Admiral Ramsey deployed destroyers and transport ships to evacuate the troops, but greatly underestimated the potential of the manoeuvre. Before long, the harbour became partially blocked by ships sunk from Luftwaffe (German Air Force) attacks. The beaches were highly dangerous and under enemy fire. It became necessary to evacuate men from nearby beaches - something that was thought to be an almost impossible task because of shallow water. At this point on June 1st, the “little ships” began their part in Operation Dynamo and assisted the procedure triumphantly. The beaches of Dunkirk were situated on a shallow slope. No large boats were able to dock close enough to the shore where the soldiers were stranded. Therefore, the “little ships” were needed to tender men to the larger boats based further off shore.
Around 1,000 of these legendary "little ships" were used. Mr. Ronald Cross, Minister of Shipping broadcast in June 1940; “Never was there a more fantastic Armada, never a weirder collection of vessels set sail – pleasure steamers, cross Channel steamers, coasting tramps, trawlers, drifters, motor-boats and launches, motor and sailing barges.”. This extract truly illustrates the extent of the astonishing fleet which was formed from an overwhelming response to the British Governments appeal. The appeal was launched on the 28th May and by the next day hundreds of commandeered vessels owned by the public had set sail for the beaches. Numerous boats set out for Dunkirk with just a series of courses plotted on the back of an envelope, with no idea what awaited them. Ordinary citizens braved the harsh channel crossing and the deadly harbour, to bring back thousands of Allied troops. In the last four days of the evacuation, the small boats returned a miraculous 26,000 men to Britain.
The beaches were a lethal environment, miles and miles of open ground with few sand dunes to take cover from Luftwaffe attacks. Despite this threat the Allied troops remained calm and waited patiently in organized lines ready to be evacuated.
A key factor of Operation Dynamo was the “Dunkirk Spirit”. This saying was used to describe the conduct of the men on the beaches, the participation of the little ships and the moral and camaraderie of the British public. "Dunkirk Spirit’ stands for an almost romantic belief in the solidarity of the British people in times of adversity. A truly victorious attitude.
Dunkirk was a military disaster. The loss to the British Army of soldiers and equipment was colossal. 68,111 men of the BEF were captured or killed during Blitzkrieg, retreat and evacuation. Britain was also forced to abandon almost all of her equipment;
- 2,427 guns,
- 63,879 vehicles,
- 20,548 motorcycles,
- 76,097 tons of ammunition and
- 416,940 tons of stores.
Most of it was recycled by the German Army. Of the 933 ships that took part in Operation Dynamo, 236 were lost and 61 put out of action. In all 126 merchant seamen died during the evacuation.
40,000 French soldiers became prisoners of war and 1,000 Dunkirk civilians died during Blitzkrieg attacks. The evacuation and later surrender of Dunkirk led to the fall of France on June 14th 1940.
Another short coming of the BEF was the fact that they were ill-equipped to fight a superior German Army.
The situation on the beaches had wider implications: moral and behaviour deteriorated. “Discipline broke down as men rushed to boats and officers abandoned their troops to get on boats. Drunkenness was common,” wrote Clive Ponting in his novel: - ‘1940 Myth and Reality’.
A myth surrounding Dunkirk is the extent of the “Little Ship’s” participation. Although between them they lifted around 26,000 men, this was a mere 8% of the total evacuated. The British Government did not make they’re appeal for civilian help until ¾ of the BEF had already been evacuated.
British behaviour towards the French was also despicable considering French soldiers were holding the perimeter around Dunkirk. Lord Gort the Commander in Chief of the BEF was instructed not to inform his French colleagues that the evacuation was beginning south east of Dunkirk.
“When Frenchmen tried to board boats on the beach, Royal Navy shore parties organized squads of soldiers with fixed bayonets to keep them back.” wrote Nicholas Harman in his 1980 tome `Dunkirk: the Necessary Myth’.
Churchill, however, soon realized that this risked damaging the last vestiges of Franco-British relations. Hence, on May 30th, he ordered that French and British troops be evacuated in equal numbers.
Having researched both miracle and disaster aspects of Operation Dynamo, there is one fundamental factor that I have not explored. A world away from the treacherous beaches, a very different kind of warfare was raging in newsrooms across Britain. The propaganda machine was in full flow manufacturing the Dunkirk myth. Under media censorship, victory was clutched from humiliating military defeat. News of events at Dunkirk were not released to the British public until 30th May, 5 days after Operation Dynamo began. On the 6 o’clock BBC Radio news, the official statement from the Ministry of Information was broadcast: “Men of the undefeated BEF have been coming home from France. They have not come back in triumph they have come back in glory.” The image it depicted was far from the pragmatic events of Dunkirk. A mood of national euphoria captured the patriotic British public and the “Dunkirk Spirit” flourished. Morale was so high that the newly appointed Prime Minister Winston Churchill was compelled to address the House of Commons. The innovative speech he made was a landmark in British military history. Churchill told the Commons Dunkirk was a “miracle of deliverance” following a “colossal military defeat.” To counteract the mood of elation he asserted; “We must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations.” He was praised for his realism in his first great speech, announcing a secret session would take place the following Tuesday to discuss the organization of defence measures against possible invasion. Although he was careful to counter act this distressing proposal by finishing the infamous speech; “We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”
In conclusion, I believe Dunkirk to be more than just a piece of military history. It has become synonymous with British patriotism and the “Dunkirk Spirit” has prevailed into 21st century. Dunkirk was a military defeat - but a propaganda victory.
