This is the British Expeditionary Force order of battle on 9 May 1940, the day before the German forces initiated the Battle of France.
High-level order of battle
First Expeditionary Force General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort 5th Infantry Division (Major-General Harold Franklyn) I Corps (Lieutenant-General Michael Barker) 1st Infantry Division (Major-General Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander) 2nd Infantry Division (Major-General Henry Charles Loyd) 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division (Major-General Augustus Francis Andrew Nicol Thorne) II Corps (Lieutenant-General Alan Brooke) 3rd Infantry Division (Major-General Bernard Montgomery) 4th Infantry Division (Major-General Dudley Johnson) 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Infantry Division (Major-General Giffard Martel) III Corps (Lieutenant-General Sir Ronald Forbes AdamLieutenant-General Sydney Rigby Wason after 26 May 1940 [Grehan 2018, Chapter 4] 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division (Major-General William Holmes) 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division (Major-General Edmund Osborne) Saar Force (Major-General Victor Fortune) 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (Major-General V. M. Fortune) Formations undergoing training and performing labour duties HQ Lines of Communication British Expeditionary Force (Major-General Philip de Fonblanque) Units arriving in France after 10 May 1940 Other formations Air Component Second Expeditionary Force
First Expeditionary Force
General Headquarters (GHQ) General Officer Commanding-in-Chief: General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort Chief of the General Staff: Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Royds Pownall Adjutant General: Lieutenant-General Sir W. D. S. Brownrigg Quartermaster General: Lieutenant-General W. G. Lindsell Deputy Chief of the General Staff; Major-General Philip Neame Major-General Royal Artillery: Major-General Sydney Rigby Wason Engineer-in-Chief: Major-General Ridley Pakenham-Walsh
GHQ, BEF Headquarters Troops
GHQ-attached units 2nd Field Security Police Section Corps of Military Police 6th Field Security Police Section Corps of Military Police 30th Field Security Police Section Corps of Military Police 33rd Field Security Police Section Corps of Military Police General Headquarters Signals, Royal Signals 2nd Wireless Company, Royal Signals 100th Special Wireless Section (Providing support for GHQ) 101st Special Wireless Section (Providing support for I Corps) 102nd Special Wireless Section (Providing support for II Corps) 103rd Special Wireless Section (Providing support for III Corps) 1st Air Formation Signals, Royal Signals 2nd Air Formation Signals, Royal Signals 1st Air Liaison Signals Section Royal Signals 4th Air Liaison Signals Section Royal Signals 6th Air Liaison Signals Section Royal Signals 7th Air Liaison Signals Section Royal Signals 12th (The Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards 7th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine-Guns) 14th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) (company size) - garrison unit 8th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment (Duke of Cambridge's Own) (Machine-Guns) 9th Overseas Defence Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) - garrison unit 6th (Argyllshire) Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louises's Own) (Machine-Guns) 6th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (Pioneers) 7th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (Pioneers) 8th Battalion, King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) (Pioneers) 6th Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment (Pioneers) 5th Movement Control Group Royal Engineers 2nd Advanced Medical Depot, Royal Army Medical Corps 4th Advanced Medical Depot, Royal Army Medical Corps 9th Field Hygiene Section, Royal Army Medical Corps 2nd Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps 3rd Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps 9th Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps 11th Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps 13th Casualty Clearing Station, Royal Army Medical Corps 4th Motor Ambulance Convoy, Royal Army Medical Corps 5th Motor Ambulance Convoy, Royal Army Medical Corps 6th Motor Ambulance Convoy, Royal Army Medical Corps 8th Motor Ambulance Convoy, Royal Army Medical Corps
Headquarters, G.H.Q. Troops, Royal Army Service Corps 1st G.H.Q. Troops Company, Royal Army Service Corps 2nd G.H.Q. Troops Company, Royal Army Service Corps 3rd G.H.Q. Troops Company, Royal Army Service Corps 1st Lines of Communication Railhead Company, Royal Army Service Corps 2nd Lines of Communication Railhead Company, Royal Army Service Corps 2nd Supply Personnel Company, Royal Army Service Corps 3rd Petrol Depot, Royal Army Service Corps 1st Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 2nd Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 3rd Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 4th Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 9th Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 13th Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 14th Troop Carrying Company, Royal Army Service Corps 1st Motor Transport Works Services Company, Royal Army Service Corps 2nd Motor Transport Works Services Company, Royal Army Service Corps 3rd Motor Transport Works Services Company, Royal Army Service Corps 4th Motor Transport Works Services Company, Royal Army Service Corps
Armoured Brigades 1st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade Brigade manning armoured cars 1st Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 1st Fife and Forfar Yeomanry 1st East Riding of Yorkshire Lancers 2nd Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade Brigade manning armoured cars 2nd Light Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 5th (Royal Inniskilling) Dragoon Guards 15th/19th (The King's) Royal Hussars 1st Army Tank Brigade Brigade manning infantry and cavalry tank 1st Army Tank Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 4th Royal Tank Regiment 7th Royal Tank Regiment
Commander Royal Artillery
Direct reports 1st Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 2nd Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 4th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 58th (Suffolk) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 61st Carnarvon and Denbigh (Yeomanry) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 63rd (Midland) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 65th (Highland) Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery 1st Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 51st (Lowland) Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 52nd (Bedfordshire Yeomanry) Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery 1st Super-Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery 2nd Super-Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery 3rd Super-Heavy Battery, Royal Artillery
1st Anti-Aircraft Brigade 1st Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 1st Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 6th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 85th (Tees) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade 2nd Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 60th (City of London) Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery 51st (Devon) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery 58th (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
3rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade 3rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 2nd Anti-Aircraft Regiment Royal Artillery 8th (Belfast) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 79th (Hertfordshire Yeomanry) Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 37th (Tyne Electrical Engineers) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery 174th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery
4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade 4th Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 4th Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery 52nd (East Lancashire) Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery – from I Corps
5th Searchlight Brigade 5th Anti-Aircraft Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 1st Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery 2nd Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery 3rd (Ulster) Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery
Commander Royal Engineers Major-General Ridley Pakenham Pakenham-Walsh Direct reports 100th (Monmouthshire) Army Field Company, Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers 101st (Monmouthshire) Army Field Company, Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers 216th (1st London) Army Field Company, Royal Engineers 228th (West Riding) Field Company, Royal Engineers 242nd (Lowland) Field Company, Royal Engineers 223rd (2nd London) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers 109th Workshop and Park Company, Royal Engineers 1st Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers 2nd Army Troops Company, Royal Engineers 19th Army Field Survey Company, Royal Engineers 119th Road Construction Company, Royal Engineers 135th Excavator Company, Royal Engineers 1st Boring Section, Royal Engineers 2nd Boring Section, Royal Engineers 1st Anti-Gas Laboratory, Royal Engineers 58th (Chemical Warfare) Company, Royal Engineers 61st (Chemical Warfare) Company, Royal Engineers 62nd (Chemical Warfare) Company, Royal Engineers 1st Tunnelling Group, Royal Engineers 170th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers 171st Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers 172nd Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers 173rd Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers
5th Infantry Division
Major-General Harold Franklyn
Division-level units 5th Infantry Division Headquarters and Employment Platoon, Royal Pioneer Corps 5th Infantry Divisional Field Cash Office, Royal Army Pay Corps 5th Divisional Signals, Royal Signals 9th Battalion, The Manchester RegimentAttached from III Corps 5th Infantry Divisional Field Post Office, Royal Engineers 9th Mobile Bath Unit, Royal Army Ordnance CorpsAttached from I Corps. 5th Infantry Divisional Provost Company, Corps of Military Police 13th Infantry Brigade 13th Infantry Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 2nd Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) 2nd Battalion, The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 2nd Battalion, The Wiltshire Regiment 13th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company 17th Infantry Brigade 17th Infantry Brigade Headquarters and Signals Section, Royal Signals 2nd Battalion, The Royal Scots Fusiliers 2nd Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment 6th (Morayshire) Battalion, The Duke of Albany's Seaforth Highlanders (The Ross-shire Buffs) 17th Infantry Brigade Anti-Tank Company
Commander Royal Artillery, 5th Division Commander Royal Artillery, 5th Division HQ 9th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 91st (4th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 92nd (5th London) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery 52nd (6th London) Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery Commander Royal Engineers, 5th Division Commander Royal Engineers, 5th Division HQ 38th Field Company, Royal Engineers 245th (Welsh) Field Company, Royal Engineers 252nd (West Lancashire) Field Company, Royal Engineers 254th (West Lancashire) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers Commander Royal Army Service Corps, 5th Division 5th Infantry Divisional Royal Army Service Corps HQ 5th Infantry Divisional Ammunition Company, Royal Army Service Corps 5th Infantry Divisional Petrol Company, Royal Army Service Corps 5th Infantry Divisional Supply Column, Royal Army Service Corps Commander Royal Army Medical Corps, 5th Division 5th Infantry Divisional Royal Army Medical Corps HQ 141st (County of London) Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps 158th (Welsh) Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps 164th (West Lancashire) Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps 24th Field Hygiene Section, Royal Army Medical Corps
I Corps
Lieutenant-General Michael Barker
Corps-level units I Corps Signals, Royal Corps of Signals I Corps Postal Unit, Royal Engineers 4th (The Earl of Chester's) Battalion, Cheshire Regiment (Machine-Guns)