| British troops fire their Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III rifles at enemy aircraft bombing the beaches. Due to his incapacity to understand an order to evacuate his wounded, Major General Hugh G. “Henry” Martin (February 28, 1887 – October 2,1969) of the 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade instead destroyed some 100 Quick-Firing 3.7-inch (94 millimeter) anti-aircraft guns and moved all of his men, both wounded and sound, to the docks for evacuation. Though the thick clouds delayed the consequences of this action, it now meant that only a few batteries of 40 millimeter (1.6 inch) Bofors guns remained to resist further Luftwaffe attacks. At times the German bombardment was just a nuisance, at times it was devastating; but the British had almost no antiaircraft guns because of this monumental mix up. In the original orders, spare gunners were to go to the beach, a directive that meant wounded or incapacitated men. General Martin somehow misunderstood, thinking it meant that all gunners were to be evacuated. British Expeditionary Force (BEF) headquarters was at La Panne. The BEF had selected that location for its headquarters because it was the site of a telephone cable with a direct link to England. Lieutenant General Sir Ronald Adam (October 30, 1885 – December 26, 1982), directing the evacuation, set up shop in the Maire, or town hall, of the seaside resort. When Martin proudly reported to Adam that “all antiaircraft guns have been spiked,” the latter was incredulous. This was stupidity beyond words. Baffled and weary, Adam merely replied, “You fool, go away.” | |
| Image Filename | wwii0382.jpg |
| Image Size | 332.05 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2388 x 1701 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Press Agency |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 31, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Dunkirk |
| State or Province | Hauts-de-France |
| Country | France |
| Archive | Imperial War Museum |
| Record Number | FX 7529 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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