In the Battle of France

Battle of France

In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...

 in June 1940, Norman Force was a formation of units of the British Expeditionary Force

British Expeditionary Force (World War II)

The British Expeditionary Force was the British force in Europe from 1939–1940 during the Second World War. Commanded by General Lord Gort, the BEF constituted one-tenth of the defending Allied force....

, following the Dunkirk evacuation.

On 13 June 1940, Lieutenant-General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Sir Alan Brooke assumed command of all British troops

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 still in France. He placed the British units fighting with the Tenth Army (France)

Tenth Army (France)

The Tenth Army was a Field army of the French Army during World War I. It took part in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. After the armistice it was part of the occupation of the Rhineland...

 under the command of Lieutenant-General J. H. Marshall-Cornwall. This improvised formation was known as Norman Force and comprised (on 15 June): 3rd Armoured Brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

, 157th Infantry Brigade, 71st Field Regiment R.A., and Troop Carrying Company, 52nd Division

British 52nd (Lowland) Division

The British 52nd Division was a Territorial Army division that was originally formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908.- World War I :...

.

From positions on the Seine south of Rouen

Rouen

Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...

, a succession of German assaults drove Tenth Army

Tenth Army (France)

The Tenth Army was a Field army of the French Army during World War I. It took part in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. After the armistice it was part of the occupation of the Rhineland...

 back until a general retirement towards Brittany was ordered on 16th June. At this point, Norman Force was instructed to fall back on Cherbourg, from where it was evacuated by 18 June as part of Operation Ariel

Operation Ariel

Operation Ariel was the name given to the World War II evacuation of Allied forces from ports in western France, from 15–25 June 1940, due to the military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germany...

.