How did the British escape from Dunkirk? 

For me it was the mole that made Dunkirk possible; another example of British ingenuity.

It was a victory - if only in the fact it was not a catastrophic defeat. The loss of the entire BEF would almost certainly knocked Britain out of the war - and that leads to how the rest of the WW2 would have turned out? It would be interesting see how that would have gone. Axis control of Egypt/Suez and middle eastern oil? No fortress UK or bombing campaign of German industry? The fall of France let the Japanese into Vietnam - so what of Malaya and India? Would love to see some serious speculation regarding that "what if".

Victory

how can a retreat be victory??? they literally ran from germans. when is running away intead of fighting is considered heroism?? oh wait, that was in france, now i geg it

@@HankD13 Yep I love all this Brit hatters on here!

Because they switched sides and bent over for the Germans

Every account I have ever read gives great credit to the French rear guard action by French units + the 140,000 French troops evacuated to help form the core of Free French forces.

Generally the Brits only talk/teach their own good deeds. If it was the other way around, imagine what the Brits would say. When the Brits flea and abandon their allies its "an evacuation". But when the french don't stand and fight to the last man the Brits say their cowards

@@redpink9773 Every book I have read on Dunkirk gives due credit to the French rear-guard action. Some French units fought extremely well - but they were a minority. Most French divisions collapsed almost immediately - leadership being the problem. French tanks, Souma 35 in particular (over 400 of them) were amongst the best tanks in the Allied army - Britain sent 23 Matilda II - all other British tanks only had machine guns. The Boys anti-tank rifle was the standard AT weapon - totally useless. The only real counter attack at Arras destroyed the British Armoured Brigade - and despite the plan, the French did not support it. After that, it was all over. 10 German Panzer division and control of the air - the French army, and the Belgium army collapsed. British troops do not fight to the death - they surrender when there is no longer hope of achieving anything - thank God. Hardcore Nazi or Japanese bushido is not the way to do it.

@@HankD13in this video and in the Dunkirk movie, the French sacrifice is barely mentioned. No French divisions sacrifice = no miracle. That’s all,

True. There are so many things like that which are often overlooked, that in particular as it’s often thought the French just gave up. There’s also the many units of British solders tasked to hold some of the roads leading to Dunkirk open, even though they knew it was almost certain death. The Germans only halted on a strategic level, not on a local. Or that Dunkirk wasn’t the only evacuation, there were others after. Or that troops were planned to be re-landed in France to keep helping the French, or that the French Air Force and RAF were actually quite successful during the battle leading up to and including Dunkirk.

Remember the near 60,000 British troops who didn't make it back as well.

And remember also, the 120,000 French troops who were rescued, leaving many thousands of British soldiers behind.

Remember the 51st Highland Division who spent the war as POWs.

@@Bruce-1956 Quite right Bruce. My father was at St Valery and was a POW until April 1945. 4th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders.

Don't forget the French that cover the escape off the brit

I don't thanks those who backstab and run away .

@@300routasydan2 Keep crying, like the frogs 🤣

History becomes legend & legend becomes myth over the passage of time.

Agreed. An evacuation on such a scale was unprecedented, until it happened.

Yes it was. But the evacuation was the end result of a humiliating defeat.

Nearly 100 thousand French were taken off the beaches too.

Very well said...

Over 70000 British soldiers were left behind as rearguard also.

@@pwisblue.6699 I didn't know that.

@@CIMAmotor Yes the French conviently overlook that .

Bla bla bla. The BEF abandonned its Indians to the Germans, left the front lines without informing either the French or the Belgians, sending thousands of those to a certain death after having promised an artillery cover that never came since the BEF was “orderly” retreating. Stop the wank, mate.

jetaddicted, Stop trolling and spouting nonsense, 'mate'.

@@jetaddicted Which Indians? There were around 600 Indian (Muslim) mule handlers, in four companies. Three companies were evacuated, although the fourth, on detached duty on the Maginot Line, was captured. Those who reached Britain were actually honoured with marches through a number of towns (the newspapers of the time confirm this), and Britain's, the toy firm, even produced models of them, for heaven's sake. Actually, when the Belgians surrendered, a British Division, commanded by Montgomery, as it happens, undertook a difficult night transfer to block the resulting gap in the allied line. I have never understood why people like you, with no actual knowledge, insist upon displaying you ignorance and prejudice in such a manner. Perhaps you might try to explain?

@@dovetonsturdee7033 He could try reading, perhaps?

The British pulling back to Dunkirk created a giant gap in the allied defense which the French somehow had to cover. There was a lack of coordination with the French wanting to counter attack with the British wanting to retreat. The evacuation was only made possible by the French putting such a stiff resistance that time was bought for the evacuation even if they knew they themselves may not be able to escape.

I used this on my project and got an A, thanks

Can you imagine the Americans pulling their heroic military achievements to pieces ? these arseholes should be put in the STOCKS

Not to mention the national day of prayer led by the King...

@@pauldavidson1866 That Is WHAT BROUGHT ABOUT The Miracle Of Dunkirk.

@ Ian H2 GOD'S HAND ORDAINS The Events.

​@@Charlesputnam-bn9zy😂😂😂 retarded Francophobic the only miracle was that french stand while british ran away 😂😂😂

Yep, can’t agree with you more! Small comfort, but something; I will be exploring ALL the content on this channel over the weeks to come. Hence, at least one viewer from Australia will provide ‘views’, and I will be telling my friends that are interested in this sort of history to join us. Subscribed, enjoying, and sharing from Melbourne, Australia. Thank you all!!!

Not really you see some french soilders had to be left in dunkirt

It wasn’t a victory though. We have to accept it for what it was - a “colossal disaster” to paraphrase Churchill. The evacuation was a marvel of planning, improvisation and logistics, no doubt, but calling Dunkirk a victory just makes us look bad.

With 120000 french soldiers. For once france puts up solid resistance to protect its lands

@@jonathansimmons5353 "For once" ruins your comment.

@@jonathansimmons5353for once ? Are you kindling ?

There were also long periods during which, as an inevitable result of Park's Squadron Patrol policy, there was no air cover.

Without the RAF and Royal Navy none would have gotten away, including 100,000 French

Yes. Oh, and the superb performance of British forces under extreme pressure.

@@lyndoncmp5751 Well without the French and Belgian desperate defence also none would have escaped so potatoes potatoe

@@lyndoncmp5751 it was 200,000 British and 150000 French, hardly the abandonment of our French allies that some like to preach on here 🙄

@@parodyclip36 Without the French and Belgian collapse in the first place the BEF would never have been in that situation to begin with.

Try 'The War at Sea, 1939 - 1945' by Captain Roskill. The total number of troops brought back to Britain by 'Small Craft' was 6,029, with a further 4,726 by lighters and barges. The Whitehall Histories, Naval Staff Histories, 'The Evacuation from Dunkirk' has a broadly similar number. Despite the legend, perpetrated in the recent disappointing movie, the Little ships were there to ferry troops from the open beaches to larger ships waiting offshore. A typical destroyer of the period rarely had more than a couple of whalers and a motor boat.

nope

Churchill said it was a humiliating defeat, it was a total disaster

Also, the part French rail system played in getting more British troops to St Nazaire a few weeks later

way to twist facts, so u think dunkirk was most important victory? how can a retreat be a victory?? considering majority of german armies were defeated in russia, u convieniently overlook battle of moscow, stalingrad, kursk.

It was halt by von rundstendt and von kluge because their geman tank army suffer 50% attrition, line very thin and flank very expose to the enemy , their don't have any single infantry support or artillery and very vulnerable. If the german tank attack dunkirk without infantry or artillery support , it would be very vulnerable of at gun or tank in the narrow street and they would suffer heavy tank casualties.

Arras had nothing to do at all with the German decision to halt. Von Rundstedt ordered the halt because von Kluge felt that his troops were too strung out and von Kleist was concerned over his losses in armor (the vast majority of which were due to breakdowns). While worry over the rapid advance did have something to do with his decision, the primary reason why Hitler endorsed von Rundstedt's halt order was that he was incensed that von Brauchitsch had switched command of 4th Army (including the bulk of the armor) in von Rundstedt's Army Group A to von Bock's Army group B without first consulting the Fuhrer. A signal indication of this can be seen in the fact that when Hitler finally lifted his objection to a resumption of the German advance, he left the final decision on when this advance would resume NOT to the C- in- C of the Army von Brauchitsch ( a man for whom Hitler had nothing but disdain) but to von Rundstedt- who was only an Army group commander. When von Brauchitsch informed von Rundstedt that he could resume his advance, von Rundstedt refused, citing Hitler's earlier instructions authoring the final decision as being up to C- in- C of Army Group A. To sum up, Hitler wanted to show the Army high command who was in charge, and von Rundstedt abetted this stupidity by being an ass- just because he could. Goering supported Hitler's decision by assuring the Fuhrer that the Luftwaffe could destroy the Allied forces trapped in the pocket. In this case German senior leadership was their own worst enemy- and the Allies benefitted from it greatly

@@edgehodl4832 do you not know the difference between a victory and a decisive victory because Dunkirk was a decisive victory

@@edgehodl4832 "Dunkirk was by far Germany's best single chance of winning the war" He meant the war against Britain not the war as a whole. Maybe stop being so hostile and use your head a bit more. Everyone knows most of the heavy lifting in WW2 was done by the Red Army you aren't informing anyone of this information including the OP. My unqualified unasked for 2 cents

The Canadians were part of the 'Reconstituted BEF' which began landing at Cherbourg on 7 June, but were withdrawn after Weygand told Alan Brooke, the commander, that the French army was no longer able to provide organised resistance.

Lol a brittish to speak about a battle where they've flewed 😂😂😂😂 hilarious

If you get the chance to visit the place, go to the beaches of Zuydcoote and of Bray-Dunes (this latter being the last French town before Belgium). At low tide you can still spot the shipwrecks of the "Crested Eagle" (Zuydcoote) and of the "Devonia" (Bray-Dunes).

That he was in a PoW camp in Poland suggests that he was involved in 'The Long March'. As the Russians advanced, the camps were emptied of PoWs and they were force marched across Europe in one of the worst winters. You are quite correct none of it was fun.

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 my father after he was rescued from dunkirk was sent to north africa then to italy i dont know to much about his war service with REME he died the day after my 18th birthday and it was difficult to get him to talk about his war service and now ill probably never know

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 thank you and yes yt has done that to me many times its as you say infuriating , i will contact the MOD to see if i can squire his war records, as for the medals i have never seen them after the war he became a bus driver and received medals for safe driving with several date bars, those are the only medals ive seen, they say war is hell and im sure your uncle would have found it terrifying like my father, we went on a family holiday to france and one day made a visit to dunkirk, my dad was always laughing and happy but that day he was very sombre and we didnt get a word out of him, i think we went so that he could lay a few ghosts to rest. when we were children he had us all taught to swim i think he was making sure that if we ever got into a similar situation we could better cope, Your Uncle and my father are hero's in every sense

Being decorated to have flew from the Battlefield.wonderful demonstration of bravery 😂😂😂😂 but it's not a secret : brittish have not honour in War

Completely mis-understanding the real role of the 'Little Ships,' more or less forgetting the Royal Navy, and rather exaggerating the actual role of Fighter Command, to name three, were not minor inaccuracies.

Nonsense. People like Mosley were a busted flush well before Dunkirk. The Halt Order was given, by von Rundstedt for what he believed at the time were sound tactical reasons. Halifax might have contemplated a ceasefire, but he was never in any position to attempt to establish one.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 Churchill had to imprison Mosley without trial because so many people in the UK supported him. Halifax was a warmonger.

Not to mention all the French troops also rescued at Dunkirk that were immediately sent back via Cherbourg to continue fighting.

The last British troops were evacuated on 25 June, from French Atlantic ports as part of Operation Aerial. The 'Reconstituted BEF' landed in Cherbourg from 7 June, and withdrawn after General Weygand had said that the French army was no longer able to offer organised resistance, is rarely mentioned as it doesn't meet the myth of 'Perfidious Albion' running away.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 Operation Aerial was to pick up the remaining troops that were left behind at Dunkirk and were waiting to be rescued at other ports .look up the Lancastrian ship , that was a bit of bad luck .The Germans had an unfair advantage as they had been building up a large army even though they had signed up not to after ww1

Yes that is correct, they overstretched in their advance.

Well I heard that Hitler stopped the attack so they could make peace with Britain

Legend. The Luftwaffe was the most 'nazi' of the German armed forces. It failed badly at Dunkirk, despite Goering's promise to Hitler that the destruction of the pocket was 'a special job for the Luftwaffe,' made on 23 May.

As best I recall, 51st HD weren't at Dunkirk. They were attached to the French IX Corps, which surrendered at St. Valery before the RN task force sent to evacuate 51HD was able to enter the port.

Not so. It was a lost cause as soon as the French and Belgians collapsed.

[Lyndon CMP] Let us agree to disagree. I agree Belgians surrendered without a fight. But not all French formations collapsed immediately. If some had seen the BEF fighting, joined them and held a secure area like the Cherbourg Peninsula, maybe just maybe the war could have ended 12 m earlier on the western front causing the Germans to yield even on the Eastern front

@@seraglioborneo2803 The British did begin landing troops in Cherbourg as early as 7 June, until Weygand told their commander, Alan Brooke, that the French army was no longer capable of organised resistance.

[doveton s] I stand corrected. Thanks.

@@seraglioborneo2803 Credit to you for your post. Many people seem to feel the need to resort to insults when corrected!

At least he haven't flewed , it's honorable

OMG Man you can't be voicing that!!..how could they continue to perpetuate the myth of how Hitler wanted to conquer the whole of Europe(and the World mwwwaahhh) with that kind of talk eh??.

It seems more logical that the Germans would have had much more grip on the British Government if they had taken the BEF prisoners. Look how they have been constantly blackmailing The Vichy Government into doing things with the French prisoners of war detained in Germany, Poland and Austria.

@@markhitchcock4704 You can say it, but it wouldn't be true. The Halt Order was issued by Von Rundstedt, to allow his armour to be serviced and repaired before commencing the second stage of the campaign. Like many senior officers, he feared a repeat of the Miracle of the Marne of WW1. Hitler had already been assured by Goering that the destruction of the Allied pocket was 'a special job for the Luftwaffe,' and was foolish enough to believe him. Surely, if you want your enemy to come to terms, wouldn't there be more chance of that were his field army to be caged in PoW camps, rather than safe behind an impenetrable sea barrier? If your lovable peacefully intentioned Hitler was not intent upon conquering the whole of Europe, did the invasions of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and Belgium, all take place without his knowledge?

The Halt Order was not influenced at all by RAF action. It was issued by von Rundstedt in order to service and repair his armour, so that he could commence the second stage of his campaign, before there was any risk of a second 'Miracle of the Marne.' Indeed, far from being deterred by the intermittent activity of the RAF, on 23 May Goering had assured Hitler that the destruction of the allied troops around Dunkirk was 'a special job for the Luftwaffe.'

St. Valery happened a week after the evacuation had ended. 51 Highland Div., had been on detached duty in the Maginot Line, and were part of IX Corps of French X Army. They were never part of the Dunkirk rearguard.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I did not claim that the 51st Highland Division were part of the Dunkirk rearguard. I stated that my father was a lance corporal in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and he fought in the rearguard action round Dunkirk. How he got to be there I have no idea. But the reality of battle is that soldiers get separated from there units and end up fighting where they are told to fight. It is a matter of factual history that once the Dunkirk beaches were cleared those soldiers of the rearguard whatever nationality they were and whatever regiments they belonged to were told to make for St Valery.

@@ericbeaton7211 British units defending the perimeter included, among others, elements of the following regiments: the Loyals, Leicesters, Sherwood Foresters, Warwickshires, East Lancashires, Borders, Coldstream Guards, Duke of Wellington's, Green Howards, Durham Light Infantry, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Royal Ulster Rifles, Grenadier Guards, Berkshires, Suffolks, Bedfordshire and Herts, Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, East Surreys, Royal Fusiliers, South Lancashires and the Black Watch. These were withdrawn to Dunkirk on 2/3 June to an inner perimeter, and evacuated. For the last day, the perimeter was held by French troops. Your reference to St. Valery can only refer to 51HD. 7 & 8 Battalions of The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders were part of 51HD's 154 Brigade, which formed part of Arkforce. Arkforce was detached from the division on 9/10 June in order to form a defensive position 19 miles east of Le Havre, to make possible the withdrawal of the rest of 51HD and French IX Corps. Heavily congested roads resulted in the late arrival of Arkforce, and enabled Rommel's 7 Panzer to get between it and the rest of IX Corps. As a result, and as it was not possible to reunite 154 Brigade with 51HD. it was ordered to withdraw to Le Havre., from where it was evacuated. There is a detailed account of these events in 'The Last Act' by Basil Karslake.

Not quite. Even Fighter Command's historical website details the long periods during which there was no air cover. Estimates of RAF losses over Dunkirk vary between 106 & 177 of all types. The RAF Museum estimate just over 100 aircraft lost. The Museum account also states :- The measure of Fighter Command’s success, however, is not in the destruction of enemy aircraft but the extent to which it defended the evacuation. Initially, the RAF attempted to provide continuous air cover, but faced with large German formations it adapted its tactics and instead looked to provide air cover in strength - with patrols involving four squadrons - but not continuous air cover. The move from stronger patrols at less frequent intervals was not successful. The four squadron patrols were often unable to cooperate effectively over Dunkirk. The flying conditions over Dunkirk, with low-cloud and thick smoke, would have taxed pilots experienced in combat operations as part of larger formations. During DYNAMO, it was almost impossible for patrols involving more than two squadrons to maintain contact and fight together. By the time the patrol had reached the French coast the squadrons had become separated and the patrols broke up into single, or pairs of squadrons, with part of the patrol below the cloud cover whilst others, having initially been instructed to provide top cover, flew above it. The result was that there was ineffective support between the squadrons at different heights and the force structure of the patrol was wasted. The larger patrols also quickly became disorganised in combat, as the squadrons fragmented into sections, largely dissipating the effect of the patrol. Norman Hancock, a Pilot Officer in No. 1 Squadron, recalled that: ‘You went as a squadron towards your target. You were in appropriate formation but once you’d engaged the enemy then by and large people tended to split up. You might get the odd pair who stayed together, but by and large the squadron was split up and individually attacked targets. You didn’t stay as a solid machine of 12 aeroplanes pointing in the right direction. It didn’t work that way… everybody disappeared. … [After the first attack] there was no cohesion to the squadron.’ The patrols by four squadrons reduced the combat effectiveness of Fighter Command and it is evident that more frequent patrols, involving only two squadrons, would have been more effective. This was a lesson drawn and learnt from the air cover by the officer in charge, Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and he applied that lesson during the Battle of Britain despite the vociferous advocation of larger formations from elsewhere in Fighter Command. Following the move to larger formations there were only two clear days of weather for the Luftwaffe to launch full scale attacks. On the first day, 29 May, the evacuation suffered heavily and the Royal Navy temporarily suspended the use of its modern destroyers - a decision which based on the lift capacity of remaining ships would have left over 100,000 men to be captured. On the second day of clear weather, 1 June, daylight evacuations were suspended. One defence of the RAF’s air cover is that German artillery fire west of Dunkirk was at least as responsible for that decision. A detailed review of the decision behind the suspension indicates this is entirely false.

I don't find the video belittling of the 'small boats' or their crews, but the fact remains that the majority of men were taken out of Dunkirk on larger ships esp. Destroyers. The whole operation was under the control of the Royal Navy, together with the French Navy. The civilians involved were of course 'signed up' for the operation to comply with legal requirements , such as their right to be treated as prisoners of war if captured, and compensation,. There was great bravery shown by many of those civilians, and unfortunately some cowardice. In all the Dunkirk evacuation was a good example of what a well trained military can do in extremis.

Je suis très conscient que la bravoure et le sacrifice de nos alliés français ont été cruciaux pour la réussite de l'évacuation de Dunkerque. J'ai appris cela de mon père qui a vécu son enfance pendant la guerre et n'a jamais sous-estimé le rôle joué par la France à Dunkerque. Il a adoré visiter la France, tout comme moi. J'utilise Google Translate donc j'espère que cela a du sens !

“The Dunkirk episode was far worse than was ever realized … The men getting back to England were so demoralized they threw their rifles & equipment out of the windows of railway-carriages. Some sent for their wives & their civilian clothes, changed into these & walked home.” Even Churchill was honest (in private) when he declared to Hugh Dalton, a prominent member of the Labour Party, who later became Minister of Economic Warfare in Churchill’s cabinet, that Dunkirk was “the greatest British military defeat for many centuries.” General Mason-Macfarlane, the head of military intelligence, summoned journalists & told them that they were to inform the British public to blame the French for “not fighting,” & to proclaim that the B.E.F. was “undefeated.” On May 30, 1940, the BBC announced that “men of the undefeated B.E.F. have been coming home from France. They did not come back in triumph, they have come back in glory.”

120000 francais sauvee. De chez vous .

No it didn't. By August, 1940, the British already felt able to send the 'Apology' convoy to North Africa. This was a large troop convoy which included three Armoured regiments.

The Halt Order was not issued by Hitler, but by von Rundstedt in order to service and repair his armour, so that he could commence the second stage of his campaign, before there was any risk of a second 'Miracle of the Marne.' Halifax was not negotiating with anyone, although he wished to ask Mussolini to act as an 'independent' broker. After the success of Dunkirk, the Holy Fox was an irrelevance.

You are wrong. No body would give and order like that without reference to Hitler told von Runsted to stop. The Germans had fuel from filling stations and plentiful amunition. My father was friendly with Chuter Eade MP and asked him. He told me that is why The Germans stopped. Anthony Eaden, and Douglas Home, both on Chamberlains trip to apease Hitler over the Munich agreement. Halifax was sacked from the wartine cabinet and Eaden was made Forign Secretary. He had served Churchill's use. Ths is not in any history books and has remained secret always. Hitler micro managed always he told von Ronsted to issue the order. Some historians have said that Halifax was negotiating behind Churchills back not so as a junior minister told Chuter Eade what went. Hitler wanted the British Empire not the white Dominions Richard Crow

@@richardcrow5827 You need to read the War Diary of Army Group A. The Germans had no issues with fuel or ammunition, which is why I didn't say that they did. What concerned von Rundstedt was the fact that his armour had covered a significant mileage. He, like many other senior commanders, was eager to begin the second phase. Hitler was at Army Group A's HQ at the time, but agreed with the judgement, firstly because he knew that the Dunkirk area was poor ground for armour, secondly because German infantry was arriving in support, thirdly because he saw an army backed against the sea as trapped, whereas the British saw the sea as an open escape door. Fourthly, but most importantly, Goering had told him, on 23 May, that the elimination of the trapped armies was 'a special job for the Luftwaffe.' 'Ths is not in any history books and has remained secret always.' Oh please! Halifax had been a consistent opponent of Churchill, and had sought to use Mussolini as an intermediary in any peace deal. After Dunkirk, Halifax was more or less an irrelevance, especially after the resignation of Chamberlain due to ill health, when he was the last remaining appeaser in the cabinet, until Churchill managed to dispose of him by making him British ambassador to the United States.

I read somewhere many years ago German generals wrote their memoirs to show themselves in good light. The tank crews were on what we call uppers. I can't remember the propper name. I have a copy of 'Over the hill. The tanks could rest for 24 hours not 3 days. You are right about Halifax he never told anyone but i read of was told that Churchill told him to string the Spanish. And Colossus was being broken and it confirmed that Hitler said rest the tank crews. I met a man when sailing around the UK on 2019 and his father told him that Hitler said rest the crews. He was deceived and this was one of the times. But it the truth will never be known. I read Churchills war history smd Montgomery autobiography and another biography and the lesson I learned is those who took part. None mentioned Enigma and Colossus and it was kept secret becsuse the Russians had many Enigma machines and used them modified during the cold war. Also the raid on Dieppe was to capture an Enigma machine for navel communication witb an extra rotor. The raid by the Canadian commandos not as put out for 30 years. It was deception lies for the public Richard Crow

If they had sights of British boats then they probably saw Destroyers. Firing at those would have seen his Panzer group annihilated by 4.7 inch Naval guns, while his Tanks would ping off the Destroyers armour. Also, the German Tanks never got close enough to see the soldiers on the beaches. When they did get close, the British and 110,000 French soldiers had already been evacuated.

Humanity lost in 1945. Research and you will see everything about WW2 is a lie.

Char B1.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 You are right.

@@DavidOfWhitehills Thanks! I have seen TOG at Bovington, and a remarkably bizarre beast it is.

You may be correct.xx.r.

Your " miracle" was french who were dying while british flewed back home. 😂😂😂 As told , french Can fight for money , british for honour . Each of us fight for what we lack of 😂😂😂😂

Read books. Enjoy your freedom. HCAAHNY.@@300routasydan2

If. Jerry didn't have the means to come over immediately after. Didn't have either the air force or navy to overcome the RAF and Royal Navy.

They were not with the BEF at Dunkirk. They were with the French IX Corps, which surrendered on 12 June.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 exactly left behind!!!!

@@AUCHTERMUCHTYZZ Left behind because they had been obliged to surrender when IX Corps did. The Royal Navy had sent an evacuation fleet of 67 merchantmen & 140 smaller vessels to St. Valery, intending to lift 51HD on the night of 12 June. General Marcel Ihler, of IX Corps, took the decision out of their hands.

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 They were running like cowards. It was also an evacuation. They were steadfastly protecting Britain. They were also hiding on their island

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 already said

@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684 The Germans were not the side who wanted wars between Anglo Saxons whites killing white in a brothers war not thier thing at all

Don't you know it's an offense in Poland to say that it was a "Polish prison camp". You should say a "POWs camp in Poland". That will spare you a fine ;)

Around 120,000 French troops were lifted from Dunkirk.

"They were refusing to take French troops on British ships". How true is it ? All I can tell you is that the Vichy propaganda maintained the myth of the "Perfidious Albion" refusing to take French troops on board in Dunkirk during the war. This propaganda was illustrated with posters. The recipients of the propaganda were the French soldiers emprisoned in Germany, Austria and Poland.

@@phlm9038 Well, Vice Admiral Dover's records identified just over 123,000 'Allied' troops being lifted out of Dunkirk. As these were almost entirely French, apart from a small number of Belgians, if the British Evacuation Fleet didn't take them, who or what did?

@@dovetonsturdee7033 You don't have to convince me as I know it is true but you know what propaganda is. You can compare propaganda at the time with fake news today on internet. Vichy propaganda was trying to convince the French public opinion that UK was the enemy. But I don't think it really worked as the majority of French felt no sympathy for the Nazi regime. It's true that most of them were happy with the armistice and the arrival of Pétain at the head of the Vichy Government. But what they saw in him was not the collaborator but the man who had been fighting for France during WW1 and the man who was going to protect them against AH. Their sympathy for him decreased with the months when they realised he was just AH's puppet. I can tell you a story to illustrate my comment. It happened in a small town in Northern France during the occupation. There was there a WW1 British graveyard and the ladies of the town were used to put flowers on the graves. During the occupation the ladies put ten times more flowers on the British graves just to annoy the Germans who were stationed nearby and could see them go to the cemetery.

There were actually 689 British ships & boats involved. Of these, the 'Little Ships' consisted of 203 motor boats and launches, 25 sailing barges, 19 RNLI lifeboats, 56 lifeboats, and 16 wherries. These would, in total, probably only require 600 or so men, which could easily be supplied from RN shore bases. A small number of owners did take their own boats, but in the main would be required to sign documents making them temporary RN personnel.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 I know where I'm getting my information from.... Where are you getting yours from? I took what I thought was a low estimate because there were other reports of: _The Little Ships of Dunkirk were about 850 private boats that sailed from Ramsgate, England, to Dunkirk, France, between May 26 and June 4, 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, helping to rescue more than 336,000 British and French soldiers who were trapped on the beaches at Dunkirk during the Second World War_ _The Edward and Mary (RX74) was one of the little boats that sailed out to the evacuation operations. The boat is part of the Fishery Museum of Hasting_ _On May 27, the small-craft section of the British Ministry of Shipping telephoned boat builders around the coast asking them to collect all boats with "shallow draft" that could navigate the shallow waters. Attention was directed to pleasure boats, private yachts and launches moored on the River Thames and along the south and east coasts_ _Some of them were taken with the owners' permission - and with the owners insisting they would sail them - while others were requisitioned by the government with no time for the owners to be contacted. The boats were checked to make sure they were seaworthy, fuelled, and taken to Ramsgate to set sail for Dunkirk. They were manned by _*_Naval Officers, Ratings and experienced volunteers_*

@@daveofyorkshire301 Actually, my information comes from, among others, 'Whitehall Histories: Naval Staff Histories. The Evacuation from Dunkirk..' The Naval Staff Histories were in the Public Record Office for some time prior to being published from 2000 onwards. They contain around 220 pages of detailed accounts, statistics, and analyses of the evacuation on a day by day basis, and list every vessel which took part, together with the number of men they lifted, and the fates of vessels which were lost. Edward & Mary, by the way, was not part of the flotilla, at least according to the Naval Staff History and to The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. She, along with several other Hastings-based fishing boats, and the Hastings lifeboat 'Cyril & Lilian Bishop' went to Dover, but only the lifeboat was actually used. 'Cyril & Lilian Bishop' was under the command of Acting Petty Officer W.H. Adkin during the evacuation.

@@dovetonsturdee7033 Well it looks like we have a conflict on information from different sources doesn't it? It's not worth arguing over, others can make their own minds up...

It would have been had Hitler issued it. He didn't, the commander of Army Group A, Von Rundstedt, did. He wished to have his armour serviced before beginning the second stage of the campaign, and because he feared a repeat of the 'Miracle of the Marne.' Goering had already told Hitler that the elimination of the Dunkirk pocket was 'a special job for the Luftwaffe' and Hitler believed him.

Those panzer would be massarce by anti tank, mine and tank in narrow srreet and they would be vulnerable for counter invasion by the allied.

Which are the other 4 mistakes ??

yeah, or maybe, he made an excuse up for his mistake at a later date

The dunkirk miracle according to the germans themselves I can't understand how such brave soldiers, fighting in various places at one against ten (sometimes even one against thirty), still manage to find enough strength to go on the assault: it's simply amazing ! I find among the French soldiers of Dunkirk the same ardour as that of the poilus of Verdun in 1916. For several days hundreds of bombers and guns have been pounding the French defences. However, it is still the same thing, our infantry and tanks cannot break through, despite some ephemeral local successes." " "Dunkirk proves to me that the French soldier is one of the best in the world. The French artillery, so feared in 14-18, once again demonstrated its dreaded effectiveness. Our losses are terrifying: many battalions have lost 60% of their strength, sometimes even more! “ "By resisting about ten days to our forces, which were significantly superior in terms of numbers and resources, the French army achieved a superb feat in Dunkirk that is to be commended. It certainly saved Britain from defeat, by allowing its professional army to reach the English coast." General Von Küchler commandant of the XVIII army during the last stand of the french army to cover the british at Dunkirk. “The Dunkirk episode was far worse than was ever realized … The men getting back to England were so demoralized they threw their rifles & equipment out of the windows of railway-carriages. Some sent for their wives & their civilian clothes, changed into these & walked home.” Even Churchill was honest (in private) when he declared to Hugh Dalton, a prominent member of the Labour Party, who later became Minister of Economic Warfare in Churchill’s cabinet, that Dunkirk was “the greatest British military defeat for many centuries.” General Mason-Macfarlane, the head of military intelligence, summoned journalists & told them that they were to inform the British public to blame the French for “not fighting,” & to proclaim that the B.E.F. was “undefeated.” On May 30, 1940, the BBC announced that “men of the undefeated B.E.F. have been coming home from France. They did not come back in triumph, they have come back in glory.” "hitler called other european countries as slave countries and disrespected them.. " « [Bir Hakeim] is a further proof of the thesis which I have always maintained, namely that the French are, after us, the best soldiers in Europe. After this war, it will be necessary for us to establish a coalition capable of containing militarily a country capable of accomplishing military prowess which astonish the world as at Bir Hakeim » Adolf Hitler June 1942