Dunkirk evacuation

Evacuation of Allied forces in mid-1940

In the Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, more than 338,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk in northern France between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation began after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops (as well as smaller contingents of Dutch and Polish soldiers) were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade.

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