Was Dunkirk a miracle or disaster?

support the way you felt about the evacuation. If you felt it was a miracle, you could say the allied forces escaped from 5 million German tanks, for example.Many people since that time have taken that view that Dunkirk was a miracle. However many people believe that it was a huge disaster and a major defeat for the British. I believe that Dunkirk was a disaster for the Allies' army generals but it was a miracle for allied civilians and especially the soldiers' families. In that situation, it was a miracle that 330,000 men were evacuated from the beaches, using dinghies androwing boats, but it was a huge defeat, as it made Britain appear cowardly. The British government never planned at the beginning of the counter offensive against Germany that they would have to withdraw and obviously the allied commanders didn't want an evacuation to have to take place in the beginning. It would have been better not to allow the troops to be in a position that meant they were surrounded by the enemy.Admiral Ramsey, based in Dover, formulated Operation Dynamo to get as many men as possible off the beaches. The British troops, led by Lord John Gort, were professional soldiers from the British Expeditionary Force; trained men that the allies could not afford to lose. From May 26th 1940, small ships transferred soldiers to larger ones which then brought them back to a port, mainly Dover and Ramsgate, in southern Britain. Source 6 shows a cartoon by the famous British artist David Low. It was first published in the London newspaper, The Evening Standard, on 8th June 1940. It shows us how brave civilian captains were, as they sailed in small boats such as 19th century paddle boats and sailing boats. This kind of cartoon was put into newspapers to raise the morale of the British people. It shows that the allies have pulled together and it makes everyone helping look brave and part of the war effort. The source doesn't have many limitations for a cartoon. Although it makes the soldiers and the crew of the boats look brave, it fits in with my own knowledge that the crews of the ships would have had to be very brave whilst crossing the channel filled with mines and whilst under fire from the German Luftwaffe. I think that the cartoon does help slightly in telling whether Dunkirk was a miracle or disaster because it sums up how brave even civilians had to be when their country was in need of help. I think these days many people would not be brave enough or would find an excuse not to get involved if they might be in danger. In that sense it was a miracle because with such a small amount of technology at the hands of the government so many soldiers were rescued.The beach at Dunkirk was on a shallow slope so no large boat could get near to the actual beacheswhere the men were. Therefore, the smaller boats (as shown in source 6) were needed to take on board men who would then be transferred to a larger boat based further off shore. 800 of these legendary "little ships" were used. It is thought that the smallest boat to make the journey across the Channel was the Tamzine - an 18 feet open topped fishing boat now on display at the Imperial War Museum, London.Another source that backs up the idea of Dunkirk was a miracle could be source 2, which gives us some figures and statements that give the idea that Operation Dynamo was a miracle. It was written by Ben Walsh and has been adapted from a school history textbook called Essential Modern World History, which was published in 2003. It gives figures which make Operation Dynamo sound like a success. However, because it is from a school text book its purpose is to educate so although the information in the source sounds slightly one sided, the rest of the book probably gives the negatives of Dunkirk for the British as it is not supposed to be propaganda. The information in the source does give some information to help us to decide whether it was a miracle or disaster but to use it fully you would have to use it in conjunction with negative facts and figures for the allies. For example the source claims 71 heavy guns were rescued but that would not make it a miracle if 5000 were left behind. Despite attacks from German fighter and bomber planes, Hitler never launched a full-scale attack on the beaches of Dunkirk. Panzer tank crews awaited the order from Hitler but it never came. In his memoirs, Field Marshall Rundstadt, the German commander-in-chief in France during the 1940 campaign, called Hitler's failure to order a full-scale attack on the troops on Dunkirk his first fatal mistake of the war. The fact that 338,000 soldiers were evacuated from the beaches at Dunkirk would seems to support this view. One of the reasons put forward for Hitler not ordering an attack was that he believed that Britain had suffered from the might of the German army once and that this experience would be sufficient for Britain to come to peace terms with Hitler. The total destruction of the British Expeditionary Force might have created such asense of revenge in Britain that their involvement would be prolonged. That is one idea put forward for why Hitler did not order a full-scale attack on the beaches of Dunkirk - however, we will never know the real reason.One other source that sees Dunkirk as a miracle is source 5, a section from Anthony Eden's book of memoirs, The Reckoning, published in 1965. Anthony Eden was a senior army officer during the evacuation and later became the British Prime Minister. He talks about how he went to 'a number of camps in different parts of the country in which troops of the B.E.F had been hurriedly quartered'. He says how he expected the men and officers to complain to him because he had realised that there was 'enough to criticise'. Instead he remarks how spending time with these men had acted like a 'tonic' on him, instead of the depression he usually felt in Whitehall, because was not sure if the allies would win against Hitler.The same source gives lots of information on what the men thought of it and this therefore shows us that it could well have been a miracle. If the people that had fought amongst the shells, watched their friends starve and waited for hours on an open beach whilst being shot at, thought it was a success it does make me believe that it was. The source does have a few limitations though, because as it was written by a person who was an important figure in the country. It is possible that he would not write that it was a disaster, as those who had helped the operation might not be too happy with him as they had risked life and limb to save others. However, because the source was written after the war, he would not have to lie about much just to keep morale up. What he says in the source looks reliable as it fits in with my own knowledge of how soldiers reacted after being rescued.