How did the evacuation of Dunkirk take place?

Answer 1

Many french and british soldiers were stuck on the shores of Dunkirk with the enemy in front and the English Channel behind. And loads of boats, fishing, yahts,luxury, every type of boat appeared to resure the stranded men.

The large naval vessels could not get inshore close enough to pick up the men on the beaches, so smaller boats motor launches etc with a shallow draught came in to pick up the men,then sail out to the naval ships and transfer them ,then return for another load thereby shuttleing back and forth to the beach for about a week under constant attack from aircraft and fire from the land . Churchill insisted that equal numbers of Frenchmen and British were brought back ,but in the confusion, who was counting, they just got men aboard whoever they were.300,000 were saved,but all their equipment etc was left behind tgive space to men.

Answer 2

British forces were evacuated by small and large boats from civilians that lived in england. They all crossed the English chanel in their boats and collected a load of soldiers then made the way back.

Answer 3

• The mass evacuation of Dunkirk was conducted between 26 May to the early hours of 3 June 1940.
• Evacuation named operation Dynamo.
• 338,226 French and British soldiers were taken from Dunkirk and the surrounding beaches by a fleet of about 700 vessels.
• Vessels included Little Ships of Dunkirk, Mixed Merchant Marine vessels, fishing boats, pleasure craft and RNLI Lifeboats

Answer 4

The evacuation at Dunkirk is considered a miracle by many, as it was so unlikely to succeed. Germany, who had crushed France, was advancing on the remains of the French/British army at Dunkirk. Now, During the invasion of Poland and France, the German Luftwaffe (Air force) had crushed most of the opposition, and gotten all the glory, while the army was just brought up behind. The German army officers thought this was unfair, and wanted their chance to shine. They went to Hitler himself, and asked for a chance to wipe out the remaining forces at Dunkirk. Hitler agreed.

Now, while the Luftwaffe could have decimated Dunkirk that night, the army was three days marching distance from the city. This gave the Allied troops time to evacuate. British and French troops loaded onto anything that would float. Cruise liners, fishing boats, rafts made of apple crates, anything. They, under the cover of darkness, made there way across the English channel.

When the German army reached the city, it was deserted. Only a handful of troops were left, and they were rapidly loading onto makeshift boats. Germans were able to do minimal damage to these troops, and the miracle at Dunkirk was complete.

Many think that without this mass evacuation, the war could not have been won, as many of the troops who were evacuated were the same ones who stormed the beaches on D-day, nearly 5 years later.