British Expeditionary Force (World War I)
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 Second Boer War in case the United Kingdom ever needed to deploy quickly a force to take part in an overseas war.
World War I
Before, and at the immediate beginning of, the war there was some debate in British military circles as to the best strategy in a conflict with Germany. Although plans had been drawn up as early as 1905 for transporting divisions rapidly to Europe, the so-called navalists favoured a strictly naval confrontation with Germany, leaving land fighting to the French. However, in the end it was decided to send a BEF to France and Belgium.
On the outbreak of World War I, the BEF was sent to Belgium under the command of General Sir John French. The BEF was composed of three corps (I Corps, II Corps and the Cavalry Corps) - four regular infantry divisions, rising later to seven infantry and three cavalry divisions with the addition of volunteers from Territorial Army units that had waived their right to only serve in defence of the British Isles. It suffered heavy casualties in its first battle at Mons, but helped to halt the German advance at the First Battle of the Marne.
The force got its nickname the 'Old Contemptibles' from a supposed 'Order of the Day' for 19 August 1914 issued by Kaiser Wilhelm.
- It is my Royal and Imperial Command that you concentrate your energies for the immediate present upon one single purpose, and that is that you address all your skill and all the valour of my soldiers to exterminate first the treacherous English [and] walk over General French's contemptible little army.
The Kaiser had apparently described the force as "contemptibly little", referring to its size, but it got reported as "contemptible". The name stuck and the BEF proudly referred to themselves as the 'Old Contemptibles'.
No evidence of such an order was ever found in the German archives after the war, and the ex-Kaiser denied having said it:
- On the contrary, I continually emphasised the high value of the British Army, and often, indeed, in peace-time gave warning against underestimating it.
The order was, it seems, created by Frederick Maurice in the British War Office for propaganda purposes. (Reference: Nigel Rees citing Arthur Ponsonby, Falsehood in War-Time, 1928.)
The term "British Expeditionary Force" strictly refers only to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres, November 22 1914; the surviving members of these forces were later awarded the Mons Star. An alternative endpoint of the BEF was December 26 1914, when it was divided into the First and Second Armies (a third, fourth and fifth being created later in the war). However, the name is often used to refer to the British Army in France and Flanders throughout the First World War.
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 a 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 most of the remainder (roughly 330,000 men) were evacuated from Dunkirk in June, leaving much of their equipment behind. However, the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division was left behind at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, as it was not trapped by the Germans at the time; it surrendered along with elements of the French 10th Army later in June. The short lived second Expeditionary Force commanded by General Alan Brooke was evacuated from Western France during Operation Ariel.
For the order of battle, see British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1940)
See also
References
- Sayings of the Century, Nigel Rees, 1984.