I'm standing at the White Cliffs of Dover,
a stretch of steep rock face along the coastline of England,
overlooking the English Channel.
During the evacuation of Allied troops in World War II,
soldiers crowded along the beaches of Dunkirk and peered out across the waters,
hoping they would make it to these cliffs, the gateway to England safe and sound.
With the German tanks closing in by land, and warplanes dive bombing by air,
it was only by sea that the Allies stood any chance of survival.
Join me as Wargaming takes a look back to remember Dunkirk
and the warships, ferries, passenger boats, and little ships
that served as vessels of hope during the evacuation.
May 19th, 1940.
Planning begins on this day for a larger evacuation
of Allied troops from the ports on the northern coast of France,
codename: Operation Dynamo.
Three English Channel ports in Boulogne, Calais, and Dunkirk
are chosen as potential points of embarkation.
Allied forces begin to construct a list of all the vessels that can evacuate the troops from Dunkirk.
May 22nd.
Two German tank divisions deploy towards the ports of Boulogne and Calais
to seize the English Channel ports.
Within the day, one tank division reaches Boulogne.
By May 23rd, the other reaches Calais.
Within the next few days,
the Battle of Boulogne and the Siege of Calais end,
leaving the English ports in the hands of the German army.
There is only one place left to evacuate: Dunkirk.
May 26th.
Operation Dynamo begins.
A handful of supply ships, ferries, coastal craft, and passenger vessels
move across the English Channel to save the few men who have made it to the seaside.
From above, the Luftwaffe dive bomb and attack the boats.
Some sink. Some endeavor.
For the ships that do make it across the English Channel, Dunkirk's coastal waters are too shallow.
Only a small number of boats are able to move close enough to evacuate the men.
New routes and embarkation points will be necessary to evacuate the troops.
May 27th.
New ship routes are assessed.
Shallow waters and sandbars considered,
Route Z, the shortest route, runs 39 miles,
but skirts close enough along the French coast to be within range of the German land forces in Calais.
The 55 mile Route X runs through German minefields.
Route Y, an 87 mile journey, avoids mines,
but it is in the water long enough to be exposed to the Luftwaffe and to German submarines.
Two minesweepers and a destroyer with minesweeping capabilities
deploy along Route X with a lighthouse tender ship placing buoys to mark safe passage.
Later, another pair of minesweepers, two personnel ships, three destroyers,
and the C-Class cruiser, HMS Calcutta, deploy along that same path safely.
Along Route Y, six small warships move along.
Route Z, considered too dangerous, is abandoned altogether.
On this day, 7,669 men are evacuated from destroyers, as well as personnel and hospital ships.
May 28th.
To ensure a more efficient evacuation, the BEF redirect all evacuations to the eastern breakwater.
The steamer, Queen of the Channel, is ordered to pull alongside the eastern breakwater, which it does.
950 soldiers embark.
Shortly after, a German bomber attacks the steamer, sinking the ship,
but not before all of the troops and the crew are able to transfer to another ship successfully.
All rescue ships are redirected away from the beaches of Dunkirk and towards the breakwater.
On average, 540 men are evacuated by hour.
One W-class destroyer warship, the HMS Wakeful,
full of hundreds of evacuated men, is sunk in the late evening by a German torpedo boat.
On this day, 18 destroyers, 12 minesweepers, 18 barges,
7 personnel ships, and 3 hospital carriers pull soldiers off the breakwater.
An additional number of ships continue to evacuate men from the beaches.
17,804 troops are rescued.
May 29th.
The G-class destroyer, HMS Sabre, successfully makes three round trips, saving more than 1,400 men.
Other destroyers and smaller boats don't fare as well.
German submarines sink a destroyer, the HMS Grafton, in the early hours of the morning.
Despite four hours of assaults from the sky, on this day, 47,310 men are successfully evacuated.
May 30th.
Germany begins a new operation in the South of France, which demands the usage of their strongest Stukas.
New deployment of the fiercest German Luftwaffe and cloudy weather prevents all attacks on Dunkirk this day.
Altogether, 53,823 soldiers are saved.
May 31st.
More than 100 civilian boats sail along Route X to Dunkirk.
This armada, known today as the "Little Ships," are successful in saving a number of Allies.
Between their efforts and the work of the other ships, 68,014 men are evacuated,
making this the most successful day of Operation Dynamo.
June 1st.
The German army sends five successful raids with hundreds of warplanes,
destroying a number of British warplanes and sinking 17 ships, including two destroyers.
Relief comes later in the afternoon with a number of dark clouds that cover the sky.
In spite of the vicious attacks, 62,429 troops are evacuated.
June 2nd.
In fear of the daily attacks, all evacuations are ordered to occur only at night.
Shortly after the first light arrives around 3 a.m.,
the Luftwaffe return and attack the three ships still out on the water.
After a few tense days of evacuations, the last of the rescue ships,
the Shikari, returns home to the gates of England.
Altogether, 338,226 soldiers are saved and thus retires Operation Dynamo.
More than 800 allied vessels sailed together across the English Channel,
despite the risk of mines, torpedoes, dive bombs, and strafe attacks,
endeavoring to save the lives of the British Expeditionary Force
and French and Belgian troops from the beaches of Dunkirk.
The cruiser, the destroyers, the ferries, the minesweepers, the little ships.
Were it not for their bravery and the brilliant strategies that went into planning the evacuation,
it's likely the German army would have closed in.
By sea, several nations clashed to control the waters.
From the Siege of Calais to when Shikari returned to the White Cliffs.
To remember Dunkirk is to remember the hope that came in the form of a vessel,
civilian boat and warship alike,
bringing the unexpected miracle of Dunkirk.