Another source which also supports the fact that Dunkirk was triumph is B3, it supports the fact that Dunkirk was a triumph is because it says that 340,000 men, 71 heavy guns and 595 vehicles were rescued it also tells us that RAF fighter planes shot down German airplanes. This proved to the British citizens that the British navy was something that you could join to because it was so powerful and mighty since they claimed that they had won. This source is written by a person called Ben Walsh, a history teacher and author writing in a GCSE textbook called essential modern world history (2003).This source is reliable because it uses facts which are taken from statistics to get the information across, the date is something you can rely on because it wasn’t written in the 40s and it is written in 2003 which is when all of the information was more valid since it was changed by many people. The detail is also something that makes it more reliable since it isn’t just one sentence. The audience are GCSE students and the facts have to be correct so in conclusion i think this text is reliable. However it might be slightly biased because he could be exaggerating the information that was given to him or it could be slightly made up.
In addition another source which supports Dunkirk was a triumph is Source B5, this source describes that the “evacuation” went according to plans and that everything was done well, such as ships were sent out, “one of the most magnificent operations in history” this is how it was described, which tells us that it was a triumph. The British army were also said to have been advancing to the Germans even though it was dangerous which meant that they had high confidence during the war (morale). This source was written on the front page of the British newspaper, the daily express, 31st may 1940. Which makes this source not as valid as something that was written in 2003, so in conclusion the source doesn’t have the reliability as something else because it isn’t 100% accurate because some things could be made up for not accurate. The fact that this was written by a British newspaper could mean that it is slightly biased because British people want other citizens to think that they had won the war and make the country look good so they must have just written a few white lies. It is also one sided which makes it biased.
The last source that supports Dunkirk was a triumph was source B7, which was written after Winston Churchill was speaking to parliament on June 4th 1940. This source in my opinion isn’t reliable because as soon as i see the date it was written it changes my mind because back then everything wasn’t confirmed and most of the news were lies, and to make it worse it was said by the British prime minister, this is because prime ministers would be upset even if they lost they would have to support their country no matter what so the prime minister said that it was a “miracle” which was biased because it wasn’t. This source supports that Dunkirk was a triumph because it was described as a “miracle” which tells us that it was something that was successful.
Was Dunkirk a defeat?
Source B9 gives the audience the thought that Dunkirk was a defeat as source B9 says that nearly 70,000 men were killed, wounded or taken as prisoner. The survivors left 2500 big guns, 90 000 rifles and 64 vehicles behind them. They also abandoned 150 000 of their French allies to become prisoners of the Germans. This meant that all the allies cared about was escaping which wasn’t the point of war, war was taking place for justice but all they did was run away, they also betrayed the French allies. This source was written by Josh Brooman an author of GCSE books, in a GCSE book (Global war 1999). The fact that it was written by an author makes the source something valid (reliable), this is also written in 1999 near to the year 2000 which boosts the reliability of the source to an extent that the author knows what he is talking about.
Although there are many positive interpretations that Dunkirk was a triumph, there are many sources which say the opposite to this. For example sources, B13, B9 , B10 and B16. Source B9 challenges the interpretation that the Battle of Dunkirk was a triumph because it shows negative facts and figures. “The evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk was a great defeat”- this is written and developed by Josh Brooman, an author of a school history text books for a GCSE book, which was named Global War which is important because he is writing a GCSE text book where he is less likely to publish and develop the book for money purposes . He also could come to the judegment of both sides which in other words is hindsight. In my opinion the validity of this source is very weak because it opposes the interpretation. Josh Brooman would have most likely used sources like B16 which shows Winston Churchill calling Dunkirk the greatest military defeat...”- to reach their view, but this source is not particularly valid because it was published by Germans, which could have altered the facts to make it out as Britain were defeated. In conclusion i think that this interpretation is not 100% valid because it looks like it has been changed by source B16Overall, this interpretation is not valid because it appears to be heavily influenced by source B16, which was radio propaganda broadcasted in 1940 by a defect, which is then taken into account through source B9.
Source B13 is a primary source photograph taken by a French photographer in June 1940. The validity of this source is very weak as it contradicts the interpretation of Dunkirk being a triumph; it shows abandoned tanks and dead bodies. The validity of this source is debateable this is because on the one hand the photographer who is a Frenchman is not biased, due to the fact that Britain and the French were allies yet the photograph shows the reality of the situation, this makes it very reliable. On the other hand however it can also be criticised that the Frenchman was angry that the British soldiers left them abandoned, so they held a “grudge” and took this photograph in vein.
Source B10 is a secondary source which also contradicts the interpretation that the Battle of Dunkirk was a triumph. The author of the source is John Harris, a historian writing about Dunkirk in a book about great military battles, published in 1988. This makes the source important because the author influences the reliability and validity a lot. Due to the fact that a historian it makes it more reliable because he has a benefit of hindsight, which he could make a balanced judgement of whether Dunkirk was a victory or a defeat. The validity of this source is weak. John Harris would probably have used sources like B13 to help reach a view of the battle because it is a primary source and is hard evidence of how weapons, vehicles and people were abandoned. Overall source B10 opposes to the interpretation of the Battle of Dunkirk because it shows negative information. On the other hand it can also be criticised due to the source being biased.
Source B16 is primary source propaganda broadcast which was broadcasted in June 1940 by a traitor of Britain. The author, William Joyce, is very important to know because the source is deeply influenced by the author. In this case William Joyce influenced the opposite of the interpretation made of Dunkirk, in which he undermines the confidence of Britain. The validity and the reliability of this source are very weak in regards to the interpretation because the author who wrote the source is a traitor, this makes him biased towards the Germans side and exaggerate the questions to “undermine the British confidence”. Overall source B16 is neither valid towards the interpretation of Dunkirk nor reliable.
In conclusion my final opinion is that the Battle of Dunkirk was a defeat. This means that I have found the second understanding more convincing that Dunkirk was a defeat rather than a victory. This is due to the evidence of the following sources; B9, B13, B10 and B16. Its strengths include more primary sources then the triumphs, which mean less benefit to hindsight to alter opinions. The two most important sources out of the 16 listed, positive and negative is B9, which is the historian GCSE text book, which could reach a balanced judgment and B3. Source B3 it is also a GCSE text book which shows facts and figures and is very limited to opinions, but is entitled to people who are paid to write about history which is somewhat reliable. The weakest sources from both positive and negative listed is B16, a source which is very biased, based on a traitor who wanted to undermine the British’s confidence making it less reliable. The other weakest source is B5, a newspaper article which has been censored by the government and is only allowed to publish positive information, making it also biased like source B16 and less reliable. However, my conclusion is balanced because I have analysed all 16 sources. Eight negative and eight positive. I cross-referenced the sources, compared which is more reliable, primary or secondary sources? I reached a balanced judgement after outweighing the positive with the negatives, the reliable from the unreliable. The Battle of Dunkirk was a defeat.
