British Army 1940
Armed Forces and Home Guard of Britain in Western Europe and the Mediterranean

Western Europe

For the first six months little military action took place at the Western Front except a minor, half-hearted French offensive in the Saar region. The BEF trained, consolidated its position, and built up its depots and dumps. From November 1939, by arrangement with the French, one British division at a time served for a short spell under French command on the Saar front to get experience. By the end of April 1940, the strength of the BEF was 394,165 men in 10 divisions.
When war did begin in earnest on 10 May 1940 the small British contingent was unable to stem the rapid German advance: within two weeks the BEF was forced back towards the Channel coast and Operation 'Dynamo' the evacuation from Dunkirk - was put into effect. Largely through the efforts of the French Army in holding back German forces (as well as Hitler's controversial order to halt the Panzers outside Dunkirk) 224,320 British (including 15,350 wounded) and 141,842 Allied soldiers were evacuated. Although Dunkirk was the last act of a major British defeat, the escape from France of over a third of a million trained soldiers was a great achievement and a considerable boost to sagging British morale.
3,457 members of the BEF were killed during the campaign in France, and although the British role in the fighting was only a minor one, many German soldiers had been impressed by the disciplined performance of the British troops.

Home Guard

The German invasion of Holland and Belgium focused attention upon the use of paratroops to occupy areas behind the enemy's main defence lines and it seemed highly probable that this form of attack would be employed against Britain. As a precaution Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War, broadcast an appeal on 14 May 1940 for fit men between the ages of 16 and 65 to enrol in a military organisation which would be known as the Local Defence Volunteers (LDV). By 20 May nearly 250,000 volunteers had come forward and by the end of the month the figure had reached 300,000. The force was to be organised in conjunction with the Territorial County Associations and came under the operational command of the C-in-C, Home Forces. On 31 July 1940 the title of the force was changed to the Home Guard.

Picture: King George VI inspects men of the Home Guard being given Bren gun instruction in July 1940. The men kneeling have LDV (Local Defence Volunters) armlets just visible on their right arms.

The immediate problem faced by the Home Guard was an acute shortage of arms, uniform and equipment. There were military rifles for only one-third of the Guard and the remainder had to make do for many months with shotguns, sporting rifles, and even golf clubs and home-made pikes. The Home Guard were unpaid and were required for duty and training only after working hours. They were organised as battalions, companies, and platoons but there was no fixed size for these units and a company could be 300 or 400 men strong. Commanders of units were not commissioned officers but holders of appointments and every man whatever his rank was subject to Military Law as a private soldier.

The Home Guard was dispersed through the country and each city, town and village had its contingent. Their duties consisted of guarding important buildings, road junctions, railways and factories, and patrolling coastal areas where enemy landings might be made. By the end of July 1940 the Home Guard numbered 500,000 all ranks and during the invasion months of that year its presence and enthusiasm not only helped to inspire the population of Britain but also relieved large numbers of regular troops from the distraction of guard and garrison duties.

Canadian Army

In June 1940 the 1st Canadian Divison was evacuated from France. In July the division combined with the 1st British Armoured Division and the majority of the 2nd New Zealand Division to form the 7th Corps. Since May 1940, units of the 2nd Canadian Division had begun to arrive in Britain but the divisions' concentration was not achieved until 25 December 1940. From late October the units that had arrived in the United Kingdom joined the 1st Division guarding the beaches of Sussex between Worthing and Newhaven, and on Christmas Day 1940 the 7th Corps was disbanded and the Canadian Corps (later 1st Canadian Corps) was created with nearly 57,000 Canadians serving in Britain.

Total British and Empire divisions in France on 10 May 1940: 10
Total British and Empire divisions in Great Britain in August 1940: 26 (2 armoured), all short of equipment.

British and Empire Armies in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean theatre was an area of prime importance to Britain. She had many interests there and the Suez canal was the most important artery of the Empire. In August 1939 the land forces in Egypt under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson consisted in the main of an armoured division (7th) still in the process of formation, three British infantry brigades, plus a small number of artillery and engineer units.

Picture: Exercise of light Vickers Mark IIA tanks at the border between Egypt and Libya.

Additional forces scattered through the Middle East Theatre comprised the Headquarters of the 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions and three infantry brigades in Palestine; two British infantry battalions in the Sudan; lightly-equipped locally raised forces in Iraq, Uganda, Kenya and British Somaliland, and small British garrisons in Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus and Aden. The first reinforcement from India, the 11th Indian Brigade Group, had also recently arrived.
The desert was to be a theatre of war in which an army's success depended primarily upon the quality and quantity of its armoured forces. The British had begun to prepare in earnest in 1938 with the formation of the Matruh Mobile Force from the units of the Cairo Cavalry Brigade. By October 1939 the force had been transformed into a Mobile Division by its commander Major-General P. C. S. Hobart, and the light Mark III, VIA, and VIB tanks and 3.7 inch mountain howitzers were being replaced by A9 cruiser tanks and 25 pounder howitzers.
The division's order of battle was:
Light Armoured Brigade: 7th, 8th, and 11th Hussars;
Heavy Armoured Brigade: I st and 6th Royal Tank Regiments;
plus units of the Royal Horse Artillery and infantry in what was known as Pivot Group.

In April 1940 the armoured formations were reorganised into two homogeneous brigades, the Light Armoured Brigade becoming the 7th Armoured Brigade and the Heavy Brigade becoming the 4th Armoured Brigade. The resulting formation was renamed the 7th Armoured Division and it took over control in May of all troops in the Western Desert until the establishment of Headquarters Western Desert Force on 17 June 1940.
In Egypt General Wavell could call on a force of approximately 36,000 men including Indian and New Zealand units, while in Palestine there were 27,500 troops including a horse cavalry division. In essence the fighting troops under Western Desert Force consisted of an armoured division with only two armoured regiments in each brigade, and a British infantry brigade. All units were short of equipment, transport, and artillery, and the 7th Armoured had only 65 cruiser tanks against a requirement of 220.
Despite these deficiencies, however, Western Desert Force soon established its superiority over the Italians during operations on the Egyptian-Libyan frontier.

Total British and Empire divisions in Egypt: 3 (7th Armoured, 4th Indian infantry, New Zealand Infantry division).
Palestine: 27,500 (3 infantry brigades = approx. 1 division, 1 horse cavalry divison).
Sudan: 9,000 (later 5th Indian division).
Kenya: 8,500 (from August 1940 three divisions: 1st South African division, Native 11th and 12th African divisions).
British Somaliland: 1,500.

Basic British and Empire Army units in August 1940:

British Fleet in the Western Mediterranean

Following the Italian declaration of war attempts were made to reinforce the British Fleet in the Mediterranean and in June 1940 Force 'H' was formed, based at Gibraltar and comprising the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, two battleships and a small number of cruisers and destroyers.