During the Battle of France in May 1940 42nd Division helped to hold the line of the River Escaut and the canals, until, with the rest of the BEF, it was forced to withdraw to Dunkirk. When most of the 42nd Division was evacuated from Dunkirk, 126th Brigade remained behind, transferring to the 1st Division for the final part of the battle and only being evacuated on 2 June. After arriving back in England the brigade rejoined the 42nd Division, then serving in Northern Command. During the evacuation Captain Marcus Ervine-Andrews, Officer Commanding (OC) B Company of the 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, was awarded the regiment's, the brigade and division's first and only Victoria Cross of the war. He was also the first of eight Irish military personnel to be awarded the VC throughout the Second World War. After returning to England, the brigade was reorganised and, due to the very heavy losses sustained in France, absorbed large numbers of conscripted men as replacements, most of whom had no prior military experience, and was tasked mainly with coastal and home defence and training in an anti-invasion role to repel a potential German invasion of England. The invasion never arrived, mainly due to events that happened during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940, and the brigade was able to begin training for offensive operations.