In honor of all veterans I would like to share The Miracle of Dunkirk. It was May 1940. Hitlers Nazi Army had already invaded Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and almost all of France. The Fuehrer didnt plan to invade England but did want a peace treaty. The British had gone to France to assist the French defensive forces against Germany. However the Germans were more powerful than any had imagined, moving swiftly across France in just a few weeks and defeat was eminent. The remaining allied forces were surrounded, trapped along the northern coast of France. Winston Churchill called the situation a colossal military disaster, saying that the whole root and core and brain of the British Army had been stranded and were about to be killed or captured. A plan was put in place to rescue these men. It was determined that Dunkirk, France would be the location, having the best port in the area for evacuation to England across the English Channel. Remaining troops began to travel to Dunkirk while also trying to hold off the German Army, buying more time for the rescue. Then, the first miracle occurred, it was suggested to Hitler by two of his commanding officers that the German forces around Dunkirk should halt their advance on the port for 3 days and consolidate their troops in order to avoid an Allied break through their lines. Hitler gave this halt order on May 24th. This gave the British and French time to gather and set up their defense lines. British citizens did not know of these events, but King George declared May 26th a national day of prayer and the rescue, Operation Dynamo began. Hopes were for rescue of 30,000-45,000 men from the British Expeditionary Force in 2 days, the maximum amount of time expected before the Germans took the area. On day one 7,669 men were evacuated and by the end of day two only 25,000 had been rescued. Men were still making their way to the area by the thousands. When they traveled as far as they could by motor vehicle they destroyed the vehicles by shooting the radiator while the engine was still running, rendering it useless to the enemy. British ships continued to cross the channel, taking one of three routes from Dover to Dunkirk, escorted by minesweepers, gun and anti-submarine boats. They had to defend themselves from costal guns, air attacks, torpedoes, and mines. Men reaching the beaches had to protect themselves from the German attack by land, sea, and air as well. Many of the ports docks were destroyed by enemy bombing, making it impossible for the large ships to reach the men on the beaches. A call went out to all British citizens who owned any type of water craft. Approximately 300 of these civilian vessels, or little ships were volunteered or commissioned. Some were boarded by the Navy and others had a civilian crew. One of the little ships was owned and operated by Charles Lightoller, second officer of the Titanic. These boats were able to get in close to the beaches to pick up a few men then transport them to the awaiting big ships. Chaos broke out at times and many of the small ships were overturned by too many desperate men trying to board. Others awaiting rescue were quite resourceful. Though the men had destroyed the motors of their transport vehicles, useless they were not. These men pushed the vehicles into the water at low tide in a line extending from the beach outward. They fortified them with sand bags and lashed them together on the top with planks from the destroyed docks, thus creating small docks of their own. The men were more easily able to board the small ships from their dock than from the shoulder deep water. Many others used the harbors protective mole in the same way, which remained intact longer than expected. Despite continued attack by the Germans, this area was held and the rescue continued for 9 days. During that time frequently cloudy skies protected the men below from strafing by German planes. Also the often treacherous waters of the English Channel remained relatively calm for most of the operation. Eventually the French rear guard of 40,000 men were captured on June 4th, ending Operation Dynamo. In all 1,554 ships were used to rescue 338,226 men, including 75,000 French troops. Sadly, 469 of the Allied ships were sunk and 145 aircraft were destroyed. For every 7 men who escaped through Dunkirk, one was captured and became a POW. The British lost a total of 68,000 men in France while the French lost 290,000. So what was so miraculous? Nearly 8 times the expected number of men were rescued for reasons that cannot be fully explained. Hitler paused for 3 days while a country prayed for their sons, fathers, and brothers. Defense lines held for nine days rather than the anticipated two. Weather cooperated. Brave and resourceful men had some crazy ideas and acted on them. Many paid the ultimate price to save friends, strangers, and freedom. If the evacuation attempt had failed it is likely that Hitler’s peace treaty would have been accepted and the outcome of the war would have been very different. Thank you veterans for preserving our freedom, then and now. (Ship remnants are visible on this beach from Google Earth, search for Bray-Dunes, France and scan just a bit southwest along the coast.)
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 12:18:31 +0000