page_title: Beauman Division
section_title: Evacuation
hierarchical_section_title: Beauman Division / Battle / Evacuation
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Expeditionary Force (bef) in France 1939-1940 The Evacuation of the BEF from France, June 1940: A column of British soldiers retreating to the Channel ports.
context_page_description: The Beauman Division was an improvised formation of the British Expeditionary Force during the Second World War, which fought in France against the German 4th Army in June 1940, during Fall Rot, the final German offensive of the Battle of France.
context_section_description: The fragmented remains of the division that had escaped across the Seine were withdrawn to reorganise. On 16 June, the Tenth Army ordered a general retirement with the eventual aim of establishing a defensive position on the Brittany peninsula; a policy opposed by both Brooke and the British Government. The Beauman Division was ordered to fall back on Cherbourg for Operation Ariel, evacuations from the French Atlantic and Mediterranean ports. This was relatively straightforward for the Beauman Division, which (unlike some other British formations) was not in contact with the Germans. The division crossed the line of retreat of part of the Tenth Army, which caused minor complications. Arriving at Cherbourg, the division embarked with whatever equipment they had and the division was evacuated by 17 June. On arrival in England, the division was dispersed; the London Gazette for 16 August 1940 reported, "Colonel A. B. Beauman, CBE, DSO, relinquishes the acting rank of Major-General on ceasing to command a Division, 21st July 1940".
caption: British troops withdrawing through France in June 1940
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