5922 Supplement to the London Gazette, 17 October, 1941
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5922 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 17 OCTOBER, 1941 2qkh May. Preparations for counter attack and the Admiral du Nord, Admiral Abrial, whose strengthening of canal defences. command included Boulogne, Calais and 40. During 24th May, I had simultaneously Dunkirk. Under his authority the command to prepare for a counter-attack southwards on of military forces in these areas was assumed on the 26th and also to press forward with the 24th May by General de Corps d'Arme'e Fagalde, strengthening of the canal line. commanding the French i6th Corps which up To make the detailed arrangements for the to now had been fighting on the left of the counter-attack I appointed the Commander of Belgian Army. the 3rd Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald The French defences of Dunkirk were based Adam, who, on my behalf, continued negotia- on the peace time organisation of the Secteur tions with General Blanchard, and with the Fortifie des Flandres, and extended only as Commander of the French 5th Corps, General far as the Belgian frontier. They comprised Altmeyer. an inner and an, outer sector, the inner on the The final plan was for a counter attack with line of the old Mardyck Canal to Spyker, thence three French and two British divisions under by Bergues to the frontier and so to the sea; the command of General Altmeyer. As a the outer on the line of the river Aa to St. Omer first stage, on the evening of 26th May, bridge- thence by Cassel and Steenvoorde to the heads were to be established south, of the frontier. General Fagalde had at his disposal Scarpe, and the main attack was to start the certain regional troops in numbers equivalent following morning, with the objective Plouvain— to a weak division, who were located in the Marquion—Cambrai. Sir Ronald Adam with outer sector from Grayelines to the Forest of three divisions (two British and one French) Clairmarais and whose dispositions had been was to advance east of the Canal du Nord, and roughly co-ordinated with those of Brigadier General Altmeyer with two French divisions Usher. About this time the 68th French to the west of the Canal du Nord, his right being Division arrived at Dunkirk from Belgium and covered by the French Cavalry Corps. This took over the inner sector. attack was never carried out for reasons which On the 24th and 25th May the British posts will presently appear.* on the river Aa were taken over by the French, On the same day, I issued orders to dissolve who also began to operate the inundations, the various improvised forces on the Canal which formed part of the defence scheme of line, and their units were absorbed by the Dunkirk and extended each side of Bergues and formations in the areas of which they now were.. as far as the Belgian frontier north of the I appointed Major-General Eastwoodj to take Bergues—Furnes canal. command of the defences on the Canal line, 2$th May—Attacks on the Canal Line and on and he assumed command early on 25th May. the Belgian Army. The position on the Canal line was consider- 42. On 25th May, enemy activity intensified. ably strengthened -during 24th May. 44th Two enemy Corps were reported to be attacking Division began to move into the line between the French in the area Denain—Bouchain ; the the forest of Clairmarais and Aire, with 2nd enemy was also across the canal at St. Venant, Division on its left between Aire and La Bassee, and was developing the bridgeheads between and 4&th Division (lately Polforce) from La that place and Aire and also at St. Omer, whilst Bassee to Raches. It was not till the evening further north the situation on the river Aa was however that 2nd and 44th Divisions gained still obscure. contact with the enemy and for most of the day At about 7 a.m. on 25th May, news was the defence of the sector still remained under received that in the late evening of 24th May the Commanders of Macforce and Perforce. the enemy had attacked the Belgian 4th Corps Fighting of a somewhat confused character on the Lys with a force reported to be of four went on for most of the day in and south of divisions, supported by tanks. The attack the Forest of Nieppe, and the enemy also began penetrated to a 'depth of i| miles on a front of heavy bombing and shelling of Cassel. The 13 miles between Menin and Desselghem. remainder of Macforce, which included field It was fast becoming a matter of vital and anti-tank artillery, was therefore sent importance to keep open our line of communica- to reinforce the i3/i8th Hussars. tion to the coast through a corridor which was 48th Division (with under its command part hourly narrowing. It was no longer possible of 23rd Division in the area Gravelines—St. to count on using the main road Estaires— Omer) was ordered to send one "infantry brigade • Cassel—Dunkirk, while the news which had to Dunkirk and one to Cassel and Hazebrouck. just been received made it certain that before I45th Infantry Brigade completed its relief long, the whole area east of the Yser canal of the improvised garrisons of the two latter would be in the hands of the enemy, since there <• places on 25th May, but General Thome found was, in fact, no satisfactory defensive position that the French had already made complete between the Lys and the Yser canal. There dispositions for Dunkirk, and had informed seemed, therefore, to be a serious risk of the the British Base Commandant. He therefore Belgian right becoming separated from the decided to send I44th Infantry Brigade to British left at Menin, and of the Belgian Army Bergues and Wormhoudt. He established his being forced to fall back in a northerly, rather H.Q. at Bergues, which he- rightly regarded as than in a westerly direction. I considered it the vital point of defence. vitally urgent to prolong the British front The French reinforce Dunkirk. without delay northwards to Ypres, along the old Ypres—Comines canal, now practically 41. The local defences of Dunkirk, in dry, and round Ypres itself to the line of the accordance with French practice, were under Yser canal. * See pars.. 43. As an immediate step, I2th Lancers were f Major-General T. R. Eastwood had recently sent off early on 25th to .watch the left flank of arrived in France to take command of a division, and, 2nd Corps on the Lys, and gain touch with the pending a vacancy, was attached to the Staff of G.H.Q. right flank of the Belgians..