TNA ADM 199 795

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ability of its Brigadier that it was extricated from
its dangerous situation, embussed by midnight* on the
16/17th, moved 200 miles by roads, encumbered by
columns of troops and refugees, and enbarked 24 hours
later at Cherbourg.
17. In order to protect the embarkation at Cherbourg,
I had asked for a fresh battalion of the 52nd Division
to be left to occupy & covering position some 20 miles
to the south. , This, combined with the five French
battalions of the Cherbourg garrison, ought to have provided
ample security, and I had hoped to continue the
embarkation until the 21st in order to remove all the
stores and mechanized vehicles. The enemy, however,
again upset our calculations by the speed with which
he followed up our rapid withdrawal. At 9 a.m. on
the 18th, & column of 60 lorries, carrying motorized
German infantry, reached the covering position near
St. Sauveur. Finding resistance there, they turned.
west to the sector held by French troops, and succeeded
French made little attempt to resist, and I had to make the
in penetrating the position by the coast road. The
decision at 11.30 to complete the avacuation by 3 p.m.
The covering battalion (5th En K.O.S.B.) was withdrawn
between 12 noon and 3 D.M., and the last boat left at
4 All weapons were removed, except one 3.7" And
gun, p.m. which broke down and was rendered unserviceable, the and
one static Bofors gun which could not be removed in
time. the withdrawal. Then the last troopship left, the Germans
Tell Anti-Tank guns also had to be abandoned during
had penetrated to within three miles of the harbour.
(sgd) Lieutenent-General J.H. MARSHALL-CORNYALL
20th June 1940