Battle of Dunkirk

The Battle of Dunkirk (French: Bataille de Dunkerque; also known as Operation Dynamo) was a major battle in Dunkirk, France during World War II. It lasted from the 26 May until 4 June 1940.   

 Battle 
The Allied forces were split into two by a German armoured advance to the Channel coast at Calais. The British and French commanders had been taken by surprise at the speed of the advance. The northern part of the army was surrounded In Dunkirk, France, a port on the English Channel. There they made a perimeter and waited for an evacuation.  

 Evacuation 
See the main page: Dunkirk evacuation

In the Dunkirk evacuation, over 900 small British ships rescued around 340,000 British, French, and Belgian soldiers from the beaches between 26 May 1940 and 4 June 1940. This was most of the British and about half of the French soldiers who fought in the battle. About 40,000 troops, mostly French, had to stay behind to keep the Germans away during the evacuation.  

Many of the evacuated French troops landed elsewhere and continued the Battle of France. 

 Related pages 

 Dunkirk evacuation
 World War II
 Allies of World War II

References

 Other websites 
 WW2DB: Invasion of ''France and the Low Countries

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Category:1940 events
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Category:May 1940 events
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