Their Finest Hour Read Online

Please convey these considerations to the King, and impress upon him the disastrous consequences to the Allies and to Belgium of his present choice.”

I gave King Leopold the Prime Minister’s message, but he said that he had made up his mind that he must stay with his Army and people….

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At home I issued the following general injunction:

In these dark days the Prime Minister would be grateful if all his colleagues in the Government, as well as important officials, would maintain a high morale in their circles; not minimising the gravity of events, but showing confidence in our ability and inflexible resolve to continue the war till we have broken the will of the enemy to bring all Europe under his domination.

No tolerance should be given to the idea that France will make a separate peace; but whatever may happen on the Continent, we cannot doubt our duty, and we shall certainly use all our power to defend the Island, the Empire, and our Cause.

During the morning of the 28th, Lord Gort met General Blanchard again. I am indebted to General Pownall, Lord Gort’s Chief of Staff, for this record made by him at the time:

Blanchard’s enthusiasm at the Cassel meeting had evaporated when he visited us today. He had no constructive suggestions or plans. We read to him the telegram ordering us to proceed to the coast with a view to embarkation. He was horrified. And that was strange; for what other reason did he think that he and Gort had been ordered to form bridgeheads? To what else could such a preliminary move lead? We pointed out that we had both received similar instructions regarding the bridgeheads. What had happened now was that we had got from our Government the next and logical step (which had no doubt been communicated to the French Government), whereas he had received as yet no such corresponding order. This pacified him somewhat, but by no means entirely. Then we said that we too, like him, wanted to keep the British and the First French Army together in this their last phase. Presumably, therefore, the First French Army would continue the retirement tonight, keeping aligned with us. Whereat he went completely off the deep end – it was impossible, he declared. We explained to him as clearly as the human tongue can explain the factors in the situation. The threat from the Germans on our northeastern flank would probably not develop in strength for the next twenty-four hours (though when it did come it would be serious indeed). What was of immediate importance was the threat to our long southwestern flank. There, as he well knew, advance guards of German infantry divisions, supported by artillery, had made attacks yesterday at various points. Though the main points Wormhould, Cassel, Hazebrouck had held, there had been some penetration. The Germans might be relied upon to press these advantages, and we could be sure that the main bodies of the divisions would soon deploy and force themselves right across our line of withdrawal to the sea (a withdrawal which had been ordered for us, if not for him). There was therefore not a moment to be lost in getting back from the Lys, and we must get back tonight at least to the line Ypres-Poperinghe-Cassel. To wait till tomorrow night was to give two days to the Germans to get behind us, an act of madness. We thought it unlikely that we could get even thirty per cent of our forces away even if we reached the sea; many, indeed, in forward positions would never reach it. But even if we could only save a small proportion of highly trained officers and men it would be something useful to the continuance of the war. Everything possible must therefore be done, and the one thing that was possible, if only in part, was to get back some way tonight….

Then came a liaison officer from General Prioux, now commanding the First Army. The liaison officer told Blanchard that Prioux had decided that he could not withdraw any farther tonight, and therefore intended to remain in the quadrangle of canals whose northeastern corner is Armentières and southwestern corner Béthune. This seemed to decide Blanchard against withdrawal. We begged him for the sake of the First Army and of the Allied cause to order Prioux to bring back at least some of his army in line with us. Not all of them could be so tired or so far away that it was impossible. For every man brought back there was at least some chance of embarkation, whereas every man who remained behind would certainly be eaten up. Why not try, then? There was nothing to be gained by not trying: for those who did try there was at least some hope. But there was no shaking him. He declared that evacuation from the beach was impossible – no doubt the British Admiralty had arranged it for the B.E.F., but the French Marine would never be able to do it for French soldiers.