to withdraw the BEF to Dunkirk for evacuation (Operation Dynamo). 44th Divisional artillery covered the division's retreat until close to Dunkirk, where all routes were completely blocked by abandoned French vehicles. The gunners destroyed their guns and vehicles before marching to the evacuation beaches on foot. 44th (HC) Division got away in pretty good order aboard boats on 30–31 May, but 57th Fd Rgt lost a number of officers and men in the process. Home Defence After evacuation the artillery of 44th (HC) Division reformed in the Oxford area before moving to Northern England to be re-equipped. 57th Field Rgt moved to Pontefract in July and some 25-pounder guns began to arrive later in the month. 44th (HC) Division then moved to Sussex to man a key part of the anti-invasion defences in South East England under I Corps. One of the lessons learned from the Battle of France was that the two-battery organisation did not work: field regiments were intended to support an infantry brigade of three battalions. As a result, they were reorganised into three 8-gun batteries, but it was not until late 1940 that the RA had enough trained battery staffs to carry out the reorganisation. 57th Field Rgt accordingly formed 440 Fd Bty on 28 February 1941 while the regiment was stationed at Sittingbourne. 44th (HC) Division remained in Sussex and Kent until the end of May 1942, when it embarked for the Middle East. It landed in Egypt on 24 July, with 57th Fd Rgt equipped with 24 x 25-pounder guns. North Africa At the time of its arrival the British forces in Egypt were facing a crisis against Rommel's Panzerarmee Afrika, and the division was lucky not to be thrown straight into action without any desert experience. Instead it got a bare month to train and was positioned on the key south-facing Alam el Halfa ridge when Rommel resumed his offensive with a right hook round the British Eighth Army's defences at El Alamein. During the resulting Battle of Alam el Halfa on 31 August the German Afrika Korps was drawn into attacking dug-in British tanks, supported by 44th Divisional artillery. During the Second Battle of El Alamein, 44th (HC) Division supported 7th Armoured Division, which itself was tasked with carrying out a subsidiary attack on the first day (23 October). Much of this support was with artillery fire. 57th Field Rgt contributed to