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Dunkirk evacuation: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Dunkirk evacuation
On the 23rd of May 1940, a single order from German commander Gerd von Rundstedt froze the armored spearhead of the Third Reich just miles from the French coast, granting the British Expeditionary Force a reprieve that would become the turning point of the early war. This decision, later approved by Adolf Hitler, halted the panzer divisions that had been driving through the Ardennes and cutting off the Allied armies, leaving the Luftwaffe to finish the job. The German High Command feared that the marshy terrain around Dunkirk would destroy their tanks and that their supply lines were too stretched to support a rapid assault. While the British and French forces scrambled to establish a defensive perimeter, the German ground forces stood still for three critical days. This pause allowed the Allies to organize a chaotic retreat to the port of Dunkirk, the closest location with good harbor facilities and a long sandy beach capable of holding large groups of men. Without this unexpected delay, the German army likely would have overrun the perimeter before the evacuation could begin, resulting in the total destruction of the British Expeditionary Force and the capture of nearly 400,000 soldiers.
The Chaos Of The First Days
The evacuation began in the dead of night on the 26th of May 1940, but the first day yielded only 7,669 men, a number that seemed woefully inadequate given the scale of the disaster. Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, operating from a basement below Dover Castle, coordinated a desperate scramble to gather every available vessel, from naval destroyers to civilian fishing boats. The initial phase was marred by confusion, with abandoned vehicles clogging the roads and a flood of refugees moving in the opposite direction of the troops. Brigadier Gerald Whitfield, sent to Dunkirk to begin the evacuation, found himself overwhelmed by an alarming movement of officers and men toward the port, many without proper credentials. He was forced to send them away without thorough checks, and even officers ordered to stay behind to aid the operation disappeared onto the boats. The British government, eager to maintain morale, initially censored the full extent of the unfolding disaster, but prayers were held in Westminster Abbey and synagogues across the country, confirming the public's suspicion of the desperate plight of the troops. By the end of the first day, the Luftwaffe had begun to hammer the port, and the water supply was knocked out, causing fires that could not be extinguished.
The Little Ships That Sailed
The true miracle of Dunkirk lay not in the navy's destroyers, but in the hundreds of civilian vessels that answered the call to save the stranded army. These so-called Little Ships included speedboats, Thames river vessels, car ferries, pleasure craft, and motor lifeboats, many of which were requisitioned without the owner's knowledge or consent. Agents of the Ministry of Shipping scoured the Thames for likely vessels, checked them for seaworthiness, and took them downriver to Sheerness, where naval crews were placed aboard. Due to shortages of personnel, many small craft crossed the Channel with civilian crews, risking their lives to ferry soldiers from the shallow beaches to the larger ships waiting offshore. The wide sand beaches meant that large vessels could not get anywhere near the shore, and even small craft had to stop about 1,000 yards from the waterline. Soldiers waded out into shoulder-deep water, waiting for hours to be ferried to the waiting destroyers. In some areas, soldiers constructed improvised jetties by driving rows of abandoned vehicles onto the beach at low tide, anchoring them with sandbags, and connecting them with wooden walkways. By the 31st of May, nearly four hundred small craft were voluntarily and enthusiastically taking part in the effort, creating a flotilla that became the symbol of national unity and resilience.
When did the German commander Gerd von Rundstedt order the halt of the armored spearhead near Dunkirk?
The German commander Gerd von Rundstedt issued the order to freeze the armored spearhead on the 23rd of May 1940. This decision granted the British Expeditionary Force a reprieve that became the turning point of the early war.
How many men were evacuated from Dunkirk on the first day of the operation?
The first day of the evacuation yielded only 7,669 men. This number seemed woefully inadequate given the scale of the disaster unfolding on the 26th of May 1940.
What date did the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force officially end?
The evacuation effort was extended to the 4th of June 1940. On this date, another 26,175 Frenchmen were transported to England before the operation concluded.
How many aircraft did the Luftwaffe lose during the nine days of Operation Dynamo?
The Luftwaffe lost 156 aircraft in operations during the nine days of Operation Dynamo. The Royal Air Force lost 145 aircraft, of which at least 42 were Spitfires.
Which French army units held the line at Lille to allow the evacuation to proceed?
The French First Army fought a delaying action against seven German divisions from the 28th to the 31st of May. The soldiers who surrendered were mostly from the 2nd Light Mechanized and the 68th Infantry Divisions.
While the soldiers waited on the beaches and moles, a fierce aerial battle raged overhead, though most of the men below were unaware of the dogfights taking place miles away. The Royal Air Force was ordered to provide air supremacy for the Royal Navy, shifting their efforts to cover Dunkirk and the English Channel, protecting the evacuation fleet from the Luftwaffe. On the 27th of May, the Luftwaffe dropped 15,000 high explosive and 30,000 incendiary bombs, destroying the oil tanks and wrecking the harbor, while RAF squadrons claimed 38 kills for the loss of 14 aircraft. The German air force, led by Air Marshal Hermann Göring, had urged Hitler to let the Luftwaffe finish off the British, but the aircrews were worn out after two weeks of battle, and the weather often hampered their operations. Many British soldiers bitterly accused the airmen of doing nothing to help, as most of the dogfights took place far from the beaches, leading to some army troops accosting and insulting RAF personnel once they returned to England. Despite the heavy losses, the RAF continued to inflict a heavy toll on the German bombers throughout the week, with the Luftwaffe losing 156 aircraft in operations during the nine days of Operation Dynamo.
The French Sacrifice At Lille
The survival of the British Expeditionary Force was made possible by the heroic stand of the French First Army, which fought a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armored divisions, from the 28th to the 31st of May. While the British evacuated, the French held the line at Lille, buying crucial time for the rest of the Allied forces to escape. The Germans accorded the honours of war to the defenders of Lille in recognition of their bravery, but the remaining 35,000 soldiers were forced to surrender after running out of food and ammunition. This sacrifice allowed the evacuation effort to be extended to the 4th of June, on which date another 26,175 Frenchmen were transported to England. The French soldiers who surrendered, mostly from the 2nd Light Mechanized and the 68th Infantry Divisions, covered the final evacuations, ensuring that the British could withdraw without being cut off. The unilateral British decision to evacuate through Dunkirk rather than counter-attack to the south, and the perceived preference of the Royal Navy for evacuating British forces at the expense of the French, led to some bitter resentment in France, but the French contribution was essential to the success of the operation.
The Cost Of The Escape
For every seven soldiers who escaped through Dunkirk, one man became a prisoner of war, and the majority of these prisoners were sent on forced marches into Germany, where they faced brutal treatment including beatings, starvation, and murder. The British Expeditionary Force lost 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign, and had to abandon nearly all of its tanks, vehicles, and equipment, including 2,472 pieces of artillery, 20,000 motorcycles, and nearly 65,000 other vehicles. Over 200 British and Allied sea craft were sunk, with a similar number damaged, and the Royal Navy lost six destroyers, including the HMS Gurkha, which was hit by a torpedo from German U-boat U62, and the HMS Grenade, which was sunk by air attack at Dunkirk on the 29th of May. The RAF lost 145 aircraft, of which at least 42 were Spitfires, while the Luftwaffe lost 156 aircraft in operations during the nine days of Operation Dynamo. The 4,504 men of the BEF who died in the fighting of 1940, or as a prisoner of war following capture during this campaign, and have no known grave are commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial, a stark reminder of the human cost of the evacuation.
The Words That Changed A Nation
On the 4th of June 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons, calling the event a 'colossal military disaster' and reminding the country that 'we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.' Churchill's speech, which included the famous line 'we shall fight on the beaches,' transformed the evacuation from a military defeat into a symbol of national resilience and determination. The British press presented the evacuation as a 'disaster turned to triumph,' and the event became known as the 'Miracle of Dunkirk,' a term that Churchill himself used to describe the rescue. The more than 100,000 French troops evacuated from Dunkirk were quickly and efficiently shuttled to camps in various parts of south-western England, where they were temporarily lodged before being repatriated. For many French soldiers, the Dunkirk evacuation represented only a few weeks' delay before being killed or captured by the German army after their return to France, but the survival of the British Expeditionary Force ensured that Britain could continue the war.