Free France only about 7,000 soldiers had joined the Free French Army in England. Three-quarters of French servicemen in Britain requested repatriation. France was bitterly divided by the conflict. Frenchmen everywhere were forced to choose sides, and often deeply resented those who had made a different choice. One French admiral, René-Émile Godfroy, voiced the opinion of many of those who decided not to join the Free French forces, when in June 1940, he explained to the exasperated British why he would not order his ships from their Alexandria harbour to join de Gaulle: Equally, few Frenchmen believed that England could stand alone.
Free Belgian forces (older) officers to other ranks. Since the Belgian military had officially surrendered in May 1940 and the Belgian Constitution specifically forbade Belgians from joining foreign militaries, the Free Belgian forces were officially committing treason; the charge was only annulled in 1948 and nobody was prosecuted. Despite the formation of all-Belgian ground units from late 1940, many Belgian volunteers – especially those in the Royal Air Force – served in majority British units, particularly in the early years after the formation of the Free Belgian forces. In 1940, the Belgian government-in-exile decided to raise a military unit from pre-war Belgian émigrés