Over 338,000 allied soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk in the face of overwhelming odds. Discover what made the evacuations from Dunkirk so successful, how the British evacuation was carried out and why Winston Churchill regarded the operation as a 'miracle of deliverance'.
In addition, more than 50,000 British troops were unable to escape the Continent; of these, 11,000 were killed and the bulk of the remainder were made prisoners of war (a handful were able to evade capture and eventually made their way back to Allied or neutral territory).
Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, chief of the Luftwaffe, prevailed upon the Nazi leader to allow his air forces to finish off the Allies. Hitler assented and ordered the panzers of General Heinz Guderian to halt just short of Dunkirk.
Dunkirk, and the surrender of France that followed some three weeks later, left Britain isolated, vulnerable and under threat of imminent invasion. The BEF had abandoned or destroyed nearly all its heavy equipment at Dunkirk. Hitler declared the evacuation a decisive victory for Germany.
Despite many ships being sunk and many lives lost, by the end of the operation on 4 June, Ramsay, his ships and staff had rescued 338,226 British and Allied troops and landed them in England. The rescue came to be regarded as a 'miracle', and remains the largest amphibious evacuation undertaken in wartime.
A collection of approximately 850 private boats and 20 warships participated in Operation Dynamo, not all were documented or known. More than 200 ships were lost at Dunkirk.
The most fundamental reason for the German defeat was a failure in strategy. Most of the decisions which determined the outcome of the Battle had been made before it began.
The french military was not in a good position. The army men were less trained and motivation to fight was also less. The armaments were also not upgraded as they should have been. Moreover, during the initial start of the invasion, the French lost a good part of their air force.
Evacuation. By 3 June 1940, despite intensive bombing and artillery fire, 328,000 Allied troops had been taken off the Dunkirk beaches and shipped back to England. This was partly due to the efforts of the Royal Navy and hundreds of civilian ships that had crossed the Channel.
Undoubtedly Dunkirk was the first time the Luftwaffe had been seriously opposed in the air. The element of surprise was lost. The Luftwaffe could no longer concentrate overwhelming numbers against defenders spread thin over hundreds of miles.
He acknowledged the gravity of their situation but also highlighted the successful evacuation of over 335,000 troops as a remarkable feat amidst chaos. Churchill's message resonated with themes of determination, unity with allies, and the necessity for a robust defense against potential invasion.
Dunkirk was viewed by German soldiers as simply a sign-post on the way to Paris. Some 29 French and 22 Belgian divisions were destroyed in the Northern Flanders pocket, while 17 others were badly mauled. Allowing ten British divisions to escape, three of which were line of communication troops, was small fry indeed.
Why didn't the Germans destroy the British at Dunkirk?
Once they were regrouped and recovered, the Germans did their best to crush the British at Dunkirk, but ultimately failed due to the valiant yet doomed French forces fighting a rearguard action and the bravery of both the British Navy and the Air Force coming to the rescue of the trapped Army.
As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and other Allied forces to Britain from 26 May to 4 June 1940.
Etymology and language use. The name of Dunkirk derives from West Flemish dun(e) 'dune' or 'dun' and kerke 'church', thus 'church in the dunes'. A smaller town 25 km (15 miles) farther up the Flemish coast originally shared the same name, but was later renamed Oostduinkerke(n) in order to avoid confusion.
The last British soldier to leave Dunkirk was not a member of the rank and file but rather Major-General Harold Alexander. Alexander had taken over as acting commander of the BEF on 31 May. His imperturbability was legendary, and he was given the task of overseeing the last stages of the evacuation.
It is on May 24 that the mysterious “Halt Order” is issued by the Germans. Instead of destroying the forces trapped at Dunkirk, the Germans halt the advance of tank divisions for three days, during which time the Luftwaffe continues to attack, battling against the RAF.
The Allies thought that it was too early to take Paris. They were aware that Adolf Hitler had ordered the German military to completely destroy the city in the event of an Allied attack. Paris was considered to have too great a value, culturally and historically, to risk its destruction.
The Normandy beaches were chosen by planners because they lay within range of air cover, and were less heavily defended than the obvious objective of the Pas de Calais, the shortest distance between Great Britain and the Continent.
What is commonly referred to as the era of 'hereditary enmity' can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), when the French Empire and its allies put an end to the Holy Roman Empire, reshaped the political map of the German states, and sparked sweeping tides of nationalism across Europe.
Germany's failure to defeat the RAF and secure control of the skies over southern England made invasion all but impossible. British victory in the Battle of Britain was decisive, but ultimately defensive in nature – in avoiding defeat, Britain secured one of its most significant victories of the Second World War.
Thanks to the pre-invasion effort, there were virtually no Luftwaffe aircraft in action on D-Day. With most of the bridges leading into Normandy destroyed, the German army found it very difficult to bring in reinforcements, and their relief forces remained under almost constant air attack as they tried to move forward.
Yes, many: Norman Conquest of England (1066-it's hard to say exactly when it ended) Saintonge War (1242–1243) First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328)
