Battle+of+Dunkirk

= Battle of Dunkirk =

Normandy Beaches
The Battle of Dunkirk took place during WWII between Nazi Germany and the Allied forces in Dunkirk, France in late May of 1940. It was the defense and evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Ally troops from the French port of Dunkirk. Dunkirk is located at the northern tip of France, off the coast near the border of Belgium.

330,000 men were in Dunkirk like sitting targets, hardly prepared for a Nazi attack. Evacuation of Ally troops in Dunkirk began on May 26 when German troops got closer, coming through Belgium. The German troops, or Wehrmacht, arrived outside Dunkirk on May 24th, but were halted under orders from Adolf Hitler. This gave the Allies a chance to strengthen their defenses in preparation to evacuate. Three days later Hitler finally gave the command to attack the port, but it was too late. The Allied forces were prepared, enabling themselves a successful departure. The only major strike from the Nazis were from fighter and bomber planes. Soon after, German troops again fell back, leaving Dunkirk allowing the Allies to leave in order to prepare for a later conquest of France.

The Allied forces enacted Operation Dynamo under orders from Admiral Ramsay, in order to get men off the beaches. The British Expeditionary Force consisted of high valued, trained men, whom the Allies could not afford to lose. In order to evacuate, they used “little ships” to transfer men to larger boats off the coast. The large ships were unable to reach the beach for evacuation. This made the process very slow and difficult. However, thanks to the delay of a German attack, and also help from the Royal Air Force, about 198,000 British and 140,000 French troops were successfully evacuated to Britain by June 4th. Britain still suffered a defeat in spite of that since many much-needed heavy equipment such as tanks, artillery and motorized vehicles were left behind.

Hitler’s hesitation on leading a full scale attack on Dunkirk was thought to be a fatal mistake in their side of the war. It may have been because of a miscommunication on what was being done or Hitler may have hoped to reach peaceful terms with Britain if he didn’t wipe out all the troops at Dunkirk. This mistake saved many Ally lives and led to further evacuations of Allied troops from France.

After the battle, the “little ships” which helped evacuate many troops, were exploited. Many of the ships were private fishing boats of pleasure cruisers. The pride in the ships brought up the term “Dunkirk Spirit” which referred to the popular belief of British people at the times of adversity. Also, the Dunkirk Medal was established by the French National association of Veterans in 1960 and was awarded to many French and British forces who fought to evacuate. Even civilians who manned the “little ships” were awarded. Altogether the battle was not an achievement for either side. The Allies lost a port and important artillery. The German forces lost a chance to advance ahead in the war by wiping out the troops in Dunkirk.