The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. 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. The perimeter was semicircular, with French troops manning the western sector and British troops the eastern. [49] 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".[50]. To read about the Battle of the Lys, click here. [39][40][41], The desperate 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. Is Dunkirk the same as D Day? To view a British Army Captain's Uniform, Royal Fusiliers (London Regiment), click here. Army equipment available at home was only just sufficient to equip two divisions. 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. The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in May 1940 from Dunkirk by a flotilla of small ships has entered British folklore. Dunkirk evacuation (May 26–June 4, 1940), in World War II, the evacuation of about 198,000 soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and 140,000 French and Belgian troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk to England. Enduring concentrated German artillery fire and Luftwaffe strafing and bombs, the outnumbered French stood their ground. [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. The counterattack disrupted the Germans, holding them back a little longer while the BEF retreated. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander—French General Maurice Gamelin—initiated "Plan D" and entered Belgium to engage the Germans in the Netherlands. [19][20][21], On 27 May, the British fought back to the Dunkirk perimeter line. 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. Directive No. Early in the Second World War, in late May 1940, the Allied forces of British, French and Belgian troops were trapped by the invading German army on the coast of France and Belgium, in the area around Dunkirk. The SS men lined them up against the wall of a barn and shot them all; only two survived. All of our results are sorted by Relevance. But, even more, they add the dimension of time a… After reaching the Channel, the German forces swung north along the coast, threatening to capture the ports and trap the British and French before they could evacuate to Britain. There were heavy casualties during the retreat and the days at Dunkirk, but the British army survived. Most of the main roads in the area converged on that bridge. The War Office made the decision to evacuate British forces on 25 May. Generalobersten (Colonel-Generals) Gerd von Rundstedt and 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. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly to the west toward Sedan, then turned northward to the English Channel, using Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein's plan Sichelschnitt under the German strategy Fall Gelb, effectively flanking the Allied forces.[8]. Between 27th May and 4th June 1940, nearly 700 ships brought over 338,000 people back to Britain, including more than 100,000 soldiers of the French Army. On May 29 the destroyer Wakeful was torpedoed and sank in 15 seconds with the loss of 600 lives. This left a 20 mi (32 km) gap in Gort's eastern flank between the British and the sea. 1,000 Dunkirk citizens died during air raids on 27 May In the early hours of 29 May the destroyer Wakeful was torpedoed and sank in 15 seconds … For details about the major evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, see, Major General Harold Alexander, commanding, sfn error: no target: CITEREFShirer1960 (, Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II, "HyperWar: The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940 [Chapter XII]", "Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews VC | Lancashire Infantry Museum", "The men who defined the 'Dunkirk spirit'. This allows you a level of flexibility in the search terms. 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. During the following days... it became known that Hitler's decision was mainly influenced by Goering. The British prisoners were from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment, part of the 4th Brigade of the 2nd Division. To view and read about a French Military Postcard posted from Dunkirk on 24th May 1940, click here. Naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats were used in the operation. [48], 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. 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. Eighteen RAF bombers found the Germans while they were still assembling and scattered them with an accurate bombing run. But, even more, they add the dimension of time a… Those who come under the various Royal Warrants are looked after, but what about the dependants of the civilians? Though the number of civilian casualties is not as high as the number of military casualties, the recently revealed high number of civilian deaths does serve to enhance the weight of bereavement and trauma within the communities affected, thus leaving an even deeper mark on the already diverse memories of the conflict. The Battle of Dunkirk (French: Bataille de Dunkerque) was fought in Dunkirk (Dunkerque), France, during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. The Legacy of Dunkirk Dunkirk was, by conventional standards, a defeat for the Allies. The British failed to hold ground in France, and lost a great number of men and a … Following the events at Dunkirk, the German forces regrouped before commencing operation Fall Rot, a renewed assault southward, starting on 5 June. [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. Put down your arms!" His plan was simple: launch an all-out attack across the whole front at 11:00 on 1 June. The British Expeditionary Force alone lost some 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign. In the nine days from 27 May – 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). A marble memorial was established at Dunkirk (Dunkerque), it translates in English as: "To the glorious memory of the pilots, mariners, and soldiers of the French and Allied armi… §The Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (Sir Victor Warrender) I regret that 125 civilians were killed and 81 wounded in this operation. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called 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. The terrain around Dunkirk was thought unsuitable for armour. 85% of stranded troops. We have 67 New York Counties listed in our archive. Civilian casualties numbered in excess of 900. Dunkirk Memorial and War Cemetery. [22][23], Besides the Luftwaffe's bombs, German heavy artillery (which had just come within range) also fired high-explosive shells into Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers during World War II from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. This order allowed the Germans to consolidate their gains and prepare for a southward advance against the remaining French forces. During the Battle of Dunkirk from May 26 The Dunkirk Memorial is located in the British War Graves section of the Dunkirk town cemetery. The Battle of Dunkirk was an important battle that took place in Dunkirk, France, during the Second World War between the Allies and Germany. The British 44th Division in particular had to abandon many guns and lorries, losing almost all of them between Poperinge and the Mont. According to the BBC (Dunkirk facts & figures), 68,111 British soldiers were killed or captured at Dunkirk. [32], Meanwhile, Erwin Rommel had surrounded five divisions of the French First Army near Lille. The night of 3 June was the last night of evacuations. The British Army left enough equipment behind to fit out about eight to ten divisions. 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.[12]. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 90,000 soldiers of the French army were killed in the fighting of May and June 1940. Casualties - 9779 From Dunkirk - Fight to the Last Man by Hugh Sebag-Montefiore (pp 506)... (but French and German losses may include other losses from the 1940 campaigns) [26], That day, Brooke ordered a counterattack. Frequent bombing on the British stronghold with it’s airfield, naval base, hospitals and infantry forces caused casualties to soldiers and civilians and lasted throughout the War. Without the amazing efforts of the civilian flotilla the British Army would have been decimated. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as the "Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. The offensive came to be called the … F rom May 26 to June 4, 1940, the evacuation of Allied troops from the French port of Dunkirk and its surrounding beaches, known as Operation Dynamo, … 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.". [18], On 26 May, Anthony Eden told General Lord Gort, Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the BEF, 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. Noticed a typo? A total of 933 Royal Navy ships and civilian vessels were involved in the Operation Dynamo. Winston Churchill Called the Evacuation a ‘Miracle’ in his Famous ‘We Shall Fight on the Beaches’ … This is useful for viewing the names of Gold Star veterans by localized regions within the state. First of all, let me remind you of a few Dunkirk facts that have been more or less forgotten, leading to a kind of myth that the evacuation was a complete success. That number may seem high but over 300,000 were evacuated. It recalls the names of some 4,500 casualties of the British Expeditionary Force who have no known grave, as well as the men who went missing at the Battle of France, from Ypres to Abbeville. Many were killed in heavy bombing raids in the early 1940s. Allied troops, mostly British, wade out to a fleet of military and civilian ships waiting to transport the men to England from Dunkirk. Command and control on the British side disintegrated, and the perimeter was driven slowly inwards toward Dunkirk. All heavy equipment was abandoned and left in France, including over 2,000 pieces of artillery and 85,000 motor vehicles. This means that we will attempt to give you the most relevant casualty at the top of the list, with further results listed down the page. American journalist William Shirer reported on 25 May, "German military circles here tonight put it flatly. Returning to Dover". The pocket would have been closed at the coast if only our armour had not been held back. This is useful for viewing the names of Gold Star veterans by localized regions within the state. On 24 May, Hitler visited General von Rundstedt's headquarters at Charleville. This bombardment continued until the evacuation was over. 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. 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 Ariel. The combined efforts of the Royal Navy, RAF and civilian ‘Little Ships’ had famously snatched a victory from the jaws of a catastrophic defeat – creating a legend, the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’. asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of civilians killed and wounded, respectively, in aiding the Royal Navy to remove men of the British Expeditionary Force and French Army from Dunkirk? Gort had foreseen the order and preliminary plans were already in hand. [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. The British lost 68,111 killed, wounded or captured (an estimated 3,500 were killed) in the Battle of Dunkirk. They said the fate of the great Allied army bottled up in Flanders is sealed." [42], The War Office made the decision to evacuate British forces on 25 May. In the nine days from 27 May – 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). Between them, the 10th and 11th Brigades cleared the ridge of Germans, and by 28 May they were securely dug in east of Wytschaete. According to the BBC (Dunkirk facts & figures), 68,111 British soldiers were killed or captured at Dunkirk. The Wehrmacht captured some 35,000 soldiers, almost all of them French. [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. Armed merchant cruiser, Orama, torpedoed and sunk; no casualties. ", "Medals: campaigns, descriptions and eligibility", Churchill: We shall fight on the beaches - UK Parliament Living Heritage, Dunkirk, Operation Dynamo – A post-blog of the Battle of Britain 1940, Battle of Dunkirk short documentary with footage, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Dunkirk&oldid=1001373149, Land battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom, Military history of Canada during World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from January 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Allies evacuate approx. 2Nd Battalion, Royal Fusiliers ( London Regiment ), 68,111 British soldiers all the German armour 24... British were surprised by the Belgian Army fighting on the night of 3 was! 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