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The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British Army in Europe from 1939 to 1940 during early stages of the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force. The British Expeditionary Force was established in 1938 in readiness for a perceived threat of war after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and the claims on the Sudetenland, which led to the invasion of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. After the French and British government had promised to defend Poland, the German invasion of that country began and war was declared on 3 September 1939. The BEF was sent to France in September 1939 and deployed mainly along the Belgian–French border during the so-called Phoney War leading up to May 1940. The BEF did not commence hostilities until the invasion of France on 10 May 1940. After the commencement of battle, they were driven back through Belgium and north-western France, forcing their eventual evacuation from several ports along the French northern coastline in Operations Dynamo, Ariel and Cycle. The most notable evacuation was from the Dunkirk region and from this the phrase ''Dunkirk Spirit'' was coined. ==Background== There were reports and the beginnings of a move to mobilise an armed force in 1936, when plans to expand the Territorial Army were put in place after a report was given to the House of Commons on 12 March 1936. It was realised that the invention of the aeroplane had moved the defence of Britain from her own shores to those of the continent as Mr Duff Cooper (the Secretary of State for War) said in his report: "It was said in the leading article of the "Times" this morning: For more centuries than need be counted the destiny of Northern France and of the Low Countries has been held vital to the security of Britain. That situation has not been changed by modern inventions. It was Napoleon who said that Antwerp in the possession of a hostile nation was like a pistol held at the head of Great Britain. The result of new inventions is that that menace is greater than it was before, because to-day it is a double-barrelled pistol. It is not only a base for shipping and submarines, but is also a taking-off ground for aeroplanes. The invention of flying, so far from rendering us more immune, has robbed us of a great part of our immunity. The sea, as Shakespeare said — the silver sea, which serves it in the office of a wall, serves no longer in that office. More than ever we are part of the Continent of Europe; less than ever can we rely upon any special advantage from our insular position.〔 In that same report, conscription was also discussed as it was realised that there would not be enough time to expand the army to satisfactory levels "To-day, when there are still numbers of young active men unemployed and living on the dole, what better advice could be given to them than that they should join the Army? There they would find the opportunity of a healthy, open-air life."〔 Conscription was not considered until war broke out, as volunteers were preferred, although by March 1937 there was still a shortfall of 60,000 men in the Regular Army (that is, the full-time army consisting of professional soldiers). Recruiting had risen by 33% from 1936–1937, and in February 1938 it was 44% higher than the previous year. The demand was still not met with only 34,000 accepted for enlistment with 30% taken from the unemployment line. The Regular Army was backed up by the Territorial Army and both were expanded and equipped for more appropriate measures than had been previously anticipated. In March 1937, the army stood at 121,000 at home and 89,000 overseas with 716 tanks of which 200 were obsolete First World War models. In a speech by Mr Hore-Belisha (Cooper's successor) on 10 March 1938, the numbers were given as 500,000 (excluding the colonies) and recruiting was at 60,000 a year. Nevertheless, there were shortages of 1,200 officers and 22,000 other ranks. Talks about the formation of the BEF between British and French ministers were concluded after British ministers visited France in November 1938. The French delegation announced that they believed a larger force than had been sent in 1914 was necessary, with the French cabinet saying that the British contingent would have been inadequate if war had broken out in September 1938.〔 〕 After questions in the House of Commons on 28 November 1938, the then Prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, said there was no commitment to send an expeditionary force to France.
According to the 1939 Army Estimates, Britain had home forces of 230,000 in the Regular Army with 183,000 in reserve and The Territorials numbering 270,000: a total of 683,000 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「British Expeditionary Force (World War II)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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