On this the Belgian Council of War, sitting at dawn on the 3rd, suspended the order for the evacuation of the city.
‘I communicated at once with Minister of War,’ telegraphed Sir F. Villiers, October 3, 6.37 a.m. ‘He summoned a meeting of Ministers, who, after deliberation, informed me that, awaiting arrival of First Lord they had decided to postpone departure. Audience with King for Mr. Churchill will be arranged for at as early an hour as possible.’
Lord Kitchener now threw himself into the task of concentrating and organising a relieving Army. He telegraphed at 9.40 a.m. on October 3 asking the French War Minister to make all preparations to send the proposed two divisions with cavalry and artillery complete as soon as possible and to let him know how soon they could be dispatched. He was asked in reply whether he would prefer one Territorial Division with a complete brigade of Fusiliers Marins. He replied that he preferred the two divisions, and that the question of time was of the greatest importance and urgency. He was told, however, that it had been decided to send the Fusiliers Marins after all. He replied that whichever was most convenient to the French should be sent, so long as it was sent with the least delay possible. He telegraphed to his Staff Officer in Antwerp, Colonel Dallas, at 2.15 p.m. October 3:—
‘What force in your opinion would suffice? Give full details of what troops are most required to deal with the situation in co-operation with the Belgian Field Army.
‘The French Government say they will send two divisions with full complement of cavalry and artillery, but I do not yet know when they will be available. If a corps of our troops, under Sir John French, together with the 7th Division, and cavalry division from here, [were] concentrated at Lille in order to attack the right flank of the main German Army and drive it back, would this action, if accomplished in about four or five days, in your opinion, relieve the situation at Antwerp quickly enough to prevent the fall of the place, or must any troops employed to relieve Antwerp be sent there via Zeebrugge, and, if so, can you give me approximately the longest time we can have to get troops there, so that I can inform the French Government?’
At 7.35 on the same afternoon the composition of the French contingent was received from the British Ambassador:—
‘87th Territorial Division from Havre, under General Roy, consisting of 12 battalions of infantry, 2 groups of artillery (90–millimetre guns), 2 squadrons of reserve cavalry (Dragoons), now being formed at Dunkirk, 1 engineer company, headquarters and staff and usual services attached to a division.
‘The Fusiliers Marins brigade, under command of Rear-Admiral Ronarc’h, will be composed of two regiments of Fusiliers Marins (6,000), 86 mitrailleuses manned by seamen (260), 1 regiment of Zouaves (2,000). Total of contingent about 23,000 men.
‘The Havre division will embark there on 5th October, and should be landed at Dunkirk 7th October.