Retreat and Rearguard – Dunkirk 1940
Jerry Murland charts the desperate rear-guard battles that shielded the Dunkirk evacuation, honouring British and French defenders alike.
- Author
- Jerry Murland
- Publisher
- Pen & Sword
- Price
- £25
- ISBN
- 9781473823662
- Published
- 2017
Retreat and Rearguard – Dunkirk 1940 by Jerry Murland
Jerry Murland documents the desperate rear-guard actions fought between 26 May and 3 June 1940 as the British Expeditionary Force and its allies withdrew towards Dunkirk. He emphasises the key role played by the French Army—particularly the 12th Motorised Infantry Division, which held the western perimeter between 29 May and 4 June with 8,000 men—and highlights the cooperation between British and French troops across the ports and evacuation points.
The book covers the fighting at Dunkirk, Boulogne, Calais and Dieppe, as well as lesser-known battles along the Dyle Line, at Cassel, Arras and on the Bergues–Furnes Canal. Murland addresses atrocities such as the SS massacre at Le Paradis and draws on regimental war diaries and personal testimonies to convey the chaos and courage of the withdrawal through the so-called “Dunkirk Corridor”.
A second section examines the wider experience of the rear guards: bayonet charges against armour, Bren gun positions facing Stukas without air cover, an acute shortage of tanks and anti-tank weapons, and the grim reality that many British regiments were virtually wiped out. The narrative also recounts the post-evacuation escapes made by soldiers who slipped away to other ports or marched towards the Pyrenees and Gibraltar, often enduring capture, forced labour and long marches before freedom.
Murland’s study is one of the best accounts of the BEF’s fighting withdrawal, showing the British soldier at his resilient best and giving overdue credit to his French comrades. Thoroughly researched and compellingly written, it is essential reading for those who want to understand the campaign beyond the beaches.
ISBN 9781473823662. Pen & Sword. £25.