Other sources which support the opinion of a military defeat are sources 1, 2, 15, 20 and 21.
The next important aspect of defeat is the nature of the evacuation due to a very disorderly and panicked evacuation. This view is supported by a number of sources such as a picture drawn by Charles Cundall, an official war artist. It shows a large amount of troops trailing in the sea and overcrowded boats. Cundall is an official war artist so he should give an official representation on the events that took place which would make the source reliable. I also know from my own knowledge that small boats occupied masses of troops well beyond their limits and as a result became extremely overcrowded and in some cases caused boats to capsize making this source more useful.
Another source which supports this particular aspect of defeat is a source written by a German fighter pilot’s account of Dunkirk. He recalls how easy it was to kill the soldiers because the beach was swarming with soldiers. This backs up the nature of the evacuation as the words ‘the beaches were jammed with soldiers’ suggests there was no structured well thought plan, just masses of troops all desperately trying to escape with no thought for others. This account is primary, first hand evidence so the German is speaking from personal experience producing a useful source. On the other hand the source was written by a German which would mean it is more than likely to be bias towards his nation. Also from my own knowledge I know that on the first day of the evacuation only 7,669 troops were evacuated whereas the other days were much more successful. This particular source does not inform us on which day he is commenting on so therefore it could have been the awful first day which would not be a fair representation of the events.
An additional source which supports this type of defeat is source 2. These two images illustrate the equipment abandoned on the beaches. This shows a hurried evacuation which backs up the belief of a panicked evacuation. This source is not that reliable as these pictures were taken by an unknown author. The particular images portrayed gives the impression that a German is the author as it only shows the negative events concerning the British so this source could be bias, therefore reliability is called into questioned. Also a picture is a snapshot of time, so you do not actually know to what extent the disorderly fashion spread. However the pictures are taken at Dunkirk from that time making it primary and I know that 2,472 guns, 90,000 rifles, 63,879 vehicles and well over 500,000 tons of stores and ammunition were left behind in Dunkirk making the source useful and reinforces the idea of a rushed and unruly evacuation.
Finally the third aspect of defeat is demoralisation of troops and civilians. A source which is an example of this is an eyewitness account by Atkins for a book called ‘Dunkirk Pillar of Fire.’ The account shows that there were hundreds of troops below deck, but not one of them admits to knowing how to use a Bren gun. This shows a loss of morale amongst troops as not admitting to knowing how to use a Bren gun gives the impression that the troops do not want any further involvement in the war because of their experience in Dunkirk. Atkins is quite reliable as a historian so we would expect him to be well informed and also the source is an eyewitness account which also makes it useful. On the other hand the title of the book “Pillar of Fire” suggests Atkins has an agenda and wants to back up his dramatic view of Dunkirk. We must remember also that Atkins wants to make his book more dramatic in order to sell better. Also the source contradicts the source written by Charles Lightoller which comments on high morale within the troops. I also know that after the evacuation ordinary people felt encouraged because of their efforts in Dunkirk and as a result people became more involved in the war efforts, this was called Dunkirk spirit. This source contradicts my knowledge; therefore making this source is unreliable.
Private W.B.A gaze of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps describes a scene from the beach at Dunkirk. He portrays images of troops crouching in pits and naval officers turning on their troops. The vivid image illustrates and suggests fear and demoralisation. This source is quite reliable as its primary evidence and the writer is British- however at the same time he gives a negative account- suggesting he is not bias towards his country. Also from my own knowledge I know that the 27th May was a bad day for the British as they were heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. However Gaze’s job might affect the way he writes and what he included and as he was there he may be demoralised affecting his description.
Finally Richard Hillary’s book “The Last Battle”. This is an account about tired, ragged men who are unhappy. This shows loss of morale due to the fact that men arrived with no equipment, exhausted and unhappy. This account is quite useful as it is an eyewitness account and so the evacuation clear in memory, on the other hand the title of the book suggest drama and exaggeration and as a result it would be his own bias interpretation of events making it less reliable.
Overall I think using my own knowledge and looking at all the sources and their reliability I think the main points will could contribute to reasons of why Dunkirk is believed as a defeat are because of the vast amount of abandoned equipment which demonstrates a hurried, disorganised evacuation.
It is possible to argue that Dunkirk was a victory for the British. Huge amounts of troops were saved and it remained a calm, orders evacuation.
There are many aspects of victory; for the sake of this essay I will separate it into 5 parts: Military due to practically all the B.E.F rescued which was a massive achievement. The nature of the evacuation where it was calm, well ordered evacuation. It can also be seen as a psychological victory where morale was boosted and creation of Dunkirk spirit. Dunkirk allowed Britain to continue with the war. Finally Dunkirk could be seen as deliverance.
Some would argue that the military aspect was the most important part of victory. This mainly due to the surprising number of evacuated troops. A number of sources back this view up an example being a source which is “English History” written by A.J.P Taylor. The source shows what a difficult task Dunkirk was, but demonstrates how successful it was completed. This source is useful as it was written by a historian so it’s likely to be well-balanced in his views Also the facts and figures given in the text match my own knowledge as I know that 7,000 men were moved on the first day, which makes this source reliable. However Taylor is English so he maybe biased in his opinions. For instance he omits how many men were in Dunkirk to begin with and how many were left behind.
Major L.F Ellis also supports this aspect of victory in “History of the Second World War.” This source shows the vast number of troops evacuated which is similar to A.J.P Taylor and therefore supports the view of military victory. This is a detailed source and its primary evidence, which means it’s useful, but it’s written by a British Major so he maybe patriotic and be one sided.
Another source which maintains the belief of a military victory is Admiralty Records quoted by Winston Churchill, “The Second World War volume two.” It gives statistics on the sum of troops evacuated in the nine days clearly showing military service. The strengths of this source are that the figures are accurate as I know from my own knowledge that 338,276 men were rescued from Dunkirk. Also the source is Admiralty Records so the figures should be correct. However the source is limited in its usefulness as it fails to mention the amount of dead soldiers so success is hard to measure.
Another aspect of victory is the nature of the evacuation. Here where historians have argued that the process of the evacuation was well-improvised and tightly organised. Source 6 compliments this view. These two pictures illustrate large amounts of British troops queuing in a typically British organised, calm way. The source is useful as its primary, first hand evidence, but the photo’s show only one part of the beach and we have to ask can a photo really show the full story? Also although the author is unknown it’s likely to be British due to the fact that the photos are taken on a boat and its one sided therefore making the source bias which weakens the source’s reliability.
An additional source which demonstrates the nature of the evacuation is by Allan Bullock from “Hitler and Stalin.” The source gives details of the German’s mistakes and the advantage it gave to Britain to make plans for a well ordered evacuation. It demonstrates how remarkable the whole evacuation was being carried out. This source is reliable bullock is a historian so he should be balanced to allow the public to decide on their own opinions. However this book wasn’t written specifically on Dunkirk which means Bullock was likely to not be well informed on the event. For instance specific figures are not given on the amount of troops rescued which suggest his knowledge lies elsewhere.
Finally a source which backs up the belief of a well ordered evacuation is a speech given on the radio by a popular speaker during the Second World War. J.B Priestly describes how the “little holiday streamers” made a journey to Dunkirk without much hope of them coming back victorious, but shocked the nation by saving hundreds of troops. It shows a well improvised operation and I know from my own knowledge that many civilians volunteers in all kinds of boats to rescue the troops.
This source is reliable as it is primary; however J.B Priestly was a popular speaker who would say things to appeal to the masses and was part of government propaganda so it would be bias. Also the language he uses affects the reliability as he uses emotive words. I also know that most of the boat streamers were controlled by the navy not the civilians themselves.
The next aspect of victory is the boost in morale and encouraged Dunkirk spirit all over Britain. A number of sources support this idea including an extract from Churchill’s memoirs. It shows how Britain were glorious and how the tale of Dunkirk will be a remarkable moments in history forever. The book demonstrates a psychological victory and gives an example of what Dunkirk spirit was and how it spread. This source is written by Churchill who was key figure at the time making the source primary therefore reliable. However Churchill knows these are to be published and so he may have glorified Dunkirk – not only so people remember it but to make himself look better. Churchill omits any factual detail for instance 68,111 troops were killed, wounded and taken prisoner making the source unreliable.
Another source that supports the view of a psychological victory is source which is a speech given by Churchill to the House of Commons which talks about remembering this victory showing the establishment of Dunkirk spirit. The source is useful as Churchill speech is primary evidence and he has access to all data as he’s Prime Minster. But at the same time we must remember it is Churchill so it might be bias and the speech is written with emotive language to exaggerate successes of Dunkirk.
An account written by Charles Lightoller who took his yacht to Dunkirk also demonstrates a high morale. He talks about receiving a cheery reply from his son after asking how many soldiers were on deck which shows high morale among civilians as it is an eyewitnesses account so its primary evidence. On the other hand he is British so he maybe bias and may have exaggerated and glorified Dunkirk for self glorification to make himself more involved in the evacuation.
Next aspect of victory is deliverance. It can be seen that the German’s mistakes helped Dunkirk to be successful.
A source which backs this is source 9 which mentions Hitler tanks halted which gave an advantage for the British. I know from my own knowledge that German tanks were given the halt order by Hitler. This demonstrates deliverance. The book is specifically concerned with Hitler, so Bullock although not specifically researched events of Dunkirk, would have been well researched in this area. The fact he knows about Hitler’s mistakes makes the source reliable. On the other hand this could count as a weakness as he might gloss over information that doesn’t fit his theory.
An impression of Dunkirk by Charles Cundall an official war artist shows black smoke clouding the skies which shows deliverance. I know from my own knowledge that smoke covered the skies from heavy bombing of the town. This smoke prevented the Luftwaffe from seeing the beach giving Britain a chance to evacuate more troops. This strengths of this source is that Cundall is supposed to give an accurate view of Dunkirk to inform people what is was like, however he wasn’t actually there which weakens the source.
Finally the last aspect of victory is the fact Dunkirk allowed the British to continue the war when it looked like disaster was imminent. This is supported by American Historian Norman Gelb writing about Dunkirk and its effects. It shows that the victory of Dunkirk allowed British troops to take the first steps in the collapse of Hitler’s Nazi empire. This source is written by a historian, so it would be well researched, balanced making it reliable. Also it’s useful as the book is specifically on Dunkirk so Gelb should be well informed on the events that took place. However the weaknesses are evident in the book’s title “The Incredible Escape.2 This suggests Gelb had already made up his mind on Dunkirk and therefore wrote a one sided argument to back up his view.
