At the mayor's house in Abbeville, at 10am on May 2nd, a secret meeting took place to discuss the matter of a B.E.F. embarkment from the Channel Ports. In a time of crisis, if the Germans pushed the English toward the Channel Ports, should the B.E.F. retreat to England or move south and link up with the French? It was known that both General Haig, and his superior, General Henry Wilson, favored embarkation. This matter was discussed by the military generals before the official conference started. Marshal Foch, who was present, would have none of it. When asked, he repeatedly answered, "Ne lachez pas pied" (Don't let go). At the start of the war, instructions from General Kitchener to General French (B.E.F. Commander at the time) authorized him, in the event of "unusual circumstances", to retreat to the Channel Ports, but not to evacuate. "The view taken at Abbeville was that the British should retire behind the Somme and abandon the Channel ports rather than lose touch with the French." Because of this, instructions were reinforced on 21 June 1918 to order Field Marshal Haig to retreat south and link up with the French. Remarkably, twenty two years later, Lord Gort faced the same exact predicament when the Germans invaded France and the armored spearheads of the Wehrmacht advanced rapidly toward the Channel Ports. In defiance of orders, Gort asked for an evacuation, and he ordered the B.E.F. to retreat to the Channel Ports, where a hastily arranged embarkation took place. Although the Miracle of Dunkirk may have saved the British Army, Lord Gort was sidelined for the rest of his career.