Background
Although Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk had evacuated much of the fighting element of the British Expeditionary Force, some combat units from 1st Armoured Division and Beauman Division and more than 150,000 support and line-of-communication troops had been cut-off to the south by the German “dash to the sea”. In addition, the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Division had been rushed to France to bolster the defence of the west of the country. All these forces became known as the “Second BEF” and General Sir Alan Brooke was returned from England to command them. Upon his arrival on 13 June, he quickly realised that there was no chance of success for them and that the French plan to fall back and make a stand in Brittany was unrealistic. Accordingly, in a telephone call on the evening of 14 June, he was able to persuade the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, that all the British troops in France ought to be disengaged and evacuated. Historian Max Hastings asserts; "in that conversation, Brooke saved almost 200,000 men from death or captivity". The 1st Canadian Division suffered 6 losses during its brief excursion to the Continent, including five missing and one killed.
Read more about this topic: Operation Ariel
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