THE DISASTROUS BATTLE FOR ASSE - 18 MAY, 1940 ENEMIES ON ALL SIDES

The withdrawal of the BEF from its initial position on the River Dyle in Belgium to the River Escaut never made it into the Rapid Fire Blitzkrieg Battlegames scenario book. A withdrawal whilst in contact with the enemy is a challenging manoeuvre, and the BEF's solution was to screen the retreat with its 1st and 2nd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiments.

By Richard Marsh

There was something about this withdrawal that sparked my imagination. Initially stumped by a lack of information, I later came across detailed research on the WW2 Talk site concerning the 15th/19th Hussars’ disastrous encounter with the enemy at Asse. This led to the unearthing of more information, including the Hussars’ war diary for this period. What follows is the end result. SCREENING THE BEF The 15th/19 Hussars were on the far left of the British screen. After covering roads west and northwest of Brussels, they were ordered to move north to a position east of the small town of Asse at 08.45 on 18 May. There, the unit was to delay the German advance, buying time for Belgian units further north to pull back. Equipped only with machine gun-armed Mk VIB Light…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 129

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