The foundation for Victory in NW Europe four/five years later? What lessons do you think were learnt by the then BEF after the evacuation of France ?
The foundation for Victory in NW Europe four/five years later? What lessons do you think were learnt by the then BEF after the evacuation of France ? David French in Raising Churchill's Army (2000) gives a fair summary of recent historians' views: "Training, particularly at the tactical level, did more become realistic after Dunkirk. But at the operational level, despite the shock of Dunkirk, little happened to alter the peacetime practice of allowing senior officers to interpret doctrine as they saw fit, with the result that the Army at home was slow to develop a consistent battle doctrine." (p. 184) Best, Alan
I would have hoped that the 1940 experience would have taught the Brits to stop underestimating the Wehrmacht. The Germans having "wooden tanks" being one example of how the high ups duped the soldiers of the BEF. That the war would be fought like WWI That "it would all be over by Christmas" HOPEFULLY they learned that they were wrong!
Whilst talking to a couple of Platoon commanders from the 2nd Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers, they mentioned that the level of tactical training was pretty much nil before they deployed, one or two from the battalion did receive some battle training in France before May 1940 and the battalion was due to do some tactics training mid May, but this was all canceled and they were thrown into the fight further north. In contrast, one of them was wounded and evacuated to return to the fight later. He said that he got more training in tactics and strategy in 1941 when he returned to the regiment, than when he was doing all his basics in 1937.
