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Dunkirk 80 years ago ww2. This week i will add some of my original Dunkirk photos.


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That is a quite staggering amount of abandoned vehicles/equipment. The Wehrmacht must have had more Morris Commercials and Bedfords on charge than anyone else in June 1940! A lot of the trucks, and presumably motorcycles, were impressed into new ownership, but what happened to the tanks/carriers? Were these repurposed as per French tanks? Herr Steptoe must have been rubbing his hands together with all that scrap metal, for their war effort! What a gift horse

Edited by super6
Grammatical error!
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This post has opened so many doors into different aspects of that period, and provided a little piece of history in its own right. A period in history when one country was invading other sovereign countrys without provocation for its own ends. Thank you for posting the original pictures.

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It has prompted me to find out a book I have owned for many years, it the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry War Chronicle 1939-1940.

Its an origional edition signed by one of the Officers. Reading that really does make me think about what those chaps went through and how totally unexpected the type of warfare was.

Kevin

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The figures for the amount of abandoned equipment do vary. 

About 700 tanks, 20,000 motor bikes, 45,000 cars and lorries, 880 field guns and 310 larger equipments, about 500 anti-aircraft guns, 850 anti-tank guns, 6,400 anti-tank rifles and 11,000 machine-gun. 

Source:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Expeditionary_Force_(World_War_II)

 

over 2,000 pieces of artillery and 85,000 motor vehicles. Also left behind were more than 440 British tanks that had been sent to France with the BEF

Source:-

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Evacuation-of-Dunkirk/

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Been reading quite a lot this week about the Battle for France. So many people simply refer to Dunkirk but that last few weeks in May 1940 was one hell of a fighting retreat.

So many acts of bravery from such young lads.

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just watched a really good youtube movie by the curator of Bovington tank museum on the battle of Arras.  Well worth watching.  If I wasn't so poor at tech I would post the link - sorry 

Edited by Highland_laddie
sorry UK thing about tank museum as if its the only one
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Like a lot of other I have been finding this thread very interesting and it has prompted be to do much more investigation/reading on the web with  couple of books on the way too.

I thought I would share this web page that I found (getting better at this tech stuff)

http://www.wwiiequipment.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125:british-equipment-losses-at-dunkirk-and-the-situation-post-dunkirk&catid=50:other-articles&Itemid=61

Why lists what was lost but also looks at was was left in the UK and how the equipment situation improved between 1st June and later in the year when an invasion might have occurred.

 

the headline numbers on the National Army Museum web site are given as:

 the BEF had suffered 68,000 casualties. Most of its equipment was lost, including 64,000 vehicles, 20,000 motorcycles and 2,500 guns

This also chimes with the information in the Bovington Tank museum video (on youtube) about just how mechanised the British army was, particularly in comparison with the 'modern mechanised german army'.  IIRC he listed the german army as having 120,000 vehicles for the whole army of approx 130 Division (can't recall the exact number) So 10 British divisions has the same amount of vehicles a the whole german army.  No wonder captured vehicles from the fall of France continued to be used throughout the war.

 

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I recall a story of my Grandfather, around the time of Dunkirk his regiment was boarded onto a troop ship and given notification they were being sent to France as reinforcements, I have a memory of him mentioning Cherbourg(?). 

After a few days aboard ship they were stood down and disembarked.

Anyone have any knolwedge of soldiers being readied to be sent?

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10 hours ago, 79x100 said:

This Prefect badged to 60 Coy. AMPC almost certainly didn't see further service with the Wehrmacht...

Ford Prefect 60 Coy AMPC 2 Div.jpg

Now that one is fairly comprehensively denied to the enemy I would say 

Edited by Pete Ashby
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10 hours ago, Morris C8 said:

More photos from my collection, 1st photo car and truck has Aos number 62 on the back. 2nd photo might have 38 on the Bedford MW.

Keith

 

bef trucks german wagons.jpgbef trucks aos 38.jpg

For some reason I can't view the photos?

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  • 7 months later...

Hi, just found this site and the reference to the motor boat Gwen Eagle.

 I own a 1 / 12th scale model of this boat, built by my father (with my help) in 1959.

I knew very little of the boat, I believed it to have been built in 1949, imagine my amazement to see it on the beach in 19 40.

I now believe it was only built the year before.

62.JPG

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