I am new so please forgive me if this has been addressed before. Can anyone provide any information into the role that the cadets of the Ecole de Cavalerie near Lys, France played in delaying part of the German advance toward Dunkirk? I recently heard that 500-800 teenage cadets joined with about 1000 French soldiers in a rearguard action that kept the Germans at bay for 2-3 days. I am curious to learn more about these cadets and how many, if any of them survived the battle. Thanks, Kevin in California
French cadets Because it is such an iconic campaign for the British, I have read many books about Dunkirk and seen as many documentaries. Many of these have been produced by French and German sources as well as English, but I am sorry to say that I have never heard of the participation of any French cadets in any actions in that area. Admittedly, without looking, I do not know exactly where Lys is, but it should be noted that most of the area in question fell under the control of the British Army, with whom, it is unlikely, that any French cadets would be allowed to serve. BG
there were huge numbers of French troops in and around Dunkirk which is shown by the numbers the English took with them though I can't find any numbers detailing the ammount of french evacuated. FNG
French troops evacuated from Dunkirk As I understand it, there were over 300,000 troops evacuated from Dunkirk. These would have, of course, included French soldiery (given Dunkirk's location in France how could it not ?). That is not to say that the French contingent was vast , any more than it is to say that they were front line infantry. But, I know from contempory film footage that at least some of them were; as to whether or not any were French military college cadets, evacuated having fought in that area, well, that is entirely a horse of a different colour !. BG
I think the most commonly accepted figures for the Dunkirk evacuation are around 330,000, including about 120,000 French troops. Most of the French troops were returned to France, without equipment and were subsequently lost to the war effort. Lesser known evacuations from other French ports brought more than 200,000 allied troops to Britain.
Because for at least two weeks after Dunkirk, it was hoped that a stable line (remember, still WW1 mentality at work) could be re-established and the German advance stopped. When the Germans had broken through to Paris and a stalemate was clearly out of the question, Churchill still hoped to establish a "bastion" in Brittany so at least part of France would remain in allied hands.
For the same reason they furiously attacked to try to get out of the Dunkirk pocket. To fight for their country!
