The Battle of Dunkirk Who could have ever imagined 'Dunkirk' a word containing only a few letters, a word which caused immense havoc, annihilation, death and suffering could signify something so powerful, a word of great reverence, a word of saviour, hope and spirit for the British. Was Dunkirk a defeat or victory? There are countless views on Dunkirk, some say its defeat, other say it was a victory or perhaps even both. Either way the price that troops, civilians and even nature had to
Win or Loss? Dunkirk A win or loss; Dunkirk, the battle that rescued 338,000 allies, was a success but also an ultimate loss. It has lots of concluding evidence on both sides that shows whether or not if it was a loss. The war was an invasion by the German Nazis that resulted in a huge retreat for the French and British. Besides the overthrown country of Belgium being struck by Hitler's wrath, the 300,000 troops managed to flee and get out of there. The Battle of Dunkirk has lots of opinions towards
The Battle of Dunkirk happened in Northern France between May 26 and June 4 1940 and was a major battle of the Second World War which occurred between 1939-1945. The Second World War was very different to the first with rapid movement covering huge amounts of land in very little time. This was due to the German Army’s speed which used “Blitzkrieg” or “Lightning war” tactics. Prior to the invasion of France there had been 7 months of “Phoney war”; However the French had anticipated the attack and
Winston Churchill once said, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” The Battle of Dunkirk was one of the first major battles of the Second World War that the newly appointed Prime Minister of England, Winston Churchill, had found himself in. The goal of the battle was for Allied troops (consisting mostly of British and French troops, but no American troops) to safely evacuate from the oncoming tidal wave of onslaught that was the German Army. To many, the evacuation
Who Truly Won the Battle of Dunkirk? Who could have imagined Adolf Hitler actually stopping the Wehrmacht, the German Army, from completely destroying a French city? The Battle of Dunkirk was one of the best examples of Hitler re-thinking his strategies during World War II. The real question is though, was the battle a victory for a defeat, and for which Army, the Wehrmacht or the British Expeditionary Force (B. E. F.) and France? Nobody is quite sure what the answer is, but everybody has their own
The Battle of Dunkirk By: George. Winnard Everyone would have been living a very different life if the Battle of Dunkirk never happened. The Battle of Dunkirk was a turning point in England’s history because of its strategic importance, the amount of lives lost, as well as the fact that this battle was a turning point in World War 2. The Battle of Dunkirk was a turning point in World War 2. This battle was important because Dunkirk was right across the channel from Great Britain and if the Germans
‘The Battle of Dunkirk’ was initially the retaking of Europe from the Germans but later turned into the evacuation of the allied troops trapped on Dunkirk. I believe that Dunkirk was a disaster for the Allies' army generals but it was a triumph for allied civilians and especially the soldiers' families. In that situation, it was a triumph, as out of all the soldiers trapped on the beaches 330,000 of them were evacuated, however it was a huge defeat as it made Britain appears cowardly and weak. The
The Importance of the Battle of Britain In World War Two In this essay I will explain why I think The Battle of Britain was the most important turning point in World War Two. I think this because although there was many turning points that were important to the direction the war took, The Battle of Britain showed for the first time that Hitler and the Nazis could be defeated and if Germany had won the battle, Britain and possibly the world would be a completely different place than we know
“Dunkirk was a great deliverance and a great disaster” - (AJP Taylor) Is there sufficient evidence in sources A to F to support this interpretation? Use the sources and knowledge from your studies to explain your answer AJP Taylor gave this quote from his book “English history” which was published in 1965. It says that Dunkirk was a great deliverance; this entails how the troops were saved and successfully delivered form the advancement of the German Army. However the disaster is referring undeniably
Dunkirk and The Darkest Hour are both films that center around the evacuation at Dunkirk, but from two different perspectives. The Darkest Hour begins with the selection of Winston Churchill as Prime Minister, replacing Neville Chamberlain. It focuses around Churchill’s decisions about World War II, especially those regarding the evacuation of Dunkirk, and ends with the launching of Operation Dynamo. Dunkirk is a retelling of the evacuation of Dunkirk from three different military perspectives: land
Introduction While it may have foregone many tropes common in other major Hollywood films, Dunkirk (2017) remains one of the most captivating works of film of our time through its brutal realism and historical accuracy. A slow burn to be sure, this film captures the experiences of those involved in Dunkirk on three fronts; on the beaches, in the air, and in the sea. In order to gain a well-rounded perspective on the historical accuracy of this film, I have analyzed and researched it in accordance
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
Describing Dunkirk On the 20th May 1940the allied troops were trapped by the Germans on the Northern coast of France. The allies consisted of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F), the Belgian Army and the ten best divisions of the French Army. It was on this day that Churchill gave the command for the evacuation to take place, to Britain by ship, following advice from Lord Gort (leader of the B.E.F). Rommel was advancing from the north and Degaudier from the south trapping the troops
The Dunkirk evacuation took place during World War II (WWII). This was “...the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk...to England” (Encyclopædia Britannica). Shortly before Operation Dynamo –‒ the evacuation of Dunkirk –‒ began, the German soldiers swept through the West, “...storming into Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg with lightning speed” (Dunkirk Evacuation Ends). Operation Dynamo was the beginning of a mass exodus. Over
Describing Dunkirk From what I have learned about Dunkirk, it is possible to say that it could have been seen as a victory and also a defeat for the British. When the Second World War first began in September 1939 Germany had started to invade Poland and as a result of this France and Britain joined in an alliance and declared war on Germany. By the 10th May 1940 Germany had begun their invasion of France using the Blitzkrieg Method. On the 20th May Germany had reached the coast and
released over the summer was the film Dunkirk, a movie that portrayed the evacuation from the French beach of Dunkirk, which was under Nazi occupation, during the Second World War. I believe that this film is worth reviewing as a form of public history, as the name Dunkirk is usually something that is known by the general public in its association with World War II. However, this movie could be a way for the general public to learn about the events in Dunkirk, without having to open a textbook. I
Evaluating the Success of Dunkirk There are many opinions on how successful Dunkirk was; one point of view can be argued that it was a defeat for the British. There are many meanings to defeat; these include lose of troops and equipment, demoralisation of troops and a disorderly nature of evacuation
The Battle of Britain and RAF 'It was the strength and efficiency of the RAF which frustrated the German attempts to defeat Britain in 1940'. The question suggests that the RAF was strong and efficient and this is the reason why the Germans were defeated in the Battle of Britain. However, it is clear to see that the RAF and the British military were actually very close to defeat at some stages throughout the Battle of Britain. The victory of the island in the Battle of Britain cannot be
Britain, France, and China, and the Axis powers, which consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan. It is considered the bloodiest battle in history with a death toll of fifty to eighty million casualties. Overall, the war resulted in death, destruction, and a fragmented Europe. By the end of the war, the Allied powers would prove to become the victors; however, like all battles, there is a clear and specific victor that contributes more than any other power, but which nation among the Allied powers
Parliament of the United Kingdom. The “We shall fight on the beaches” speech was announced soon after the Battle of Dunkirk which occurred during the time of the Battle of France, in which Nazi Germany attempted the first phase to conquer the Western Front. The “We shall fight on the beaches” speech was the second of three motivational speeches delivered by Winston Churchill during the period of the Battle of France. The “Blood, toil, tears and sweat” speech was delivered on the 13th of May and the “This