Norman Force

In the Battle of France in June 1940, Norman Force was a formation of units of the British Expeditionary Force, following the Dunkirk evacuation.

On 13 June 1940, Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Brooke assumed command of all British troops still in France. He placed the British units fighting with the Tenth Army (France) 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, 157th Infantry Brigade, 71st Field Regiment R.A., and Troop Carrying Company, 52nd Division.

From positions on the Seine south of Rouen, a succession of German assaults drove Tenth Army 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.

References

• http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/LondonGazette/37573.html#appendixb
• War Diaries 1939-1945. Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke, Phoenix Press, 2001.