TNA ADM 234 360

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CHAPTER VII
THURSDAY, 30TH MAY
French and British troops to embark in equal proportions
area at 80,000, and the he following set telegram from the plans for their remaining in the
He had received Secretary of remaining in in the
By the 30th May Lord about Gort estimated completing the his British troops
"Continue to defend present perimeter well. to If the we can utmost still in order to cover maximum corder to cover maximum
evacuation now proceeding to return to England with corder to cover maximum
at the moment we You should your nominate so reduced that it can
shall send you an when order deem command such as you may choose we
a Corps Commander. now this commander. be handed to
fighting force does not equivalent divisions. This is in accordance
cations are broken you exceed are to hand over and of three return as specified when your effective
with correct military procedure and no personal discretion is left to you in
matter. The Corps with Commander French chosen whether by from you should be ordered to carry the on
defence and evacuation Dunkirk or beaches.
The problem, as Lord Gort saw it, was to thin out the troops, while main-
taining a proper defence of the perimeter, with a force which could be embarked
finally in one lift.¹
Meanwhile Lord Gort had received orders from home that French and British
troops were to embark in equal proportions, and early next morning this policy
of H.M. Government was also promulgated by the Admiralty to the V.A.
Dover, R.A. Dover Straits (i.e. Rear-Admiral Wake-Walker), and S. N. 0.
Dunkirk.²
The adoption of this policy, desirable as it was, made Lord Gort's problem
more difficult, and necessitated a prolongation of the time that the existing
perimeter, or a smaller one, must be held, to enable all the troops to embark.
Yet the enemy pressure was increasing and there was no depth in our position.
A line on the dunes could only be held during the hours of darkness to cover the
final phase of the withdrawal".
After discussing the situation with the Commanders of the 1st and 2nd
Corps, Lord Gort came to the conclusion that the eastern end of the perimeter
could not be held much longer, as the enemy had already begun to shell the
beach at La Panne. He therefore motored to Dunkirk to inform Admiral
Abrial of his views and to assure himself that the arrangements for embarking
British and French troops in equal proportions were working smoothly. Admiral
Abrial assured Lord Gort of his agreement about the evacuation of the sector,
and the problem of embarkation was discussed.
Judging that it would be imprudent to continue to maintain the British
position on the perimeter, outside the permanent defences of Dunkirk, for
more than another 24 hours, Lord Gort decided to withdraw the 2nd Corps on
the night of 31st May/Ist June, and the necessary moves began to take place
on the morning of the 31st May.¹
Naval situation
So far as the Navy was concerned it not to appreciate the situation
at Dunkirk and off the beaches. As an was example easy of the difficulty of doing so,
2 I Lord Gort's Second Despatch, para. 57.
Appendix Y.3.
56