Source based work on The evacuation at Dunkirk.

Gcse history course work 2003-4 assignment 1

Question 1

Source A

Source A is from Commander Thomas Kerr, one of the navel officers sent to organize the evacuation at Dunkirk. This source is useful because it is an actual account. Source A is an account on how the evacuation on the beach was carried out and what happened but it doesn’t describe how or why. We must also take into account that there is a possibility that the text may have been altered because it doesn’t say where it is from just who wrote it. It doesn’t say if it’s from a diary, letter or some other text. If it was a letter than it would have been censored.

It says in the text “there were hardly any officers, and the few present were useless” this shows that its unlikely that the text has been edited in any way because letters were censored this shows that it must have been a diary most likely. This or an extract made after the war showing that it might have been have to have been done by memory. The memory might have been blurred. In the extract he doesn’t talk much about personal emotions this shows it might not have been purely personal so it might have been done especially for a text book.

Source B

This gives emotional retelling of what happens. This describes how they felt on the beach with the German guns firing at them. This helps us to understand how defenceless they feel. It also shows how where it says

“His machine guns cutting through those columns of soldiers like a reaper slicing through corn”

This is a preview of the whole essay

Source B

“His machine guns cutting through those columns of soldiers like a reaper slicing through corn”

That in understanding how the battle of Dunkirk was for the people in it also shows that there was grave loses even though they where trying to escape. It also shows how people where terrified of being killed. This source is also written in the past tense so we can’t tell long after event this was written so we can not be sure how accurate the account is. The detail is high because he uses metaphors to describe so presumably this is a personal account. The person who wrote this was obviously very close to the action because it actually describes how he was almost killed.

Source C

This source is not good for describing what happened what the battle of Dunkirk was like. This source sounds like a war story on one event that happened it doesn’t give you any other information it doesn’t even tell you if the captain lives. This source doesn’t tell you what Dunkirk was it does tell you that it was a hard battle. This source does tell. It does not fully explain what some of the words used are a Bren gun is (a light machine gun). This story may have been for a newspaper as most information about the war was limited. I think this because it’s unlikely that one man with a light machine guns would be able to turn away eight heinkels. Also it doesn’t mention the great amount of people on the beach just this one mans effort to turn away planes. We must also take into account that in source c it calls the man brave but it leave the story unfinished. What if he was killed and he was successful in driving them off he still would have been a war hero and the facts may have been embellished.

Question 2

Source D

Source D is a painting by Charles Cundell. He was sent by the British government to make an official painting of events on the beaches of Dunkirk. He could only have done this from memory. From the painting this shows that it was not a deliverance. This shows a great war but it does show an interesting contrast between the beaches and the water although you can see a boat sinking, he does paint the skies as clear blue. Maybe this was to symbolise that at the beach there was a great disaster there was also a great deliverance because people are being rescued. This supports AJP Taylor’s quote that this is a great deliverance and disaster. This is also a spectacular delivwerence because all kinds of boats where used to rescue troops( including pleasure steamers and fishing boats.)

Source E

I believe that this is a disaster because they are waiting helplessly. This shows them not being rescued just waiting to be rescued. The photo was taken on the beaches of Dunkirk. This photo shows a huge amount of people waiting but in formation maybe to show that although there spirits have been beaten, battered and tried they where still ready to go on. Although they are not being rescued they are still strong. They where trapped between the German forces and the channel.

Source F

This shows British troops firing at German aircraft at Dunkirk. This shows the battle of Dunkirk as a disaster. They are almost like sitting ducks to the planes. As I have said before they where between German forces and the channel. Made this an almost impossible fight and the losses where great. In the photo you see a couple of soldiers looking up trying to aim there guns at the planes. The planes had better fire power speed and armor. This doesn’t show great military leadership also.

Source G

This shows the battle of Dunkirk as a great deliverance. It shows the British Expeditionary Force as not a handful of men broken by the conditions and German forces but as a strong body of seasoned veterans. It shoes them as being strong spirited and experienced. It also says that there refusal to accept defeat is the ‘guarantee of final victory’ but a big worry that the entire British army (over 300,00 troops) could be wiped out before the war really got under way.