In the summer of 1940 the German Wehrmacht appeared unstoppable, driving into the West and conquering France by 10th May. The Germans success seemed to have almost surprised themselves, perhaps in part explaining Hitler’s order to halt the channel bound spearhead on 23 May. This decision would create an opportunity for one of history’s great escapes – operation Dynamo the evacuation of British and French troops from Dunkirk which began on this day in history.

The British decision to head for the channel port was a highly controversial one with Sir Anthony Eden telling the BEF’s commander Lord Gort that he may have ‘fight back to the west’ without informing Britain’s French and Belgium allies.

At the time the British Expeditionary Force, along with three French field armies and allies were in disarray, falling back on Dunkirk to await an uncertain fate.

The time gifted the allies by the halt order allowed them the opportunity to formulate a more orderly fighting retreat while in England the Royal Navy and the famous flotilla of small boats could start to be organised to save as many of the allied troops. Men would have to leave without their precious tanks and other military vehicles, this was a problem for another day.

We must never overlook those crucial engagements, that fighting retreat through the Flemish and French countryside which allowed Operation Dynamo to be so successful.

Those troops knew that every moment they held up the Germans would increase the chances of their comrades getting home, even if they would not.

Operation Dynamo would close on 4th June 1940, with a staggering 338,226 men aboard 861 lifted from the beaches.

We will commemorate some of those key moments in the next few blogs.

#WeWillRememberThem