Battle of Dunkirk

battle_name=Battle of Dunkirk

Aftermath

In total 338,226 troops were evacuated (220,000 British, 120,000 French, some Belgian and Dutch, and even some German prisoners of war) aboard around more than 900 vessels.

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Until the operation was complete the British prognosis had been gloomy, with Winston Churchill warning the House of Commons to expect "hard and heavy tidings". Subsequently Churchill referred to the outcome as a "miracle" and exhortations to the "Dunkirk spirit" — of triumphing in the face of adversity — are still (occasionally) heard in Britain today. The successful evacuation of so many troops previously thought lost provided a great boost to British morale at a time of disaster. The British press presented the evacuation as a "Disaster Turned To Triumph" so successfully that Churchill had to remind the country, in a speech to the House of Commons on 4 June, that "we must be very careful not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory. Wars are not won by evacuations."

Related Topics:
Winston Churchill - House of Commons - House of Commons - 4 June

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Some of the evacuated troops, both French and British, were shipped straight back to the battle of France via ports in Normandy and Brittany, where most were killed or captured. After the French surrender, a majority of the rescued French troops returned to their homeland, but a few chose to join the Free French and continue to fight. Most of the rescued British troops were assigned to the defence of Britain, but once the threat of invasion declined they were transferred overseas to the Middle East and other theatres. Many served as the core of the much-enlarged army that returned to France in 1944.

Related Topics:
Battle of France - Normandy - Brittany - Free French

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In France, the perceived preference of the British Navy for evacuating British forces at the expense of French forces led to some bitter resentment.

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The St George's Cross flown from the jack staff is known as the Dunkirk jack, and is only flown by civilian ships and boats of all sizes which took part in the Dunkirk rescue operation in 1940.

Related Topics:
St George's Cross - Jack staff

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