Analysis of different sources of information about Dunkirk.

Authors Avatar

The British and French troops were forced into retreat towards the Channel port of Dunkirk by the Germans attack. The only hope for the Allies was to evacuate the troops before Dunkirk fell into the hands of the Germans. Therefore the British launched operation Dynamo. Between 27 May and 4 June, as the German air force pounded the beaches, the Royal Navy evacuated men back to England. Source A, B, C, D, E, F, G and I inform us about the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 in various forms ways. All the sources have either one of the 2 themes, success or failure. Some sources agree with the question that the evacuation from Dunkirk in World War Two was a great disaster for Britain while other sources disagree and say that it was a success. This essay will investigate how the sources interpret the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940

Sources A, B, D have similar themes in that they disagree with the statement and believe that the evacuation of Dunkirk was a success. They are British sources and so would believe that the evacuation was a success rather than a failure.

Source A is Winston Churchill’s speech to the House of Commons on the 4th June 1940, following the Evacuation of Dunkirk. In the statement, Churchill explains that evacuation of Dunkirk was a miracle of deliverance and that wars are not won by evacuations. Churchill uses the evacuation for propaganda purposes to boost-morale and show the unity of Britain. From the speech we can see that it was delivered the day after the evacuation of Dunkirk and that it was also an announcement to the public. These 2 factors suggest that Churchill had reasons to exaggerate the success of the evacuation, making the source limited. From our own knowledge, we can say the source is useful because we know that over 350,000 men were evacuated, when only 50,000 were expected. However there are limitations to the source because Churchill implies that the Germans were defeated at Dunkirk, which is untrue. The British only succeed in holding up the Germans.

Also he said that the RAF inflicted losses at the German Air Force at least four to one, which is exaggerated. The source is fairly reliable as Churchill would have got all the first information first hand, however this also means Churchill would only give information about the evacuation that would boost-morale. Overall the source disagrees with the question.

Join now!

Sources B and D most definitely disagree with the interpretation. Source B is a cartoon by David Low published in the Evening Standard on 8th June 1940. It shows the British and French soldiers on boats evacuating Dunkirk whilst being bombed. Meanwhile Source D is an extract of the commentary about the Evacuation of Dunkirk from Movietone News. It tells us that the evacuation was a success and that many different types of boats helped bring off the gallant British and French troops betrayed by the desertion of the Belgian ...

This is a preview of the whole essay