When the war with Germany was declared in 1939 TA summer camp transitioned more or less seamlessly into full time soldiering. The Bucks Battalion was stationed at Greenham Common near Newbury in Berkshire. They remained there until early January 1940 when they set out for embarkation to Northern France where, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), they were to be a back up in the event of a German invasion. The BEF was under the command of the French Military.
Their destination was Wahagnies close to the Belgian border. Life was one of drill practice, route marches and other activities aimed at relieving boredom and honing skills. Normal, routine army life until May 10th when the Germans invaded Belgium.
From then on events unfolded rapidly amidst chaos and little opportunity for planning. The battalion was rapidly deployed into Belgium to Waterloo. Many units, Belgian, French and British, including the Bucks Battalion were engaged in action against the Germans. The invasion however had been swift, well-planned and involved tanks and aerial bombardment.
The ferocity of the attack was wholly unexpected and although Belgian and French units fought valiantly it seems that from a military planning perspective the defence plan was weak. The Belgians and French were rapidly overcome and the British units quickly found themselves to be the front line rather than the backup in reserve.
The British began to fall-back and attempted to re-group but a combination of the speed of the approaching tanks, the chaos engendered through aerial bombardment, thousands of refugees fleeing from Belgium and hundreds of French people made homeless through the bombing meant that any attempt to defeat the German advance was going to be impossible.
The BEF was all but surrounded and confronting a full scale defeat but a window of opportunity presented by a slow down in the German advance meant that British forces could make an attempt to retreat to Dunkirk.
Several battalions were diverted from the retreat in order to defend key points in the rear and do their best to slow the advancing Germans. The Bucks Battalion's destination was Hazebrouck about 70km south of Dunkirk. Their brigade companions The 4th Ox and Bucks were sent to Cassel 30km north of Hazebrouck on the road to Dunkirk.
After 2 days of fighting it was all over for the Bucks Battalion, completely overwhelmed they were forced to surrender on May 28th. The Bucks Battalion action was praised by German as well as British sources for its skill, determination and bravery.
About half of the Battalion (approximately 300) succeeded in getting back to Britain through Dunkirk but the rest were either killed, wounded or taken prisoner.
Summary of events