26 May - 4 June 1940
Second World War
Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk, involved the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The evacuation, sometimes referred to as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was a big boost for British morale. Prime Minister Winston Churchill recognised however that the greatest challenge still lay ahead, as Nazi ambitions now turned toward Britain.
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6 Facts About the Dunkirk Evacuation
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6 Facts About the Dunkirk Evacuation
Discover more about the Dunkirk evacuation and a few highlights from our collection.
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1. It was a rescue mission
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1. It was a rescue mission
On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded France and the Low Countries, pushing the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), along with French and Belgian troops, back to the French port of Dunkirk. A huge rescue, Operation 'Dynamo', was organised by the Royal Navy to get the troops off the beaches and back to Britain.
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2. The evacuation was code-named Operation Dynamo
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2. The evacuation was code-named Operation Dynamo
Admiral Bertram Ramsay directed the evacuation. Ramsay had retired before the war but was recalled in 1939. He and his staff worked in a room deep in the Dover cliffs that had once contained a dynamo, a type of electrical generator, giving the operation its name.
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3. The Evacuation Began on 26 May
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3. The Evacuation Began on 26 May
'Dynamo' began on 26 May. Strong defences were established around Dunkirk, and the Royal Air Force sent all available aircraft to protect the evacuation. Over 800 naval vessels of all shapes and sizes helped to transport troops across the English Channel. The last British troops were evacuated on 3 June, with French forces covering their escape.
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4. The- 'Little Ships' helped
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4. The- 'Little Ships' helped
The gently shelving beaches meant that large warships could only pick up soldiers from the town's East Mole, a sea wall which extended into deep water, or send their boats on the beaches to collect them. To speed up the process, the British Admiralty appealed to the owners of small boats for help. These became known as the 'little ships'.
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5. Over 300,000 soldiers were rescued
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5. Over 300,000 soldiers were rescued
Churchill and his advisers had expected that it would be possible to rescue only 20,000 to 30,000 men, but in all 338,000 troops were rescued from Dunkirk, a third of them French. Ninety thousand remained to be taken prisoner and the BEF left behind the bulk of its tanks and heavy guns. All resistance in Dunkirk ended at 9.30am on 4 June.
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6. The evacuation boosted morale
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6. The evacuation boosted morale
The Dunkirk evacuation was an important event for the Allies. If the BEF had been captured, it would have meant the loss of Britain's only trained troops and the collapse of the Allied cause. The successful evacuation was a great boost to civilian morale, and created the 'Dunkirk spirit' which helped Britain to fight on in the summer of 1940.
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