War Begins
World War Two in Europe began on the 3rd September 1939 when Britain and France declared war on Germany after Hitler refused to abort his invasion of Poland. Only several days before the Führer had guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Swiss. A few months before on the 22nd February 1939 in fact, the British government authorized the creation of a British Expeditionary Army (BEF) that were to be sent to France in the event of war with Nazi Germany. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the BEF took up defensive positions along the Franco-Belgian frontier.
On the 10th May 1940 the Germans unleashed a series of devastating attacks against neutral Holland and Belgium. Airborne units supported by the Luftwaffe seized key positions in the Netherlands. Unable to match the force and ingenuity of the invaders, the Dutch army capitulated on the 15th May. Although the Belgian army fought for a further three weeks against overwhelming odds, at midnight on the 27th May, King Leopold of Belgium had to admit defeat and surrendered his country too. On the same day the British Admiralty gave the go-ahead to begin Operation "Dynamo" which lasted until the 4th June, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, where 338,226 British, French, and other allied troops were rescued and brought back to Britain. The operation was a great success but did force the British to leave almost 40,000 troops, some defending the main body and some too badly wounded to be evacuated behind. Eight to ten thousand of these men, some still fighting, had no option but to surrender to the Germans and then started a forced match of almost 20 miles a day, back towards Prisoner of War camps back in Germany. For some war-weary troops the war was over, but for others the thought of being held in a PoW camp for who knows how long lead them to try and escape. Some of these succeeded and were sheltered by Flemish patriots.
For a much more in-depth information on this subject, I recommend you visit http://www.belgiumww2.info
On the 10th May 1940 the Germans unleashed a series of devastating attacks against neutral Holland and Belgium. Airborne units supported by the Luftwaffe seized key positions in the Netherlands. Unable to match the force and ingenuity of the invaders, the Dutch army capitulated on the 15th May. Although the Belgian army fought for a further three weeks against overwhelming odds, at midnight on the 27th May, King Leopold of Belgium had to admit defeat and surrendered his country too. On the same day the British Admiralty gave the go-ahead to begin Operation "Dynamo" which lasted until the 4th June, the evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, where 338,226 British, French, and other allied troops were rescued and brought back to Britain. The operation was a great success but did force the British to leave almost 40,000 troops, some defending the main body and some too badly wounded to be evacuated behind. Eight to ten thousand of these men, some still fighting, had no option but to surrender to the Germans and then started a forced match of almost 20 miles a day, back towards Prisoner of War camps back in Germany. For some war-weary troops the war was over, but for others the thought of being held in a PoW camp for who knows how long lead them to try and escape. Some of these succeeded and were sheltered by Flemish patriots.
For a much more in-depth information on this subject, I recommend you visit http://www.belgiumww2.info
posted by Phil at 11:34 am
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