Describing Dunkirk

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Describing Dunkirk On the 20th May 1940the allied troops were trapped by the Germans on the Northern coast of France. The allies consisted of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F), the Belgian Army and the ten best divisions of the French Army. It was on this day that Churchill gave the command for the evacuation to take place, to Britain by ship, following advice from Lord Gort (leader of the B.E.F). Rommel was advancing from the north and Degaudier from the south trapping the troops. The evacuation was organised by Admiral Ramsey and codenamed Operation Dynamo with the main objective to rescue as much of the B.E.F as possible. This evacuation began on May 27th from the beaches of Dunkirk. It is a matter of great debate whether this evacuation was a victory or a defeat for the Allies. Using any relevant evidence, and your own knowledge of the topic, make a case for Dunkirkbeing a military defeat and catastrophe for the British? Dunkirk could be viewed as a defeat for the British. It could be argued that the evacuation was disorderly and panicked and Britain suffered many men killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Although soldiers were rescued from Dunkirk many were demoralised, suffering from fatigue and not wanting to play any further part in the war. Virtually all of the B.E.F's equipment was littering the beaches of Dunkirk or the surrounding area of Northern France. For the British people their army (the B.E.F) suffering such a defeat would have caused severe demoralisation of the civilians which had very negative affects during wartime. Military defeat could be argued to be the most important aspect of a defeat ... ... middle of paper ... ...kirk as such a triumph as they cared much more about their soldiers returning safely to them then replaceable machinery. Basil Collier in Source 4 explains that Dunkirk 'roused the inhabitants of these islands to an awareness of their danger and a determination to avert it by all means in their power'. The people of the country filled with so called 'Dunkirk Spirit' united behind Churchill. I think Churchill used Dunkirk as an excuse to rally the country but this caused a psychological victory for the British people which helped them in the war effort. Britain suffered a massive military defeat in terms of the equipment, ships and aircraft lost but thousands of men were delivered from death or captivity at the hands of the Nazis. Ultimately 'Dunkirk' will always be remembered as a victorious event in British history.

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