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ANALYSIS OF THE OPERATION
CHAP. XIII,
1ST JUNE. Beaches. The climax of boat shortage occurred on this day, and
" increasing enemy air attack caused continual interruptions of embarkation on the beaches and in Dunkirk ' (D.R. P. 25). The disastrous figures reflect the serious situation that developed on the beaches about 2030 on the 31st
May, when the rate of embarkation fell to about 150 an hour owing to shortage of boats.
Harbour. The interruptions caused by air attacks and shelling undoubtedly accounted partly for the poor rate of lift. A further factor was the berthing of destroyers two or three deep at the East Pier. It is true that some destroyers filled up in less than an hour the Vivacious, for example, out of 35 minutes spent in Dunkirk, was alongside the East Pier for only 15 minutes, during which time she took on board 475 men; and the Shikari needed only 20 minutes to embark 623 troops. On the other hand, owing to the state of the tide, the personnel vessel Maid of Orleans spent 51 hours at the East Pier acting as a floating pontoon for destroyers, while the outermost destroyer, the Windsor, spent nearly 15 hours alongside.
2ND JUNE. No daylight evacuations took place after the 1st June, all took place at night.
Beaches. The average lift and waiting time were both much below normal.
There were more ships lying off the beaches than could be loaded by the boats available; consequently, scarcely a single ship left with a full load of troops.
The rate of lift, however, was average.
Harbour. The night of the Ist-2nd June saw the introduction of planned arrival and berthing of ships at Dunkirk. This resulted in a marked improvement in the average lift, which was almost the best of the entire operation.
3RD JUNE. The increase in average time spent at Dunkirk during the night of the 2nd-3rd June over the previous night was probably accounted for by the difficulties experienced by ships in going alongside the East Pier. The figure was worsened by the fact that, owing to the cessation of the flow of
French troops to the East Pier after the embarkation of the British rearguard at 2330 on the 2nd, five destroyers had to be sent back to England practically empty.
4th JUNE. Owing to chaotic conditions in Dunkirk harbour time waiting to berth averaged no less than 100 minutes. Pauses in the flow of French troops to the piers, and the impossibility of inducing them to embark in quick and orderly manner (which latter factor had also operated on the previous night)
sufficed to depress the rate of lift from the high averages of the two previous nights, to the norm for the operation.
Discipline
No instances of naval indiscipline came to light. But in an operation where the level of initiative was very high an unaccountably heavy wastage of small boats occurred from lack of boatkeepers. There were undoubtedly instances where small boats which were brought off from shore to ship manned only by troops, drifted away and were lost after the troops climbed out of them, owing to the omission to put boatkeepers into them.
The state of discipline of the troops had a direct bearing on the rate of embarkation. In the early stages of the operation the troops on the beaches were mainly rear units and indiscipline occurred. The arrival of combatant
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Boat England Maid of Orleans Vivacious Windsor Day Light May

152

TNA ADM 234 360

TNA ADM 234 360