Operation Ariel Operation " Ariel " ( sometimes Operation " Aerial " ) was the name given to the World War II evacuation of Allied forces from ports in western France , from 15 – 25 June 1940 , following the military collapse in the Battle of France against Nazi Germany . It followed Operation " Dynamo " , the evacuation from Dunkirk and Operation " Cycle " , the evacuation from Le Havre , which finished on 13 June . Background . Although Operation " Dynamo " at Dunkirk had evacuated much of the fighting element of the British Expeditionary Force , some combat units from 1st Armoured Division and Beauman Division and more than 150 , 000 support and line - of - communication troops had been cut - off to the south by the German " dash to the sea " . In addition , the 52nd ( Lowland ) Infantry Division and the 1st Canadian Division had been rushed to France to bolster the defence of the west of the country . All these forces became known as the " Second BEF " and General Sir Alan Brooke was returned from England to command them . Upon his arrival on 13 June , he quickly realised that there was no chance of success for them and that the French plan to fall back and make a stand in Brittany was unrealistic . Accordingly , in a telephone call on the evening of 14 June , he was able to persuade the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , that all the British troops in France ought to be disengaged and evacuated . Historian Max Hastings asserts ; " " in that conversation , Brooke saved almost 200 , 000 men from death or captivity " " . Evacuation from Cherbourg and St Malo . The evacuation of 52nd Division from Cherbourg was under the command of Admiral William Milbourne James Commander - in - Chief , Portsmouth . He directed the larger troop and cargo ships to operate from Southampton , smaller coastal ships to use Poole and Dutch schuyt s to work from Weymouth . Most of 52nd Infantry and 1st Armoured Divisions embarked between 15 – 17 June . Beauman Division and Norman Force , which were composite formations , left on the evening of 17 June . The rearguard battalion was evacuted in the afternoon of 18 June ; the first German troops were entering the outskirts of the town as the last ship sailed at 4 pm . 30 , 360 men had been evacuated and taken to Portsmouth . At St Malo , 21 , 474 men , mostly of the 1st Canadian Division , were evacuated on 17 and 18 June . The Canadians suffered six losses during its brief excursion to the Continent , including five missing and one killed . Evacuation from Brest , St Nazaire and La Pallice . The evacuation from the more westerly ports was commanded by Admiral Sir Martin Eric Nasmith , the Commander - in - Chief of the Western Approaches Command based in Devonport . The evacuation from Brest was undertaken by a large flotilla of ships including the troopship s " Arandora Star " , " Otranto " , and " Strathaird " . 28 , 145 British and 4 , 439 Allied personnel , mostly RAF groundcrew , were taken off on 16 and 17 June without any major interference by the Luftwaffe and were landed at Plymouth . Waiting at St Nazaire were a large number of British Army support and logistic units , RAF personnel , Belgian , Czech and Polish troops as well as British civilians . The flotilla sent included the large troopships " Georgic " , " Duchess of York " , " Franconia " , RMS " Lancastria " and " Oronsay " . The " Franconia " was damaged by bombs en route and returned to Plymouth . Most of the larger ships had to anchor in Quiberon Bay because of the difficulty of navigating the narrow channel up the Loire estuary to St Nazaire . During 17 June , troops were ferried out from St Nazaire to the large troopships via destroyers and coasters . The troopships were under orders to embark as many personnel as possible and soon became very crowded . At 2 pm there was an air raid by German bombers and the " Oronsay " was hit by a bomb on the bridge . In a second raid at 3 : 45 , the " Lancastria " was hit by four bombs , which penetrated the hold packed with troops and ruptured the fuel oil tanks . Within 20 minutes the ship heeled over and sank ; although 2 , 447 of those on board were saved , there was a death toll of around 4 , 000 souls ( estimates vary from under 3 , 000 to 5 , 800 ) , the largest loss of life in British maritime history . The last British troops left on the morning of 18 June in two convoys of small merchant ships and headed for Plymouth . Due to faulty intelligence which suggested that the Germans were closer than they actually were , much valuable equipment was left behind . A final mission arrived at St Nazaire on 19 June to evacuate 8 , 000 Polish troops who had been reported to have arrived at the port ; in the event , there were only 2 , 000 . Further south at La Pallice ( the commercial harbour of La Rochelle ) , the senior British naval officer found that no ships had been sent for the British and Polish troops waiting at the port . He therefore requisitioned a number of French merchant ships and left on 18 June . Thereafter , two flotillas of British ships arrived to pick up late arriving Poles ; in all , 10 , 000 British and more than 4 , 000 Polish personnel were rescued from La Pallice . Evacuation from Bordeaux , Le Verdon , Bayonne and St Jean - de - Luz . Evacuation started from Bordeaux on 17 June by Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers and by Allied merchant ships that were still in the harbour . ( Lt Cdr H G Walters ) , a , was made available to Paul Reynaud and the French Government as a venue for discussions with Churchill . After the fall of France , the ship evacuated the remaining British Consulate staff from Bordeaux . British diplomatic staff and the President of Poland and his cabinet were given priority . The remainder were mainly Polish and Czech troops . Evacuation continued at the nearby ports of Le Verdon and Bayonne , assisted by the troopships " Batory " , " Sobieski " ( both Polish ) , " Ettrick " and " Arandora Star " . These ships then moved on to St Jean - de - Luz where the evacuation ended at 2 pm on 25 June , just after the deadline set by the terms of the Armistice . On the final day of the operation , the Canadian destroyer " Fraser " was rammed and sunk by the anti - aircraft cruiser " Calcutta " in the Gironde estuary . Minor evacuations continued from the Mediterranean coast of France until 14 August 1940 . Aftermath . The number of people evacuated from France to Britain during Operation " Ariel " were : In total , 191 , 870 allied soldiers , airmen and civilians . Although much equipment was lost , 310 artillery guns , 2 , 292 vehicles , 1 , 800 tons of stores , 13 light tanks and 9 cruiser tanks were rescued .