Battle of Dunkirk

Last updated

Battle of Dunkirk
Part of the Battle of France in the Second World War
Dunkirksoldier1.JPG
"Soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force fire at low flying German aircraft during the Dunkirk evacuation" – Soldiers were strafed and bombed by German aircraft
Date26 May – 4 June 1940
Location
Dunkirk, France
Result German victory
Belligerents
Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg  Germany
Commanders and leaders
Strength
approx. 400,000
338,226 evacuated
approx. 800,000
Casualties and losses
  • Estimated total casualties
    61,774 killed, wounded, or captured
  • French
    • 18,000 killed, 35,000 captured
    • 3 destroyers
  • British
    • c. 3,500 killed[ citation needed ]
    • 63,879 vehicles including tanks and motorcycles
    • 2,472 field guns
    • 6 destroyers
    • 23 destroyers damaged [2]
    • 89 transport ships [2]
    • 177 aircraft destroyed or damaged in total [3]
    • 127 belonged to RAF Fighter Command. [4]

Estimated total casualties
20,000 killed or wounded

Contents

  • 100 tanks
  • 240 aircraft in theatre [3]
  • 156 aircraft on Dunkirk front [5]
Civilian casualties: 1,000 civilians killed during air raids

The Battle of Dunkirk (French: Bataille de Dunkerque) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and other Allied forces to Britain from 26 May to 4 June 1940.

After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded the Netherlands and advanced westward. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander, French General Maurice Gamelin, initiated "Plan D" and British and French troops entered Belgium to engage the Germans in the Netherlands. French planning for war relied on the Maginot Line fortifications along the German–French border protecting the region of Lorraine but the line did not cover the Belgian border. German forces had already crossed most of the Netherlands before the French forces had arrived. Gamelin instead committed the forces under his command – three mechanised forces, the French First and Seventh Armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) – to the River Dyle. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly westward toward Sedan, turning northward to the English Channel, using Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein's plan Sichelschnitt (under the German strategy Fall Gelb ), effectively flanking the Allied forces. [6]

A series of Allied counter-attacks, including the Battle of Arras, failed to sever the German spearhead, which reached the coast on 20 May, separating the BEF near Armentières, the French First Army, and the Belgian Army further to the north from the majority of French troops south of the German penetration. After reaching the Channel, the German forces swung north along the coast, threatening to capture the ports and trap the British and French forces.

In one of the most debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. What became known as the "Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Gerd von Rundstedt and Generaloberst Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate to avoid an Allied breakout. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German high command). The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. While more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued, [7] the British and French sustained heavy casualties and were forced to abandon nearly all their equipment; around 16,000 French and 1,000 British soldiers died during the evacuation. The British Expeditionary Force alone lost some 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign.

Prelude

On 10 May 1940, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. By 26 May, the BEF and the French 1st Army were bottled up in a corridor to the sea, about 60 miles (97 km) deep and 15 miles (24 km) wide. Most of the British forces were still around Lille, over 40 miles (64 km) from Dunkirk, with the French farther south. Two massive German armies flanked them. General Fedor von Bock's Army Group B was to the east, and General Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group A to the west. Both officers were later promoted to field marshal. [6]

Halt order

During the following days... it became known that Hitler's decision was mainly influenced by Goering. To the dictator the rapid movement of the Army, whose risks and prospects of success he did not understand because of his lack of military schooling, became almost sinister. He was constantly oppressed by a feeling of anxiety that a reversal loomed...

Halder,in a letter of July 1957 [8]

The day's entry concludes with the remark: "The task of Army Group A can be considered to have been completed in the main"—a view which further explains Rundstedt's reluctance to employ his armoured divisions in the final clearing-up stage of this first phase of the campaign.

Major L. F. Ellis [9]

Brauchitsch is angry ... The pocket would have been closed at the coast if only our armour had not been held back. The bad weather has grounded the Luftwaffe and we must now stand and watch countless thousands of the enemy get away to England right under our noses.

Franz Halder,written in his diary on 30 May [10]

General Hans Jeschonnek overheard Hitler explaining his halt before Dunkirk: "The Führer wants to spare the British a humiliating defeat." Hitler later explained to a close friend, "The blood of every single Englishman is too valuable to shed. Our two peoples belong together racially and traditionally. That is and always has been my aim, even if our generals can't grasp it."

Kilzer, Louis C.,Hitler's Traitor: Martin Bormann and the Defeat of the Reich [11]

On 24 May, Hitler visited General von Rundstedt's headquarters at Charleville. The terrain around Dunkirk was thought unsuitable for armour. Von Rundstedt advised him the infantry should attack the British forces at Arras, where the British had proved capable of significant action, while Kleist's armour held the line west and south of Dunkirk to pounce on the Allied forces retreating before Army Group B. Hitler, who was familiar with Flanders' marshes from the First World War, agreed. This order allowed the Germans to consolidate their gains and prepare for a southward advance against the remaining French forces.

Luftwaffe commander Hermann Göring asked for the chance to destroy the forces in Dunkirk. The Allied forces' destruction was thus initially assigned to the air force while the German infantry organised in Army Group B. Von Rundstedt later called this "one of the great turning points of the war". [12] [13] [14]

The true reason for the decision to halt the German armour on 24 May is still debated. One theory is that Von Rundstedt and Hitler agreed to conserve the armour for Fall Rot ("Case Red"), an operation to the south. It is possible that the Luftwaffe's closer ties than the army's to the Nazi Party contributed to Hitler's approval of Göring's request. Another theory—which few historians have given credence—is that Hitler was still trying to establish diplomatic peace with Britain before Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union). Although von Rundstedt after the war stated his suspicions that Hitler wanted "to help the British", based on alleged praise of the British Empire during a visit to his headquarters, little evidence that Hitler wanted to let the Allies escape exists apart from a self-exculpatory statement by Hitler himself in 1945. [12] [14] [15] The historian Brian Bond wrote:

Few historians now accept the view that Hitler's behaviour was influenced by the desire to let the British off lightly in [the] hope that they would then accept a compromise peace. True, in his political testament dated 26 February 1945 Hitler lamented that Churchill was "quite unable to appreciate the sporting spirit" in which he had refrained from annihilating [the] British Expeditionary Force, at Dunkirk, but this hardly squares with the contemporary record. Directive No. 13, issued by the Supreme Headquarters on 24 May called specifically for the annihilation of the French, English and Belgian forces in the pocket, while the Luftwaffe was ordered to prevent the escape of the English forces across the channel. [16]

Whatever the reasons for Hitler's decision, the Germans confidently believed the Allied troops were doomed. American journalist William Shirer reported on 25 May, "German military circles here tonight put it flatly. They said the fate of the great Allied army bottled up in Flanders is sealed." BEF commander General Lord Gort VC , commander-in-chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, agreed, writing to Anthony Eden, "I must not conceal from you that a great part of the BEF and its equipment will inevitably be lost in the best of circumstances". [14]

Hitler did not rescind the Halt Order until the evening of 26 May. The three days thus gained gave a vital breathing space to the Royal Navy to arrange the evacuation of the British and Allied troops. About 338,000 men were rescued in about 11 days. Of these some 215,000 were British and 123,000 were French, of whom 102,250 escaped in British ships. [17]

Battle

"Fight back to the west"

Map of the battle 21May-4June1940-Fall Gelb.svg
Map of the battle

On 26 May, Anthony Eden told Gort that he might need to "fight back to the west", and ordered him to prepare plans for the evacuation, but without telling the French or the Belgians. Gort had foreseen the order and preliminary plans were already in hand. The first such plan, for a defence along the Lys Canal, could not be carried out because of German advances on 26 May, with the 2nd and 50th Divisions pinned down, and the 1st, 5th and 48th Divisions under heavy attack. The 2nd Division took heavy casualties trying to keep a corridor open, being reduced to brigade strength, but they succeeded; the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 42nd Divisions escaped along the corridor that day, as did about one-third of the French First Army. As the Allies fell back, they disabled their artillery and vehicles and destroyed their stores. [18] [19] [20]

On 27 May, the British fought back to the Dunkirk perimeter line. The Le Paradis massacre took place that day, when the 3rd SS Division Totenkopf machine-gunned 97 British and French prisoners near the La Bassée Canal. The British prisoners were from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment, part of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division. The SS men lined them up against the wall of a barn and shot them all; only two survived. Meanwhile, the Luftwaffe dropped bombs and leaflets on the Allied armies. The leaflets showed a map of the situation. They read, in English and French: "British soldiers! Look at the map: it gives your true situation! Your troops are entirely surrounded—stop fighting! Put down your arms!" To the land- and air-minded Germans, the sea seemed an impassable barrier, so they believed the Allies were surrounded; but the British saw the sea as a route to safety. [21] [22]

Besides the Luftwaffe's bombs, German heavy artillery (which had just come within range) also fired high-explosive shells into Dunkirk. By this time, over 1,000 civilians in the town had been killed. This bombardment continued until the evacuation was over. [19]

Battle of Wytschaete

Gort had sent Lieutenant General Ronald Adam, commanding III Corps, ahead to build the defensive perimeter around Dunkirk; his corps command passed to Lieutenant General Sydney Rigby Wason from the GHQ staff. [23] Lieutenant General Alan Brooke, commanding II Corps, was to conduct a holding action with the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 50th Divisions along the Ypres-Comines canal as far as Yser, while the rest of the BEF fell back. The battle of Wytschaete, over the border in Belgium, was the toughest action Brooke faced in this role. [24]

On 26 May, the Germans made a reconnaissance in force against the British position. At mid-day on 27 May, they launched a full-scale attack with three divisions south of Ypres. A confused battle followed, where visibility was low because of forested or urban terrain and communications were poor because the British at that time used no radios below battalion level and the telephone wires had been cut. The Germans used infiltration tactics to get among the British, who were beaten back. [25]

The heaviest fighting was in the 5th Division's sector. Still on 27 May, Brooke ordered the 3rd Division commander, Major-General Bernard Montgomery, to extend his division's line to the left, thereby freeing the 10th and 11th Brigades, both of the 4th Division, to join the 5th Division at Messines Ridge. The 10th Brigade arrived first, to find the enemy had advanced so far they were closing on the British field artillery. Between them, the 10th and 11th Brigades cleared the ridge of Germans, and by 28 May they were securely dug in east of Wytschaete. [26]

That day, Brooke ordered a counterattack. This was to be spearheaded by two battalions, the 3rd Grenadier Guards and 2nd North Staffordshire Regiment, both of Major-General Harold Alexander's 1st Division. The North Staffords advanced as far as the Kortekeer River, while the Grenadiers reached the canal itself, but could not hold it. The counterattack disrupted the Germans, holding them back a little longer while the BEF retreated. [27]

Action at Poperinge

The route back from Brooke's position to Dunkirk passed through the town of Poperinge (known to most British sources as "Poperinghe"), where there was a bottleneck at a bridge over the Yser canal. Most of the main roads in the area converged on that bridge. On 27 May, the Luftwaffe bombed the resulting traffic jam thoroughly for two hours, destroying or immobilising about 80 percent of the vehicles. Another Luftwaffe raid, on the night of 28–29 May, was illuminated by flares as well as the light from burning vehicles. The British 44th Division in particular had to abandon many guns and lorries, losing almost all of them between Poperinge and the Mont. [28]

The German 6th Panzer Division could probably have destroyed the 44th Division at Poperinge on 29 May, thereby cutting off the 3rd and 50th Divisions as well. The historian and author Julian Thompson calls it "astonishing" that they did not, but they were distracted, investing the nearby town of Cassel. [29]

Belgian surrender

Gort had ordered Lieutenant General Adam, commanding III Corps, and French General Fagalde to prepare a perimeter defence of Dunkirk. The perimeter was semicircular, with French troops manning the western sector and British troops the eastern. It ran along the Belgian coastline from Nieuwpoort in the east via Veurne, Bulskamp and Bergues to Gravelines in the west. The line was made as strong as possible under the circumstances. On 28 May the Belgian army fighting on the Lys river under the command of King Leopold III surrendered. This left a 20 mi (32 km) gap in Gort's eastern flank between the British and the sea. The British were surprised by the Belgian capitulation, despite King Leopold warning them in advance. [30] [31] As a constitutional monarch, Leopold's decision to surrender without consulting the Belgian government led to his condemnation by the Belgian and French Prime Ministers, Hubert Pierlot and Paul Reynaud. Gort sent the battle-worn 3rd, 4th and 50th Divisions into the line to fill the space the Belgians had held. [32]

Defence of the perimeter

British prisoners of war with a Panzer I German tank Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B14898, Calais, britische Kriegsgefangene.jpg
British prisoners of war with a Panzer I German tank

While they were still moving into position, they ran headlong into the German 256th Division, who were trying to outflank Gort. Armoured cars of the 12th Royal Lancers stopped the Germans at Nieuwpoort itself. A confused battle raged all along the perimeter throughout 28 May. Command and control on the British side disintegrated, and the perimeter was driven slowly inwards toward Dunkirk. [32]

Meanwhile, Erwin Rommel had surrounded five divisions of the French First Army near Lille. Although completely cut off and heavily outnumbered, the French fought on for four days under General Molinié in the Siege of Lille, thereby keeping seven German divisions from the assault on Dunkirk and saving an estimated 100,000 Allied troops. [32] In recognition of the garrison's stubborn defence, German general Kurt Waeger granted them the honours of war, saluting the French troops as they marched past in parade formation with rifles shouldered. [33]

The defence of the Dunkirk perimeter held throughout 29–30 May, with the Allies falling back by degrees. On 31 May, the Germans nearly broke through at Nieuwpoort. The situation grew so desperate that two British battalion commanders manned a Bren gun, with one colonel firing and the other loading. A few hours later, the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards of the 3rd Division, rushed to reinforce the line near Furnes, where the British troops had been routed. The Guards restored order by shooting some of the fleeing troops and turning others around at bayonet point. The British troops returned to the line and the German assault was beaten back. [34]

In the afternoon, the Germans breached the perimeter near the canal at Bulskamp, but the boggy ground on the far side of the canal and sporadic fire from the Durham Light Infantry halted them. As night fell, the Germans massed for another attack at Nieuwpoort. Eighteen RAF bombers found the Germans while they were still assembling and scattered them with an accurate bombing run. [35]

Retreat to Dunkirk

British anti-aircraft guns lie abandoned at Dunkirk in May 1940 The British Evacuation From Dunkirk in 1940 HU2286.jpg
British anti-aircraft guns lie abandoned at Dunkirk in May 1940

Also on 31 May, General von Küchler assumed command of all the German forces at Dunkirk. His plan was simple: launch an all-out attack across the whole front at 11:00 on 1 June. Strangely, von Küchler ignored a radio intercept telling him the British were abandoning the eastern end of the line to fall back to Dunkirk itself. [36] During the night of 31 May to 1 June, Marcus Ervine-Andrews won the Victoria Cross in the battle when he defended 1,000 yards (910 m) of territory. [37]

The morning of 1 June was clear—good flying weather, in contrast to the bad weather that had hindered air operations on 30 and 31 May (there were only two-and-a-half good flying days in the whole operation) Although Churchill had promised the French that the British would cover their escape, on the ground it was the British and mostly the French who held the line whilst the last remaining British and then French soldiers were evacuated. Enduring concentrated German artillery fire and Luftwaffe strafing and bombs, the outnumbered French and British stood their ground. On 2 June (the day the last of the British units embarked onto the ships), [Notes 1] the French began to fall back slowly, and by 3 June the Germans were about 2 miles (3.2 km) from Dunkirk. The night of 3 June was the last night of evacuations. At 10:20 on 4 June, the Germans hoisted the swastika over the docks from which so many British and French troops had escaped. [39] [40] [41]

The resistance of Allied forces, especially the French forces, including the French 12th Motorised Infantry Division from the Fort des Dunes, had bought time for the evacuation of the bulk of the troops. The Wehrmacht captured some 35,000 soldiers, almost all of them French. These men had protected the evacuation until the last moment and were unable to embark. The same fate was reserved for the survivors of the French 12th Motorised Infantry Division (composed in particular of the French 150th Infantry Regiment); they were taken prisoner on the morning of 4 June on the beach of Malo-les-Bains. The flag of this regiment was burnt so as not to fall into enemy hands. [42] [ page needed ]

Evacuation

Evacuated British troops at Dover, 29 May 1940 Dunkirk 26-29 May 1940 H1628.jpg
Evacuated British troops at Dover, 29 May 1940

The War Office made the decision to evacuate British forces on 25 May. In the nine days from 27 May to 4 June 338,226 men escaped, including 139,997 French, Polish, and Belgian troops, together with a small number of Dutch soldiers, aboard 861 vessels (of which 243 were sunk during the operation). B. H. Liddell Hart wrote that Fighter Command lost 106 aircraft over Dunkirk and the Luftwaffe lost about 135, some of which were shot down by the French Navy and the Royal Navy. MacDonald wrote in 1986 that the British losses were 177 aircraft and German losses 240. [39] [41] [43]

The docks at Dunkirk were too badly damaged to be used, but the east and west moles (sea walls protecting the harbour entrance) were intact. Captain William Tennant—in charge of the evacuation—decided to use the beaches and the east mole to land the ships. This highly successful idea hugely increased the number of troops that could be embarked each day, and on 31 May, over 68,000 men were embarked. [44]

The last of the British Army left on 3 June, and at 10:50, Tennant signalled Ramsay to say "Operation completed. Returning to Dover". Churchill insisted on going back for the French, and the Royal Navy returned on 4 June to rescue as many as possible of the French rearguard. Over 26,000 French soldiers were evacuated on that last day, but between 30,000 and 40,000 more were left behind and captured by the Germans. Around 16,000 French soldiers and 1,000 British soldiers died during the evacuation. 90% of Dunkirk was destroyed during the battle. [45]

Aftermath

Troops evacuated from Dunkirk at Dover, 31 May 1940 Wounded British soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk make their way up the gangplank from a destroyer at Dover, 31 May 1940. H1623.jpg
Troops evacuated from Dunkirk at Dover, 31 May 1940
Battle of Dunkirk memorial Memorial at Dunkerque.jpg
Battle of Dunkirk memorial

Following the events at Dunkirk, the German forces regrouped before commencing operation Fall Rot , a renewed assault southward, starting on 5 June. Although the French soldiers who had been evacuated at Dunkirk returned to France a few hours later to stop the German advance and two fresh British divisions had begun moving to France in an attempt to form a Second BEF, the decision was taken on 14 June to withdraw all the remaining British troops, an evacuation called Operation Aerial. By 25 June, almost 192,000 Allied personnel, 144,000 of them British, had been evacuated through various French ports. [46] Although the French Army fought on, German troops entered Paris on 14 June. The French government was forced to negotiate an armistice at Compiègne on 22 June. [47]

The loss of materiel on the beaches was enormous. The British Army left enough equipment behind to fit out about eight to ten divisions.[ citation needed ] Discarded in France were, among other things, huge supplies of ammunition, 880 field guns, 310 guns of large calibre, some 500 anti-aircraft guns, about 850 anti-tank guns, 11,000 machine guns, nearly 700 tanks, 20,000 motorcycles and 45,000 motor cars and lorries. Army equipment available at home was only just sufficient to equip two divisions.[ citation needed ] The British Army needed months to re-supply properly, and some planned introductions of new equipment were halted while industrial resources concentrated on making good the losses. Officers told troops falling back from Dunkirk to burn or otherwise disable their trucks (so as not to let them benefit the advancing German forces). The shortage of army vehicles after Dunkirk was so severe that the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was reduced to retrieving and refurbishing obsolete buses and coaches from British scrapyards to press them into use as troop transports.[ according to whom? ] Some of these antique workhorses were still in use as late as the North African campaign of 1942. [48]

On 2 June, the Dean of St Paul's, Walter Matthews, was the first to call the evacuation the "Miracle of Dunkirk".

During the following week papers were filled with letters from readers making an obvious association. It was remembered that the Archbishop of Canterbury had announced that the Day of National Prayer might well be a turning point, and it was obvious to many that God had answered the nation's collective prayer with the 'miracle of Dunkirk'. The evidence of God's intervention was clear for those who wished to see it; papers had written of calm seas and the high mist which interfered with the accuracy of German bombers.

Duncan Anderson [49]

A marble memorial to the battle stands at Dunkirk. The French inscription is translated as: "To the glorious memory of the pilots, mariners, and soldiers of the French and Allied armies who sacrificed themselves in the Battle of Dunkirk, May–June 1940." The missing dead of the BEF are commemorated on the Dunkirk Memorial.[ citation needed ]

A considerable number of British troops remained in France after Dunkirk to the south of the River Somme. These numbered some 140,000 men, mostly logistic support and lines-of-communications troops, but also including the 51st (Highland) Division and the remnants of the 1st Armoured Division. On 2 June, Lieutenant General Brooke was ordered back to France to form a Second BEF together with two further infantry divisions to follow, a project which Brooke believed was doomed to failure. [50] After learning that most of the 51st Division had surrendered, having been cut off at St Valery-en-Caux on the Channel coast, Brooke spoke to Churchill by telephone on 14 June and persuaded him to allow the evacuation of all the remaining British forces in France. In Operation Aerial, 144,171 British, 18,246 French, 24,352 Polish and 1,939 Czech troops were embarked in ships at several major ports along the west coast of France and returned to England, along with much of their equipment. The only major mishap was the sinking of the RMS Lancastria with the loss of perhaps 6,000 men. The last British troops left France on 25 June, the day the French Armistice came into force. [51]

"Dunkirk Spirit"

Sailors involved in the evacuation with survivors from King Orry LT.Cmdr. H Miller with crew and survivors of IMS King Orry.jpg
Sailors involved in the evacuation with survivors from King Orry

British press later exploited the successful evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940, and particularly the role of the "Dunkirk little ships", very effectively. Many of them were private vessels such as fishing boats and pleasure cruisers, but commercial vessels such as ferries also contributed to the force, including a number from as far away as the Isle of Man and Glasgow. These smaller vessels—guided by naval craft across the Channel from the Thames Estuary and from Dover—assisted in the official evacuation. Being able to move closer into the beachfront shallows than larger craft, the "little ships" acted as shuttles to and from the larger ships, lifting troops who were queuing in the water, many waiting shoulder-deep in water for hours. The term "Dunkirk Spirit" refers to the solidarity of the British people in times of adversity. [52]

Dunkirk Medal

A commemorative medal was established in 1960 by the French National Association of Veterans of the Fortified Sector of Flanders and Dunkirk on behalf of the town of Dunkirk. [53] The medal was initially awarded only to the French defenders of Dunkirk, but in 1970 the qualification was expanded to include British forces who served in the Dunkirk sector and their rescue forces, including the civilians who volunteered to man the "little ships". [54]

The design of the bronze medal included the arms of the town of Dunkirk on one side, and "Dunkerque 1940" on the reverse side.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of France</span> German invasion of France in 1940

The Battle of France, also known as the Western Campaign, the French Campaign and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. The invasion plan for the Low Countries and France was called Case Yellow. Fall Rot was planned to finish off the French and British after the evacuation at Dunkirk. The Low Countries and France were defeated and occupied by Axis troops down to the Demarcation line, ending land operations on the Western Front until the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944.

<i>Fall Rot</i> Nazi German war plan

Fall Rot was the plan for a German military operation after the success of Fall Gelb, the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in the north to the Channel coast, which culminated in the Dunkirk evacuation. The operation to complete the conquest of France by the German Army began on 5 June 1940. Fall Rot began with a preliminary attack over the river Somme on the Channel Coast to the Seine, beginning on 5 June and the main offensive by Army Group A on 9 June further east over the river Aisne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunkirk evacuation</span> Evacuation of Allied forces in early 1940

The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Cycle</span> Evacuation of Allied troops from Le Havre in 1940

Operation Cycle is the name of the evacuation of Allied troops from Le Havre, in the Pays de Caux of Upper Normandy from 10 to 13 June 1940, towards the end of the Battle of France, during the Second World War. The operation was preceded by the better known rescue of 338,226 British and French soldiers from Dunkirk in Operation Dynamo (26 May – 4 June). On 20 May, the Germans had captured Abbeville at the mouth of the Somme and cut off the main Allied armies in the north. South of the river, the Allies improvised defences and made local counter-attacks to dislodge the Germans from bridgeheads on the south bank and re-capture river crossings, for an advance northwards to regain contact with the armies in northern France and Flanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Aerial</span> Second World War evacuation from ports in western France

Operation Aerial was the evacuation of Allied military forces and civilians from ports in western France. The operation took place from 15 to 25 June 1940 during the Second World War. The embarkation followed the Allied military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germany. Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk and Operation Cycle from Le Havre, had finished on 13 June. British and Allied ships were covered from French bases by five Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter squadrons and assisted by aircraft based in England to lift British, Polish and Czech troops, civilians and equipment from Atlantic ports, particularly from St Nazaire and Nantes.

The Timeline of the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, covers the period during World War II from the first military actions between Germany and France and to the armistice signed by France. Over the period of six weeks, from May 10 to June 25, 1940, Nazi Germany had also conquered Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Nazi Germany's overall plan was to invade the Low Countries which would make the French and British troops leave their current position and position their forces in Belgium. Then, a second force would navigate through the Ardennes Forest and move around the Maginot Line at the weakest part of the Allied defences. The force would then move towards the west French coast and cut the northern Allied force off. The Germans would then capture Paris, eliminate any resistance that remained, cross the English Channel, and invade the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Arras (1940)</span> Battle during World War II

The Battle of Arras took place on 21 May 1940, during the Battle of France in the Second World War. Following the German invasion of the Low Countries on 10 May, French and British forces advanced into Belgium. The German campaign plan Fall Gelb had evolved into a decoy operation in the Netherlands and Belgium, with the main effort through the Ardennes. German units crossed the Meuse without waiting for reinforcements at the Battle of Sedan. Instead of consolidating bridgeheads on the west bank of the Meuse, the Germans began an advance down the Somme river valley towards the English Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Le Paradis massacre</span> WWII war crime by Nazi SS soldiers in France

The Le Paradis massacre was a World War II war crime committed by members of the 14th Company, SS Division Totenkopf, under the command of Hauptsturmführer Fritz Knöchlein. It took place on 27 May 1940, during the Battle of France, at a time when troops of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were attempting to retreat through the Pas-de-Calais region during the Battle of Dunkirk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Calais (1940)</span> 1940 battle during the Nazi German invasion of France

The siege of Calais (1940) was a battle for the port of Calais during the Battle of France. The siege was fought at the same time as the Battle of Boulogne, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) through Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras, German units were held back to be ready to resist a resumption of the counter-attack on 22 May, despite the protests of General Heinz Guderian, the commander of the XIX Armee Korps, who wanted to rush north up the Channel coast to capture Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. An attack by part of the XIX Armee Korps was not authorised until 12:40 a.m. on the night of 21/22 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">23rd (Northumbrian) Division</span> Infantry division of the British Army in WWII

The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupation of Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions within the Territorial Army by duplicating existing units. The 23rd (Northumbrian) Division was formed in October 1939, as a second-line duplicate of the 50th (Northumbrian) Motor Division. It was made up of two brigades, unlike regular infantry divisions that were composed of three, with battalions hailing from the north of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manstein plan</span> War plan of the German Army during the Battle of France in 1940

The Manstein plan or Case Yellow, was the war plan of the German armed forces for the Battle of France in 1940. The original invasion plan was an awkward compromise devised by General Franz Halder, the chief of staff of Oberkommando des Heeres that satisfied no one. Documents with details of the plan fell into Belgian hands during the Mechelen incident on 10 January 1940 and the plan was revised several times, each giving more emphasis to an attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, which progressively reduced the offensive by Army Group B through the Low Countries to a diversion.

Dunkirk is a 2004 BBC Television factual about the Battle of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Lille (1940)</span> Component of World War 2

The siege of Lille or Lille pocket took place during the Battle of France in the Second World War. The siege of the French IV Corps and V Corps of the First Army was conducted by four German infantry divisions supported by three panzer divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Expeditionary Force (World War II)</span> British Army in Western Europe from 1939 to 1940

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the contingent of the British Army sent to France in 1939 after Britain and France declared war on Nazi Germany on 3 September, beginning the Second World War. The BEF existed from 2 September 1939 when the BEF GHQ was formed until 31 May 1940, when GHQ closed down and its troops reverted to the command of Home Forces. During the 1930s, the British government had planned to deter war by abolishing the Ten Year Rule and rearming from the very low level of readiness of the early 1930s. The bulk of the extra money went to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force but plans were made to re-equip a small number of Army and Territorial Army divisions for service overseas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German invasion of Belgium (1940)</span> World War II military campaign

The invasion of Belgium or Belgian campaign, often referred to within Belgium as the 18 Days' Campaign, formed part of the larger Battle of France, an offensive campaign by Germany during the Second World War. It took place over 18 days in May 1940 and ended with the German occupation of Belgium following the surrender of the Belgian Army.

The following events occurred in May 1940:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">12th (Eastern) Infantry Division</span> Infantry division of the British Army in the Second World War

The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army, which fought briefly in the Battle of France during the Second World War. In March 1939, after the re-emergence of Germany as a European power and its occupation of Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions within the Territorial Army by duplicating existing units. The 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division was formed in October 1939, as a second-line duplicate of the 44th Infantry Division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Boulogne</span> Battle for the port and town of Boulogne-sur-Mer during 1940

The Battle of Boulogne in 1940 was the defence of the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by French, British and Belgian troops in the Battle of France during the Second World War. The battle was fought at the same time as the Siege of Calais, just before Operation Dynamo, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from Dunkirk. After the Franco-British counter-attack at the Battle of Arras on 21 May, German units were held ready to resist a resumption of the attack on 22 May. General der Panzertruppe (Lieutenant-General) Heinz Guderian, the commander of XIX Corps, protested that he wanted to rush north up the Channel coast to capture Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk. An attack by part of XIX Corps was not ordered until 12:40 p.m. on 22 May, by which time the Allied troops at Boulogne had been reinforced from England by most of the 20th Guards Brigade.

The Battle of the Ypres–Comines Canal was a battle of the Second World War fought between the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and German Army Group B during the BEF's retreat to Dunkirk in 1940. Part of the Battle of Belgium and the much larger Battle of France, it started in the afternoon of 26 May and reached its maximum intensity on 27 and 28 May. Locally it is referred to as the Battle of the Canal and it is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Battle of Wytschaete. Its official British Army name, which is borne on the battle honours of a number of regiments, is that given here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation David</span> British military operation during World War II

Operation David was the codename for the deployment of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) into Belgium at the start of the Battle of Belgium during the Second World War. On the same day as the German invasion of neutral Belgium, 10 May 1940, the BEF moved forward from their prepared defences on the Franco-Belgian border to take up a new position deep inside Belgium, conforming to plans made by the French high command. Forming a defensive line with French and Belgian forces on either side, the BEF were able to contain attacks by German infantry divisions, but were unaware that this was a diversion; the main thrust by highly mobile German armoured divisions was further south. To avoid complete encirclement, the BEF and their allies were forced into a series of fighting retreats and ended up back at their initial border positions by 24 May. However, the German spearhead had reached the coast behind them, cutting them off from their supply chain and leading to the Dunkirk evacuation of the BEF in the following days.

References

Notes

  1. Major General Harold Alexander, commanding I Corps, was one of the last to leave. Just before midnight on 2 June, Ramsay received the signal: "BEF evacuated". [38]

Citations

  1. Ellis, Major L F. "The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940 (Chapter XII: Dunkirk Bethune and Ypres)". History of the Second World War. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007 via Hyperwar Foundation.
  2. 1 2 Hooton 2010, p. 71.
  3. 1 2 Murray 2002, p. 42 (1985 ed.)
  4. Franks 2008, pp. 33–39.
  5. Franks 2008, p. 160.
  6. 1 2 MacDonald 1986, p. 8.
  7. Frieser 2005, pp. 291–292.
  8. Shirer 1959, p. 879.
  9. Butler 2004, p. 151.
  10. Shirer 1959, p. 883.
  11. Kilzer 2000, p. 63.
  12. 1 2 Taylor & Mayer 1974, p. 60.
  13. Shirer 1959, p. 877.
  14. 1 2 3 Atkin 1990, p. 120.
  15. Kershaw 2008, p. 27.
  16. Bond 1990, pp. 104–105.
  17. Lord 1982, p. 148.
  18. Liddell Hart 1970, p. 40.
  19. 1 2 MacDonald 1986, p. 12.
  20. Sebag-Montefiore 2006, p. 250.
  21. Lord 1982, pp. 74–76.
  22. Shirer 1959, p. 882.
  23. Grehan 2018, Chapter 4.
  24. Thompson 2009, pp. 174–178.
  25. Thompson 2009, p. 179.
  26. Thompson 2009, pp. 182–183.
  27. Thompson 2009, pp. 183–184.
  28. Thompson 2009, pp. 186–192, 215.
  29. Thompson 2009, p. 219.
  30. Anderson, Professor Duncan. "Day of National Prayer." Archived 19 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine BBC. Retrieved: 30 July 2009.
  31. Sebag-Montefiore 2006, p. 303.
  32. 1 2 3 Liddell Hart 1970, p. 41.
  33. Fermer 2013, p. 208.
  34. Lord 1982, p. 199.
  35. Lord 1982, p. 200.
  36. Lord 1982, p. 210.
  37. "Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews". Lancashire Infantry Museum. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  38. MacDonald 1986, p. 18.
  39. 1 2 MacDonald 1986, p. 16.
  40. Lord 1982, p. 246.
  41. 1 2 Liddell Hart 1970, p. 46.
  42. Carse 1970.
  43. Shirer 1959, p. 884.
  44. MacDonald 1986, pp. 12, 16.
  45. Lord 1982, pp. 267–269.
  46. Butler 2004, pp. 296–305.
  47. "France - German aggressions | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  48. Postan 1952, Chapter IV.
  49. Anderson, Professor Duncan (17 February 2011), Spinning Dunkirk, BBC, archived from the original on 31 October 2016, retrieved 30 July 2009
  50. Thompson 2009, pp. 314–315.
  51. Thompson 2009, pp. 337–338.
  52. Rodgers, Lucy. "The men who defined the 'Dunkirk spirit'." Archived 24 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine BBC, 14 May 2010. Retrieved: 30 July 2010.
  53. "Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  54. "Dunkirk Medal (1940)". Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Franks, Norman. The Air Battle of Dunkirk (2008 [1983], William Kimber, London) ISBN   0-7183-0349-0
  • Holland, James. The Rise of Germany. New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2015. ISBN   978-0-8021-2397-8
  • Holmes, Richard, ed. "France: Fall of". The Oxford Companion to Military History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. ISBN   0-19-866209-2.
  • Hooton, E.R. Luftwaffe at War; Blitzkrieg in the West. London: Chevron/Ian Allan, 2007. ISBN   978-1-85780-272-6.
  • Keegan, John. The Second World War. New York: Viking Penguin, 1989. ISBN   0-670-82359-7.
  • McEwan, Ian. Atonement. London: Jonathan Cape, 2001. ISBN   0-224-06252-2.
  • McGlashan, Kenneth B. with Owen P. Zupp. Down to Earth: A Fighter Pilot Recounts His Experiences of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Dieppe, D-Day and Beyond. London: Grub Street Publishing, 2007. ISBN   1-904943-84-5.
  • Murray, Williamson and Allan R. Millett. A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press, 2000. ISBN   0-674-00163-X.
  • Salmaggi, Cesare and Alfredo Pallavisini. 2194 Days of War: An Illustrated Chronology of the Second World War. New York: Gallery Books, 1993. ISBN   0-8317-8885-2.
  • Smith, Peter C (2011). The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka: A Complete History. London: Crecy Publishing Limited. ISBN   978-0-85979-156-4.
  • Thomas, Nick. RAF Top Gun: Teddy Donaldson CB, DSO, AFC and Bar, Battle of Britain Ace and World Air Speed Record Holder. London: Pen and Sword, 2008. ISBN   1-84415-685-0.
  • Weinberg, Gerhard L. A World at Arms. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1994. ISBN   0-521-44317-2.
  • Wilmot, Chester. The Struggle for Europe. Old Saybrook, Connecticut: Konecky & Konecky, 1952. ISBN   1-56852-525-7

51°02′03″N2°22′37″E / 51.0343°N 2.37682°E / 51.0343; 2.37682