| On 19 May, Gort met with French General Gaston Billotte, commander of the French First Army and overall coordinator of the Allied forces. |
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| By May 1940 the force consisted of ten divisions in three corps under the command of General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort. |
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| If anything should happen to me you must go to Gort, you must say these words, 'Klaatu barada nikto', please repeat that. |
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| Gort replied that this was General Billotte, the commander of the French 1st Army Group but that Billotte had issued no orders for eight days. |
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| Gort knew that the ports needed to supply such a foothold were already being threatened. |
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| Gort ordered the BEF to withdraw to Dunkirk, the only port from which the BEF could withdraw. |
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| Gort replied that seven of his nine divisions were already engaged on the Scheldt River and he had only two divisions left to mount such an attack. |
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| In the early hours of 23 May, Gort ordered a retreat from Arras. |
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