I'm standing on the beaches of Dunkirk,
a port on the northern coast of France.
Nearly 80 years ago,
thousands upon thousands of servicemen
from the British Expeditionary Force,
alongside French and Belgian Allied troops,
stood on these sands,
staring out into the English Channel,
waiting to be brought to safety in England.
Surrounded by German Panzers
and terrorized by the Luftwaffe above,
their only hope would come by sea.
Join me as Wargaming takes a look back to remember Dunkirk
and the events leading to the evacuation.
September 1st, 1939
Germany successfully invades Poland,
prompting England and France
to declare war on Germany two days later.
The annexing of Poland,
comprised of tanks, warplanes, and warships,
marks the beginning of World War II
as we know it in the West.
May 10th, 1940
Germany invades at dawn,
deploying all of its forces against France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
But France has the Maginot Line,
a line of fortifications standing against the borders of Switzerland, Germany, and Luxembourg,
designed to deter a German invasion such as this.
French soldiers position themselves along their Maginot Line,
while the British Expeditionary Forces, the BEF,
and the rest of the French Allied soldiers
deploy themselves against the Belgium and Luxembourg borders.
Because Belgium is neutral,
the Allies cannot enter Belgium and prepare a defensive position.
Germany brings westward Army Group B,
comprised of thousands of armored vehicles,
while more than a thousand bombers, dive-bombers, and fighters
fire upon the airfields of the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France.
Nearly three hours after their being attacked,
Belgium permits the British and French to enter the country.
Within the day, most of the Dutch air force is destroyed,
and Luxembourg is conquered.
Meanwhile, a flaw in the Maginot Line is exploited:
because the French believe that the Ardennes forest is impenetrable,
the area is only lightly fortified.
Germany's Army Group A,
made up of 41,000 vehicles,
including Panzers, armored cars, self-propelled guns and more,
pass through Luxembourg and into the forest.
Germany crosses the Meuse River, and by May 15th,
captures Sedan and heads west,
flanking the entire allied army.
On this day, the Netherlands surrender to Germany.
With the Allies surrounded by German forces,
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill activates a plan to evacuate the soldiers from the northern coast of France,
code name: Operation Dynamo.
Though there are hundreds of thousands of servicemen in France,
it is believed that only 45,000 troops, at best, can be evacuated.
May 22nd
To ensure that nobody will escape,
Germany attacks the coastal towns of Boulogne and Calais with their Panzers.
But there's another port that evades the Germans' attention:
Dunkirk.
Thousands of Allied soldiers march towards the coast in the hope of a miracle.
As they march, the German Stuka dive-bombers attack the soldiers below.
Nevertheless, the survivors endeavor their way to Dunkirk.
May 27th
Operation Dynamo commences.
A handful of supply ships, ferries, and small passenger vessels set sail for Dunkirk.
However, embarking on the boats proves challenging;
the waters of Dunkirk are too shallow to allow larger vessels.
To protect the port, the British and French troops establish a strong perimeter.
These defenses hold back the Panzers by land.
But by air, the Luftwaffe attack, reigning terror from above.
The Royal Air Force launches its own fighters to protect the ships and the soldiers.
The German and British warplanes have vicious dog fights above.
By the end of the day, only 7,669 troops are evacuated.
May 28th
The dogfights continue, until, at last,
some gathering clouds above provide cover for the Allies below.
The planes cannot fly, and they cannot attack.
For the troops on the beaches of Dunkirk,
this is a welcome moment of relief.
In the East, the Belgians are still holding back much of German Army Group B.
Until, on this day, Belgium officially surrenders to Germany.
Without a Belgian defense,
Army Group B has nothing to stop them from attacking Dunkirk.
From every direction, the Germans pour into the northern coast.
At Dunkirk, the Allies devise a new plan to ensure a more efficient evacuation.
The soldiers will embark atop the eastern breakwater,
otherwise known as the Eastern Mole, stretching out nearly a mile.
The water alongside the mole is deep enough for several destroyers to dock.
Dozens of ships, including destroyers, minesweepers, lifeboats, and more, evacuate 17,804 men.
The breakwater evacuation proved successful.
But watching the evacuated ships sink into the waters
quickly dashes any hopes of crossing the English Channel.
May 29th
German Stukas and Luftwaffe continue their attacks,
sinking destroyers, personnel ships, and other boats,
each with hundreds of evacuees on them.
They attempt to attack the mole,
but do little to no damage on the breakwater itself.
In spite of Germany's efforts to deter the evacuation,
47,310 men are saved.
May 30th
German pressure eases once again,
with cloudy skies preventing the Luftwaffe from attacking
and many of the Panzer divisions ordered south to conquer the rest of France,
in what is known as Germany's "Operation Red."
53,823 soldiers are brought to England.
Still, nearly 200,000 troops remain hopelessly stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk.
May 31st
With the most powerful German Stukas now fighting in the South,
the attacks leave little damage on this day.
Meanwhile, the citizens of England gather together
more than 100 civilian boats of every shape and size at Ramsgate,
determined to save as many men as possible.
Together, they make up the "Little Ships of Dunkirk"
and set sail in a flotilla.
Some civilians are attacked.
Some civilians sink.
Most continue courageously.
Because of the Little Ships, the citizens contribute to the most successful day of Operation Dynamo,
evacuating 68,014 men.
June 1st
Recognizing that the BEF are escaping successfully,
the Germans order the Luftwaffe to return to Dunkirk and stop them.
Hundreds of Stukas and bomber sorties shoot down English fighters and sink ships.
By land, German artillery fires upon the perimeter of Dunkirk,
now being defended largely by French soldiers.
Despite the attacks, 62,429 troops are saved.
June 2nd
The bombing of warplanes and strafing by tanks continue,
and 26,256 soldiers are saved.
On June 3rd, 26,746 more.
And on June 4th, during an overnight evacuation,
26,175 troops are evacuated.
Operation Dynamo,
estimated to save a maximum of 45,000 soldiers,
saves more than 338,000 men.
A significant portion of the British army's fighting force were represented by the BEF.
The rescued personnel would go on to form the core of the rebuilt army which would carry on the fight.
Had they not been evacuated,
it was feared that Germany could have invaded and even defeated England.
The evacuation at Dunkirk,
otherwise known as "The Miracle of Dunkirk,"
remains a remarkable turning point in World War II history.
By land, by sea, by air,
several nations battled over the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
The miracle of Dunkirk is that in spite of all these odds,
these soldiers lived.