Miracle of Dunkirk

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From May 27 to June 4, 1940, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s characterization of the state of affairs at Dunkirk went from “a colossal military disaster” to “a miracle of deliverance.” Truly something remarkable had happened, namely, the successful evacuation of 340 000 Allied troops from the French port of Dunkirk, codenamed Operation Dynamo.

On May 10, 1940, the Wehrmacht (German army) rapidly conquered Belgium and the Netherlands with their lightning-speed blitzkrieg tactics while three Panzer corps invaded France through the Ardennes Forest rather than their heavily fortified Maginot Line. German forces swept through France in days and confined the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), three French armies, and the remainder of the Belgian army along the English Channel at northern France. In the wake of this military disaster, a plan was immediately drawn up - Operation Dynamo - with the lofty objective of withdrawing all Allied forces from Dunkirk across the English Channel lest they be captured or killed.

Operation Dynamo involved the Allied powers of the United Kingdom, France, Belgium against Nazi Germany. The German advance into France was led by Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt and under his command the Allies were quickly pushed back to northern France. The Wehrmacht was in striking distance for only one British battalion had lain in their way of Dunkirk. However, on May 24, Nazi Fuhrer Adolf Hitler authorized a controversial Halt Order which stopped the German tank progression. Although the entire reasoning behind this remains unclear, it can be said that the tanks could be at risk of damage on the unsuitable marshy terrain surrounding Dunkirk. Instead of a tank advance, Luftwaffe Commander-in-chief Hermann...

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Mann, Chris. "Dunkirk 1940." Great Battles of World War II. Bath, UK: Parragon, 2008. 34-42. Print.

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