This is the first detailed account of the rearguard action that took
place between 25 and 29 May 1940 at Cassel and Hazebrouck on the western
perimeter of the Dunkirk Corridor. By 25 May the decision to evacuate
the BEF via Dunkirk had already been taken, Lord Gort, commanding the
BEF in France, had given instructions to Lieutenant General Sir Ronald
Adam to relinquish his command of III Corps and prepare a perimeter of
defense around Dunkirk. As part of the western defensive line of the
Dunkirk Corridor, 145 Brigade were deployed to Cassel and Hazebrouck
with the instructions to hold the two towns until the last man. Under
the command of Brigadier Nigel Somerset, the brigade occupied Hazebrouck
with the infantry of 1st Buckinghamshire Battalion and Cassel with the
4/Ox and Bucks Light infantry together with the regulars of the 2nd
Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment. Attached to Somerset's meager force
was a number of units that had previously been part of two of Gort's ad
hoc formations - Macforce and Woodforce, and it was with these men that
the two towns were fortified against the advancing German armored
divisions.
While Hazebrouck was overwhelmed very quickly, the hilltop town of
Cassel held out for much longer with German forces failing to
consolidate any penetration of the perimeter. The book looks closely at
the deployment of units in both towns and focuses on the individuals
involved in the defense and the subsequent breakout, which ended in
capture or death for so many. There are two car tours that explore the
surrounding area of Cassel and the deployment of platoons within
Hazebrouck. These are supplemented by two walking tours, one in Cassel
itself and the second further to the west of the town around the area
controlled by B and D Companies of the 2nd Gloucesters. The book is
illustrated with ten maps and over 100 modern and contemporary
photographs.
