The Battle of Dunkirk

The Battle occured in Dunkirk, France and was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany during World War II. The Allies were largely outnumbered and had only 400,000 men while the Nazi’s had over 800,000 men. The events that happened during the battle were the Allied forces withdraw to Britain, Succession of Operation Dynamo, and the Allies evacuated about 85% of the stranded troops. The Battle of Dunkirk was one of the most significant and difficult events in World War II because of many conflicts that got in the way.

Dunkirk is located North of France, on the shores of the North Sea. It is the source of business and travel because of its seaside location near three other European countries. On May 10, 1940, the Germans attacked toward the West, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland. “The Germans had stronger airpower, a more organized command, and highly mobile armed forces.” [eyewitnesstohistory.com}. The Allies were outnumbered, weaker, and an easy target for the Germans, so it was hard for them to stand up and fight back. On May 12, the Germans had entered France and outnumbered the Allies troops. Later, on May 15, the Dutch surrendered and Belgium surrendered two weeks later. The troops in the North of Dunkirk were being surrounded Will 2faster than they could fight back. By, May 19, the British commanders were considering the retreat of the entire British Expeditionary Force by sea.

On May 26, the British began Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk. It was a code name for the evacuation and also known as “The Miracle of Dunkirk.” There were not enough ships to transport the amount of men stranded on the beaches. So The British Admiralty reported to all British citizens to whoever has a boat or any other transportation over sea to lend their boats and take the troops from Dunkirk back home. Hundreds of pleasure yachts, lifeboats, fishing boats, ferries and other civilian ships, big to small sailed to Dunkirk as soon as possible. They boats went through bombs, mines, torpedoes and many other attacks and threats from the German Luftwaffe. [history.com]. On May 22, an order was sent from Adolf Hitler to pause the attack.

This gave trapped Allied forces time to think of new ideas and plans to escape and pull back large numbers of troops to fight the Battle of Dunkirk. On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated. By the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of the soldiers had been rescued quickly by the citizens who were called to help, there were over 800 who helped. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Royal Air Force successfully resisted the German Luftwaffe, an aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II. It saved the operation from failure but the German Will 3soldiers still surrounded the beach and destroyed many ships from the coast of Dunkirk. The harbour was bombed so the civilian ships had to ferry the troops to the warships waiting out at sea.

This occurred for nine days but the operation came to an end in June 4 when the Germans closed in. More than 338,000 soldiers were saved and would play a serious role in the future creating an resistance against Nazi Germany. Will 1 Emily WillMrs. Flanigan English 1023 January 2018The Battle of Dunkirk“Dunkirk was a great deliverance and disaster.” (AJP Taylor). The Battle occured in Dunkirk, France and was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany during World War II. The Allies were largely outnumbered and had only 400,000 men while the Nazi’s had over 800,000 men. The events that happened during the battle were the Allied forces withdraw to Britain, Succession of Operation Dynamo, and the Allies evacuated about 85% of the stranded troops. The Battle of Dunkirk was one of the most significant and difficult events in World War II because of many conflicts that got in the way. Dunkirk is located North of France, on the shores of the North Sea. It is the source of business and travel because of its seaside location near three other European countries.

On May 10, 1940, the Germans attacked toward the West, including Belgium, Luxembourg, and Holland. “The Germans had stronger airpower, a more organized command, and highly mobile armed forces.” [eyewitnesstohistory.com}. The Allies were outnumbered, weaker, and an easy target for the Germans, so it was hard for them to stand up and fight back. On May 12, the Germans had entered France and outnumbered the Allies troops. Later, on May 15, the Dutch surrendered and Belgium surrendered two weeks later. The troops in the North of Dunkirk were being surrounded Will 2faster than they could fight back. By, May 19, the British commanders were considering the retreat of the entire British Expeditionary Force by sea.

On May 26, the British began Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk. It was a code name for the evacuation and also known as “The Miracle of Dunkirk.” There were not enough ships to transport the amount of men stranded on the beaches. So The British Admiralty reported to all British citizens to whoever has a boat or any other transportation over sea to lend their boats and take the troops from Dunkirk back home. Hundreds of pleasure yachts, lifeboats, fishing boats, ferries and other civilian ships, big to small sailed to Dunkirk as soon as possible.

They boats went through bombs, mines, torpedoes and many other attacks and threats from the German Luftwaffe. [history.com]. On May 22, an order was sent from Adolf Hitler to pause the attack. This gave trapped Allied forces time to think of new ideas and plans to escape and pull back large numbers of troops to fight the Battle of Dunkirk. On the first day only 7,669 Allied soldiers were evacuated. By the end of the eighth day, 338,226 of the soldiers had been rescued quickly by the citizens who were called to help, there were over 800 who helped. During the evacuation of Dunkirk, the Royal Air Force successfully resisted the German Luftwaffe, an aerial warfare branch of the combined German Wehrmacht military forces during World War II. It saved the operation from failure but the German Will 3soldiers still surrounded the beach and destroyed many ships from the coast of Dunkirk. The harbour was bombed so the civilian ships had to ferry the troops to the warships waiting out at sea. This occurred for nine days but the operation came to an end in June 4 when the Germans closed in. More than 338,000 soldiers were saved and would play a serious role in the future creating an resistance against Nazi Germany.

Works Cited

1. Addison, P. (2019). Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture. Harper Paperbacks.
2. Bungay, S. (2016). The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain. Aurum Press.
3. Cooper, M. (2017). The Battle of Dunkirk: The History of World War II's Greatest Military Evacuation. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
4. Hasting, M. (2012). Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945. Vintage Books.
5. Holmes, R. (2010). The Battle of Britain: The Greatest Air Battle of World War II. Little, Brown and Company.
6. Liddell Hart, B. H. (1991). History of the Second World War. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
7. Longden, S. (2017). Dunkirk: The Men They Left Behind. John Murray.
8. Sebag-Montefiore, H. (2007). Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man. Penguin Books.
9. Shirer, W. L. (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon & Schuster.
10. Weal, J. (1997). Junkers Ju 87 Stukageschwader of North Africa and the Mediterranean. Osprey Publishing.