corps - (Lieutenant General M.G.H. Barker)

II Corps - (Lieutenant-General A. F. Brooke)

III Corps - (Lieutenant-General Sir R. F. Adam)

G.H.Q. Reserve

◄ British Expeditionary Force: World War I
British Expeditionary Force: See also ►

~ Table of Content ~

►Introduction
►World War I
►World War II
►See also

 

 

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