Dunkirk Page #4

SERGEANT MAJOR:
Yes.

Take post.

Mixed column coming up

the road, Ser Major.

Two armored cars,

six tanks, a mobile 88

and some lorried infantry.

Better get your odds and sods

into the slit trenches.

Very good, sir.

Take post!

Tank alert!

Sector B!

Right section, engage!

What's going on,

Sarge?

Stand to.

Jerry's coming up.

The muck will start flying

soon.

Get into the slit trenches,

all of you.

What, me?

Yes, you too, dream.

Why don't you forget it?

You'd have been mad

yourself in her place.

Dumping all those bags.

They seem to hate us.

Refugees hate everybody.

Wouldn't you?

Well, they don't need

to hate us.

SOLDIER 1:
One.

Soldier 2:
Right one.

SOLDIER 1:

Fire!

Fire!

SOLDIER 2:

Fire!

SOLDIER 3:
Five and six,

two boxes of ammo.

[GROANS]

Stretcher bearers!

You two, come on.

Number four gun's had it,

sir.

Smashed side bracket.

Three men killed, sir.

Number one's all right.

What about two and three?

All right too, sir.

Good.

SOLDIER:

Fire.

Right. Put him down here.

Corporal Benskin,

hypodermic.

Anything else we can do,

sir?

SOLDIER:

Stretcher bearer!

It's Fraser, Corp.

He's wounded bad.

Shut up.

Bad!

Get ahold of yourself.

Where's Bellman,

you seen him?

He's helping

with the wounded.

It was horrible.

Fraser was just

Just looking, and then...

And then...

It was so sudden.

All right, son.

All right.

Keep a grip on yourself.

MIKE:

Right, Tubby.

TUBBY:

Right.

Barlow saw Fraser cop it.

It must have been

pretty grim.

I'm worried about that kid.

He's a bit young

for this lark.

What's that?

Say again?

Good. Good.

They've pulled out

Sergeant Major.

Good. There are more

casualties, sir.

Another killed

and three more injured.

And that's not

the end of it.

They weren't

expecting anything.

We took them by surprise.

What do you think

they'll do now, sir?

Pull back.

Keep our heads down with

an occasional shell

and whistle up the Stukas.

That's what they learned

in Spain and Poland.

That's what

we're learning now.

And we just wait?

Yes, Sergeant Major.

We just wait.

I'll see the men

get a hot drink, sir.

Just a moment,

Sergeant Major.

I'd get the odds

and sods away if I were you.

I doubt whether they'll use

the infantry now.

They'll wait

for the dive bombers.

Very good, sir.

I'll do that.

I'm not badly hurt,

am I corporal?

I'm not badly hurt.

No. No,

I don't think so, son.

The MO didn't spend a lot

of time over you, did he?

No, he didn't. Did he?

I don't feel any pain.

I don't feel anything

at all.

It can't be bad if I don't

feel anything, can it?

No, no, of course it can't.

Of course it can't.

Just a little flesh wound

I reckon.

[COUGHS]

All right, son.

All right.

Now lie back and rest.

Corporal?

Sir?

Get your men together.

Those two as well.

Well, come on, man,

get somebody moving.

Private Russell,

get our party together.

Look lively.

Right, corporal.

You're to take your men

and head north, corporal.

Try and connect up

with your unit. Understand?

What's the idea,

sergeant major?

Never mind why. Just do as

you're damned well told.

Smarten yourself up.

Keeps your wits about

you and move. Fast.

Very good, sir.

Keep going round

to the left, Mike.

Come on, boys.

Good luck, Corporal.

BINNS:

Thank you, sergeant major.

I wish I were with them.

So do I by God.

Yeah. What'd they send us off

for, corp?

Did you want to stay?

Not on your blinking life.

Is Frazier badly hurt,

corp?

He's dead.

[FIGHTER PLANE WHINES]

Stukas! Run for it!

So that's why

he send us away.

Do you think he knew?

He knew all right.

That's murder.

That's sheer bloody murder.

I hope somebody knows

what they're doing.

Has Lt. Johnson seen

the C&C as it is?

Oh, I do hope Ron.

Things the way they are

he must be a very worried man.

Any news of the 5th and 5th

Division pushed to the south?

No, not really.

They're putting out

the usual probes,

but so far the main attack

hasn't gone in.

Yet, thank goodness.

You know,

it's an impossible scheme.

But it's Viscount's plan,

isn't it?

Yes, it is.

So we've gotta try

something.

We are in a pretty awful

mess.

Of course we're in a mess.

Shouldn't we be?

With the French breaking down

the mirs,

we're wide open

on our right flank.

If the Belgian crack

on our left,

we'll be in real trouble.

If that does happen we need

the 5th and the 50th

and any others we

can scrape up

to stop Jerry having a clear

run to the north.

What was the outcome

of Dills' visit?

That didn't help much.

As far as I know the push

to the side it still goes.

Kevin is putting pressure on

Gort to carry it through.

How he'd sort it out

I wouldn't know.

How come he'd sort it out?

He's a subordinate commander.

He can't overrule

the French High Command.

He can't go over

the head of the CIGS

let alone defy the Cabinet.

Henry?

I've come to a decision.

I'm going to call off

the 5th and the 50th Division

from the attack

to the south

and send them to the left.

Sir, that's against

all orders we've had.

The French First Army

will never attack

without their support.

I know that.

I know that only too well.

Anyhow it's got to be done.

We've got to protect our

escape route to the north.

I'm very worried

about this Belgium sector.

If they crack,

and from my summing up of the

situation, I'm sure they will,

our chances of withdrawing

to Dunkirk are nil.

And I am now

perfectly certain

that is what

we shall have to do.

Very good, sir.

Our only hope of getting

back is to reinforce Brooking.

And to do that,

I shall have to withdraw

the 5th and 50th Divisions.

in spite of any orders

that we've had.

It's 1800 hours.

Have the orders

drafted at once.

[PEOPLE MURMURING]

Kelly is seeing

very heavy shell from west, sir.

We're six hours so

she can have support.

What's that she's doing?

Engaging in battles

on the San Gab Road, sir.

A grey hounded Belgium

should be with her

in half an hour.

Say about 6.00 now.

And I'm afraid

that's the end of Kelly.

That leaves only Dunkirk.

Ostend and Zeebrugge?

No, I don't think

we should use them

when the time comes.

Dunkirk was heavily bombed

last night, sir.

The French lost another

destroyer, Shark Ell.

That makes two

of their tiger class gone.

How soon can you start moving up

your Dutch from the servant?

Well, think we could move

the first four at about 1800.

Do so.

Can your ministry start the

Aleman U-Boat moving at once?

Yes, sir.

And I have not yet

had the report

from the Cardiff area.

I want everything

from there started.

Very good, sir.

What information do you have

about the Portsmouth tugs?

Two on the way, sir.

Four more to follow.

Good.

Sorry, boys.

They want it cleared tonight.

Who wants her?

Why didn't you tell us before?

You know the rules.

This is different.

The Navy want her.

What, a sky like this?

Sorry. But we must have her

out in tonight's tide.

We need her

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