© Imperial War Museum
We shall defend our island whatever the cost
may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender
– Winston Churchill (June 4, 1940)
Dunkirk. German forces had been underestimated and had
I
already advanced considerably towards the French coast. By May 22, 1940, British military command- ers decided that a complete withdrawal of troops would be the wisest course of action and the retreat to the harbour and beaches of Dunkirk was ordered. Some troops marched 35 miles in 24 hours, but there was no way out. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was led
by the British commander General Lord John Gort who was determined to save the BEF at all costs. On May 25, Calais fell and Operation Dynamo was conceived that same evening. The nine days that ensued make an epic tale of courage, sacrifice and survival.
The great escape Operation Dynamo was the initiative of Vice Admiral Ramsay, who, in secret tunnels underneath Dover castle, put together an evacuation plan to bring back the soldiers that were trapped in France and were so desperately needed against Nazi invasion at home. The Admiralty hoped that 30,000-45,000 might be saved before Dunkirk fell. But the miracle of Dunkirk was a deliverance far greater than even the new prime minister Winston Churchill had expected. Ramsey sent Navy destroyers and transport ships
across the Channel to the Normandy coast. Fifteen passenger ferries were organised in Dover by May 26 and a further 20 at Southampton. Soon it was discovered that they only had limited capacity. The rescue ships were to be diverted to the beaches east of Dunkirk, but the waters were too shallow and the ships could not get close enough to the beach as the pier had been bombed. It took hours for only a few troops to wade through the water and come on board, having waited for several days on the beach. The solution was to appeal to and assemble all
available seaworthy pleasure craft that were able to move in much closer and act as shuttles between
n May and June 1940, the Armed Forces witnessed a ‘miracle of deliverance’, as 338,000 British and Allied troops were evacuated from
the beach and the larger ships. About 800 motor yachts, fishing boats, trawlers, lifeboats, paddle steamers and even rowing boats – many of whom had never sailed out of sight of land before – were called into service, including several commercial vessels from as far away as the Isle of Man and Glasgow. From May 30, in a carefully coordinated opera-
tion, the ‘little ships’ were escourted by naval craft, steaming towards France under great dangers affect- ing both large and small ships. They were targeted by German fighters, came under attack from tor- pedoes and were exposed to treacherous magnetic mines. From May 31 onwards, these small vessels ferried troops from the beaches out to the ships of the Royal Navy, with some of the pleasure craft even taking troops all the way back to Britain, only to return immediately to save more British troops. The ‘little ships’ alone evacuated an estimated
25,000 trapped BEF, all under heavy bombing and machine-gunning by the German forces. At least
Thousands of soldiers gather on the beaches of Dunkirk and wait for days to be evacuated
Everyone
must keep going. If we can maintain our steadily improving rate, our object will be achieved. The Navy must do this for the Army – Vice Admiral
Ramsay to his exhausted crews on all ships (May 30, 1940)
www.armedforcesday.org.uk SHOW YOUR SUPPORT 51
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