On 10 May 1940 the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), under the command
of Lord Gort, moved forward from the Franco-Belgian border and took up
positions along a 20-mile sector off the River Dyle, to await the
arrival of the German Army Group B. Their expected stay was considerably
shorter than planned as the German Army Group A pushed its way through
the Ardennes and crossed the Meuse at Sedan, scattering the French
before them. Little did the men of the BEF realize that the orders to
retire would result in their evacuation from Dunkirk and other channel
ports.
The line of the River Escaut was seen as the last real opportunity for
the Allied armies to halt the advancing German Army, but the jigsaw of
defense was tenuous and the allied hold on the river was undone by the
weight of opposing German forces and the speed of the armored
'Blitzkrieg' thrust further south. As far as the BEF were concerned, the
Battle for the Escaut took place on a 30-mile sector from Oudenaarde to
Bléharies and involved units in a sometimes desperate defense, during
which two Victoria Crosses were awarded.
This book takes the battlefield tourist from Oudenaarde to Hollain in a
series of tours that retrace the footsteps of the BEF. With the help of
local historians, the author has pinpointed crucial actions and answered
some of the myriad questions associated with this important phase of the
France and Flanders campaign of 1940.
