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Dunkirk was a failure in the largest sense because the British Army was being ejected from the mainland of Europe. Along with the French, they had been beaten and were unable to stand their ground, and had to withdraw from the continent and leave it to the Germans. It would be four years before they could return.

Dunkirk was a miracle in that the British were able to evacuate just over 300,000 of their own troops and over 30,000 French troops who wanted to keep on with the fight. Hitler's armies were a bit disorganized following their unexpectedly rapid triumph in France, but perhaps still could have rounded up almost all these men as prisoners. The head of the German Air Force, Goering, wanted in on the glory, and promised Hitler his air force could wipe out the British at Dunkirk. The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) was the most Nazi of all the German service branches, owing its existence to Hitler, who had restarted a German Air Force in 1935, there having been none since the end of WWI, as a German air arm was banned under the Versailles Treaty. Hitler never quite entirely trusted the German Army or Navy, and the air force was riding high at the time, so he let Goering have his try at it. Hitler at that point also hoped to make some sort of peace with the British, now that they were so obviously thoroughly beaten.

Another way Dunkirk was a failure is that while 335,000 men were successfully evacuated, they mostly waded out into chest-high water and were dragged aboard boats. A man might still have his rifle, but that was all the equipment the British Army brought back from the continent. None of its artillery pieces, none of its tanks, none of its trucks were extracted. Without the heavy equipment the men were only a large group with small arms, and not truly a modern army at all. Had Hitler been able to follow through with an invasion of the British Isles this missing equipment would have meant a serious, likely fatal disadvantage for the British.

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15y ago

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