France 1940: Massacre of the Innocents
Вставка
- Опубліковано 10 вер 2024
- France 1940: Massacre of the Innocents
With Tim Lynch
Part of Infantry Week on WW2TV
• Infantry Week
They called it ‘the slaughter of the innocents’. The barely trained and poorly equipped men of the Labour Divisions were never meant to fight, but when the German blitzkreig sliced through the Allied armies in 1940, they were all that stood in the way of the annihilation of the British Expeditionary Force. While the Allied generals bickered amongst themselves, all command and control lost, their men died to buy precious time as the main army fell back towards Dunkirk. Long after the last of the rescue ships reached home, the men of the Labour Divisions fought on. That summer saw a thousand small acts of heroism, from the officer with multiple wounds who refused to leave his command, to the lone infantryman who held off a German panzer with a single anti-tank gun; refusing to surrender, he died at his post, alone.
Tim Lynch served in the Falklands and Northern Ireland. After his military career, he began working as a freelance writer, specialising in history and travel. He is an active member of the Western Front Association and has taken part in archaeological work on the battlefields of France. He is a regular contributor to magazines such as Britain at War, Military Illustrated, Skirmish and Stand To!
Dunkirk 1940: 'Whereabouts Unknown': How Untrained Troops of the Labour Division were Sacrificed to Save an Army by Tim Lynch
UK uk.bookshop.or...
USA www.amazon.com...
Dunkirk: The Real Story in Photographs by Tim Lynch
UK uk.bookshop.or...
USA bookshop.org/a...
Please click subscribe for updates and the bell icon for notifications
You can become a Patron and support us here / ww2tv
You can become a UA-cam Member and support us here / @ww2tv
Social Media links -
/ ww2tv
/ ww2tv
/ ww2tv
For First World War content follow our sister channel WW1TV
/ @ww1tvchannel
WW2TV Bookshop - where you can purchase copies of books featured in my UA-cam shows. Any book listed here comes with the personal recommendation of Paul Woodadge, the host of WW2TV. For full disclosure, if you do buy a book through a link from this page WW2TV will earn a commission.
UK - uk.bookshop.or...
USA - bookshop.org/s...
Patreon Brigadiers: Susan Yu
Become a WW2TV Brigadier and become part of this Hall of Fame
/ ww2tv
What an amazing presentation. The level of detail is incredible. I really appreciated the personal stories that Tim included in his talk.
A brilliant show about a much neglected subject - Tim was an excellent presenter. Thanks to both of you for this
very infrormative i knew absolutely nothing about this story and grateful to learn. great presentation by tim lynch with an unusual lecture style i like it. thank you WW2TV.
I found Tims presentation brilliantly put together, this early start of the war with the BEF, is so interesting. Just watching this on a catch up, so many mistakes made, if only the French had used radio communication, ie tanks etc, I often wonder how things might have panned out. Great to hear so many individual accounts. Thanks to you both
Woody/Tim. Fabulous presentation! I knew that the BEF were not well equipped but to this extent. I learnt a lot. Thanks both. Bob
A great perspective on the early war days, presented well by Tim in a unique style.
Great to see my old classmate Tim back on your show. I'm pretty sure he did an episode on the Dunkirk evacuations which discussed everything BUT Dunkirk! Really enjoyed this show.
Syme of Syme's Battalion had entered the Great War as a Lance Corporal in the Scots Guards and was commissioned as a CSM into a line regiment. I believe he was awarded at DSO for his service in France.
Kudos to the presenter ! Tim's presentation was heartbreaking in content but his comments aside did make me giggle!
An excellent presentation on a tragic part of the BEF's campaign in France 1940...
Great presentation…thank you Paul and Tim. What a complete balls up ! Through no fault of the brave soldiers who clearly had to use their wits and adapt to the changing situation.
How often do we see our brave lads and lassies put into harms way through the ignorance, incompetence and arrogance of the politicians who do not ensure that they are properly equipped and trained to do the job that is being required of them.
It happened as recently as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A British disease I’m afraid….people in power not up to the job and never seem to learn the lessons.
Fell asleep and missed this!!! Just catching up now.
At 26:25 the picture actually shows a char 2C not a B1. The 2C was the biggest tank the french produced, however it was developped at the end of ww1 and only 10 were built. By ww2 the 2C was pretty outdated and I don't think it even saw combat. The char B1 which took part at Stonne was much smaller. If I am not mistaken the B1 were under the process of being all equipped with radios when Germany invaded, but by that time at least every commanding tank was equipped with radios.
Also regarding the numerical superiority of the allied armour compare to the Germans, it must be taken into account that the number of french tank, although big on paper, is overinflated by a large amount of leftover from the first world war, like for example renault ft which were outdated and completely vulnerable in 1939. In general german tanks were more up to date than their french counterparts, because they were mostly produced during the massive rearmement effort undertaken by the Reich in the 30's, in complete violation of the versailles treaty, and with the perspective of the war. As for Great Britain's contribution, since the british had neglected their army during the inter War, Britain was only able to send one tank brigade on the continent, composed mostly of poorly equipped mathilda tanks.
Yes spot on Char 2c not a B1. Yes the off quoted allied tank numbers include obsolete Renault FT from WW1.
Excellent show. The kind of quality we just don't get with the stuff on TV and films.
Very informative (and entertaining). Thanks.
Great video thanks.
I never knew how bad the BEF was equiped. Apart from the facts as depicted on Wikipedia a few divisions still in training.
What I understand as the point made is that British politicians promised more divisions to the French than what possible.
The error thus is not to have corrected the error to put a corrected figure towards the French what a well trained and equiped BEF could have looked like.
And, apart from a token infantry division put under French command in the line on the Dyle plan.
Put the rest of the force in reserve as I stated on several other video's on this topic on You Tube. In fact the first question.
Then, with good flexible logistics for a mobile reserve with a few of the best tanks on the field Mathilde II together with the French de Gaulle's armoured force. 1:04:18
It's more about the Labour Divisions rather than the whole BEF, but yes there were lots of shortcomings
@@WW2TV come to think of it this implies not just the title but the sacrifice of the innocent to save the expierenced to fight another day.
A sacrafice that was justified to fight another day by getting away.
A sacrifice that was extremly unjust caused by gross incompetence by British politics and generals.
Having them pay to try to rectify this without due recognition is the grievous injustice this video in part helps set straight.
excellent presentation
Hi Paul loving the 1940s shows. Bit off topic but have you seen “The zone of interest “ about Rudolf Hoss and his family. It has had mixed reviews but I thought it was very good. Especially the sound track. And set design. It also treats you as an adult and doesn’t spoon feed history. But I’m sure someone with your knowledge will see a lot in it.
No not seen it yet
Not seen it yet
Tragic!
G'day,
Great stuff !
I used to work for an old Scottish Carpenter who was a toddler when his father was captured "At Dunkirk".
Apparently his father was driving an open-topped vehicle with an Officer & Seargant, they came around a Bend to find a couple of Germans standing in the middle of the road - pointing guns at them and ordering them to Halt....; the Officer said,
"Go, go, GO...!" but the Seargant had seen the Machinegun in Bushes beside the road - and he yelled
"Archie, for Christ's sake, STOP !".
They surrendered, and old mate's father had a choice between going to a POW Camp - & giving his Parole and being assigned to a German Farmer as a labourer...; so George's dad raised Pigs for 4 years, rather than being treated like shit by the Camp Guards...and living under Gunpoint.
I had not been aware that such was any kind of an Option, to Allied POWs put into the Bag by the Germans...(!) ; but apparently it was only available to Enlisted Ranks - Officers were considered to have a duty to be trying to escape...(?).
I thought you might like to hear of the tale.
Have a good one...
Stay safe.
;-p
Ciao !
Dad's Army. Right on.
@WW2TV just started watching and thought the opening scene and mention of the show was humorous. Done with my grocery shopping and am about to resume.
Okay cool
This show is, to borrow the word used by @WW2TV "mesmerizing." It is also aptly titled. Sadly so.
In fact the BEF, the Belgian, and Dutch armies were outclassed due to politicians overselling.
Indeed the mindset was wrong. Even of most higher military in command.
For instance the Dutch army as was could have performed much better with the limited funding availeble had they been deployed in a fixed defensive position of fortress Holland.
In stead of the Grebbe Peel Raam as main defensive line. A line which the Belgians didn't want to extend to their Albert Canal line. Thus the new Dutch commander decided to play politics ordering the line abandoned after the attack.
Much time wasted building trenches instead of training. Calling up non military to do that.
It was an error of the military not to demand more radios having the large Philips firm.
Oddly enough exactly the same silly shambles. Even though much was done to try to correct the situation. Yet, we Dutch had no arms industry.
Also too little too late, and, not making wise decisions with the means availeble. Everywhere where the Dutch soldiers had enough ammo in a well prepared defensive position they gave a good fight.
As with the BEF, the French, the Belgians, and the Dutch the politicians and high command made a bloody mess out of it.
BTW the Dutch engineers (with German post WW1 help) got it mostly brilliantly correct when making private ventures.
Fokker C10, D21, both highly succesfull used correctly by the Fins building more C10 biplanes in 1944. The G1 mosquito/ P38 type concept counter rotating prop plywood fighter bomber, T5 B25 layout midium bomber. ships Tromp class, Isaac Sweers destroyers, K1 fregat, all with stabilised double 40mm Bofors mount the US used until wars end 021 submarine.
The problem was no one could imagine a very poor country like Germany after 1933 capable of building a warwinning army 6 years later.
Akin Putin Hitler taking suicidal gambles.
Had general Huntzinger simply stuck to the plan or Rommel and Guderian followed orders, Fall Gelb would have failed and Admiral Canaris would have staged a coup. 1:14:57
Did as according to David Irvine Hitler misread or as a result of clerical error ,Tanks destroyed , and tanks disabled become inverted ,resulting in an easing of pressure on Dunkirk's perimeter?.
Who cares what Irving thought
Aunty aircraft fire?.
Aunty?
Anti aircraft units according to your speaker were feeble.@@WW2TV
What point are you making?