Comments by "Ben Wilson" (@benwilson6145) on "Let's Discuss the Fall of France 1940 | TIK Q&A 12" video.

  1. Not all British Troops were evacuated at Dunkirk. The 51st Highland Division stayed behind and fought with the French Troops including De Gaulle, something he did not forget. They were supposed to be evacuated from St Valery but this never happened. Most were captured and surrendered to Rommel, but a few escaped and went south. Other stragglers, RASC , RAF and others went to St Nazaire were some the fortunate (including General Allan Brooke)were evacuated. Others died in the disaster of the sinking of the RMS Lancastria,(7000 to 9000 estimated) a fact that was kept secret for many years.
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  2. TIK the odd Montgomery action was an essential action. Montgomery was ordered by his commander, General Alan Brooke who was to become the Commander in Chief of the British Army (CIGS). The problem was the Belgians on orders from there King laid down there weapons without any notice, leaving a gap between the British Army and the sea. Alan Brooke ordered Montgomery to move through other nearer formations to fill the gap and stop the German advance. This he did successfully. Montgomery was with the possible exception of Alan Brooke the best general in the BEF. If you were to visit his Division in the 1930's come the weekend you would find his division training on Salisbury plain. all the other soldiers would be at home or at the pub. He was determined to train his troops and plan. During the phoney war he trained his troops, again more than any other. Montgomery was a great General. there is much criticism of Montgomery but most originates on the other side of the Atlantic.
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  3. TIK, you need to read General Allan Brookes diary, that will explain so much of the plans your missing. It will explain Winston Churchill, he did the same as the Captured German General and rewrote his history post war. He had many harebrained schemes and tried his best to stop D Day right to the last minute. Avoid about the first 80 pages, the phony war part is very boring.
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  4. Maybe you need to study your history, it was the Germans who studied the British tank exercises in the early thirties and saw the future, the use of tanks. The British had many who learned, but were held back by traditional thinking who were older and more senior. A great exponent of the war of movement was General O Connor, the best of the Desert Generals who turned a 4 day battle (Operation Compass) into a three month 1500 mile defeat of an enemy five times his strength. Montgomery was a cautious General who did all he could to save his troops lives. At El Alamein he completed a massive battle of WW1 scale against a fixed German defense and was still making an average of 40 miles a day advance. The advance from the Torch landings was much slower but never commented on. In the Defensive of France Montgomery was the General who over night moved his division through other divisions to to fill the gap caused by the surrender of the Belgians. Montgomery was a man who planed and practiced. He was the man responsible for the Invasion of Sicily and Overlord. He also planned many invasions that did not happen due to political reasons, the invasions of Azores, and Cape Verde Islands being two.
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