World War II Dunkirk: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

World War II Dunkirk * * *Download for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free BONUS Inside!* * * Read On Your Computer, MAC, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet. The movie Dunkirk premiered in 2017, decades after the event that turned certain defeat into a military miracle that inspired the people of Great Britain. The epic saga of the ordinary British civilians who sailed across the English Channel to rescue their trapped soldiers while the German military launched its might to prevent the evacuation is a stirring tale. The British government hoped that perhaps the mini-armada would be able to rescue 50,000 troops. But the 861 vessels who responded to their country’s plea brought more than 300,000 soldiers safely home. The film has garnered awards and earned the impressive rank of the highest-grossing World War II film of all time. But even more stirring than cinema is the true story of the events that unfolded in the embattled port of Dunkirk, where, against all odds, the British Army was rescued from Hitler’s forces by a fleet of “Little Ships” determined to bring their boys home. Inside you will read about... ✓ Britannia Rules the Waves ✓ The Phoney War ✓ Defending the Perimeter ✓ The Little Ships ✓ The Dunkirk Spirit And much more! Series World War 2 Battles Book 2

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military History, Military Fiction, Ebooks

106 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 28, 2018

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad writing although there are serious mistakes of fact in more than one place.

Why Hourly History would assign writing or compiling these volumes to ignorant and incapable persons (middle school dropouts?), is a good question.

This volume, moreover, although not as badly written as the one on D-Day, uses the same strategy - of going back far into history, beginning with beginning of English Navy’s formation.

Dunkirk doesn't come until chapter four, and that's only the retreat part.

So anyone looking to read the thrilling bit about the subject - the successful rescue of forces at Dunkirk - can straightaway skip to fifth chapter.
***


"Germany had taken to rearmament with zeal. In 1933, the generals had been told to increase the army to number 300,000 soldiers; the Air Ministry was to build 1,000 warplanes. These plans were undertaken in secrecy, but by 1935, Hitler was no longer concerned with the consequences of his actions, and he publicly announced that the German Luftwaffe had 2,500 warplanes and the Wehrmacht had an army of 300,000. With compulsory conscription, the German Army would number more than half a million."

That's all very well, but the supposedly bankrupt Germany who refused to pay the French reparations agreed upon on the plea that German nbabies were starving to death because Germany couldn't afford feeding them, had to have some finance to be able to do the 1,000 planes and the other military equipment, not to mention paying soldiers - and, of course, the nazi cadre!

One notices thst while Versailles treaty is mentioned in every book or discussion on the topic as cause for rise of nazis, no mention much less discussion ever takes place regarding sources of finances for nazi military build-up.

Who bankrolled the WWII perpetrator? Who financed him?
***

"Adolf Hitler had a long memory. During the years after the ignominious defeat of Germany at the hands of the Allied nations, Hitler had fumed at the manner in which the Treaty of Versailles had curtailed what he regarded as Germany’s sacred destiny. Not only, he vowed, must the past be rewritten so that Germany could restore its future, but those responsible for the defeat must pay. After becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933, he immediately set about orchestrating his nation’s rise. Germany needed land, he declared, and living space, or Lebensraum, became the reason why the military would capture other nations."

That whole paragraph is wrong. First and foremost, lebensraum had nothing to do with WWI and defeat of Germany.

When crusaders from France and England had gone to Jerusalem to war, German crusaders had reasoned that crusading in East Europe was easier, not too far, and much more profitable - and proceeded yo kill everyone in Prussia, taking over the land. There was a Prussian language, completely different from German which died as a consequence.

History of Germany published by Cambridge University Press has this in detail.

And also, to say he had a long memory because he made a fetish and an excuse of Germany whining about reparations for the havoc wreaked by Germany on France, is plain incorrect. Megalomania would be closer to fact. But when he became a member of nazi party, took over leadership or wrote his book in jail, WWI wasn't that old, and he'd fought, so no, it doesn't show a feat of memory.

As for Germany whining about payment, they lied about paucity of funds - there were plenty of German funds to finance unrest in France and it was paid in gold marks, too.

And when nazis fought street gang wars, weapons and ammunition came from monasteries in Germany for the nazis. So Germany had not disarmed, either.

So Germany planning and inflicting WWII on the world was no different from Germany doing WWI, except it was not Keiser Wilhelm or Cousin Willie and his revenge for being denied the top position at royal table at royal occasions in England, but another man just as egoistic, who perpetrated a WWII he'd planned months ahead in detail, even briefed his top generals at a top secret conference before New Year of 1939.

And invasions were executed to date, as far as East Europe went.
***

"Germany’s past plight was the fault, Hitler preached, of the inferior races who had undermined German superiority. The cabal of international Jewry, he claimed, had proven hostile to German economical development. Armed with enough prejudice to blame all of Germany’s prior misfortune on others, Hitler was able to convince the German people that they were entitled to prove the superiority of the Aryan race by decimating the obstacles—human and geographical—in their way."

One, Aarya is a word of Sanskrit and belongs to India. Two, it literally is about inner Enlightenment and is about civilized culture inculcated in breeding. Three, European invaders looted it amongst other things and misused it yo mean race, which it never did. Four, epitome of Aarya is Raama, worshipped universally in India, which proves that Aarya is NOT about physical hues. And most importantly, Germany misusing either the term Aarya or the symbol Swastika after stealing the nomenclature from India, has thrown tar on them, but they don't belong to Germany or mean what Germany forced on them falsely.

To identify those words with German or European connotations falsely associated with them is racism.

And blaming German defeat or anything else on jews was fraudulent.

That was just racism, always ready just below surface if not out in open, in Germany and most of Europe. And the further developments attest to what German people are capable of when told it was their duty.

Was inquisition any different? If people were aghast at others being burnt at stake, no pope could have perpetrated it.
***


"As soon as he became the leader of Germany, Hitler covertly worked to defy the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In truth, the Germans had already been disregarding the Treaty for some time as they built their military strength, but under Hitler, the practice became a crusade. By 1936, he had claimed the Rhineland and Austria’s Sudetenland. Germany’s living space was undergoing expansion at the expense of the boundaries of other nations."

Obviously mistakes galore there.

Sudetenland was renamed part of, not Austria but Czechoslovakia. Austria had been claimed as a whole, and renamed Oesterreich, literally Eastern Kingdom or Eastern State.

And "Germany’s living space was undergoing expansion at the expense of the" other nations, not "boundaries of other nations".
***

"Aware that militarism was casting a long shadow over the continents, the world powers chose to ignore the darkness. World War I’s legacy was still recent memory, and the world was consumed by an economic crisis, the Great Depression, which dominated the stage. As Germany, Japan, and Italy sharpened their swords and set their sights on conquest, they quickly realized that Great Britain, France, and the United States would do nothing."

Again, nothing "quickly" there. League of Nations did argue about Italy inflicting war on Abyssinnia - since renamed Ethiopia - but lacked teeth. Between France doing nothing about Rhineland and England giving away Czechoslovakia there were a few years when Axis nations of Europe proceeded with caution and uncertainty. Munich took a lot of wily drama by the guy who fooled sincere and elderly Neville Chamberlain.
***

"In fairness, the Allies were dealing not only with the economic plague that had increased unemployment at home and diminished productivity, but for the French and British, their colonial possessions were also becoming restless. The French and British flags flew over countries that did not necessarily want to be French or British colonies. Communism, fascism, and Nazism were on the rise, but for the Old World leaders, democracy was not, at that point, a rallying cry. These nations had become empires because they had the superior military forces and they wore their colonial acquisitions as part of their heritage. They had emerged from the nineteenth century as the masters over other peoples, and they had no intention of surrendering their power. Convinced that their colonies benefitted because the dominant nations had taken up what Kipling called “the white man’s burden,” Europe’s masters turned a blind eye to the fact that the people living under the British and French flags did not have the rights and privileges of the people who lived in England and France."

In short the empires were thugs, looters and slavers in everything but name.
***

"Poland could not afford to be so self-confident. On March 31, 1939, the Poles forged a military alliance with the British and French in order to safeguard their independence and their borders. Germany wanted Danzig, and many ethnic Germans living in the city favored annexation. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain held the forlorn hope that if Hitler had Danzig, he would leave the rest of Europe alone. When he met with Hitler in Munich after the German annexation of the Sudetenland, Chamberlain’s announcement that peace had been achieved was not as naive as it seemed. Chamberlain knew that his nation was not yet ready for war; peace meant buying time for Great Britain to catch up with German military strides."

He was the hero in England for the moment, people in tears cheering him in streets as much as in parliament.

"Then, on September 3, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The week before, Germany and the Soviet Union had signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which set the stage for Poland to be served on the menu for the two nations who, although not allies, had mutual interests, one of which was the acquisition of land. By October 6, the Germans and Russians had achieved their ends and had divided Poland between them. Although France and Great Britain declared war against Germany on September 3, they did not retaliate against the Soviet Union for its invasion of Poland."

They couldn't, at that moment. But war had been declared, and although French leaders capitulated fast when invaded, neither French people nor England did.

Without England standing up to nazi onslaught, world civilisation wouldn't have stood. Without French Resistance, allies couldn't have won as easily. Without Russia fighting with grim determination despite being literally butchered - 20 million including millions of civilians burnt alive in whole villages through Belarus and east thereof upto Moscow - Europe wouldn't have regained freedom except with far more annihilation.
***


"“The battlefield disappeared, and with it, the illusion that there had ever been a battlefield. For this was no war of occupation, but a war of quick penetration and obliteration.”

"—Time Magazine"
***

"“Without Dunkirk, Britain doesn't have an army and it’s extremely questionable whether Britain could have fought the war.”

"— Second World War historian Nick Hewitt"

Perhaps not much after D-Day, but until then British role was stoic standing up to blitz, refusing to surrender and fighting off Luftwaffe, last of which was mostly RAF.

It was the spirit that counted, at Dunkirk and until D-Day.
***

"On May 25, the British War Office reached the decision to evacuate its forces. Ultimately, nearly 340,000 British, French, Polish, and Belgian troops would be rescued by 861 vessels. Most of those vessels were captained by the men who owned them. But not all. Agents of the Ministry of Shipping searched along the Thames for vessels that could be used for the rescue and placed naval crews on board to sail them. Of those 861 vessels, 243 ultimately sank. Fighter Command would lose 106 aircraft, and the Luftwaffe would lose 135, some of them shot down by the navies of France and Great Britain.

"The Navy was present at Dunkirk, but because the beach was so shallow, the big ships couldn’t reach the soldiers who were waiting to be rescued.

"The British public learned that its army was being evacuated from Dunkirk and that citizens with boats were needed to save the troops. In response came yachts, fishing boats, motorboats, barges, ferries, sloops, and other vessels, ready to venture forth from the Thames River and the ports along the English Channel. Some of the ships came from the Isle of Man and Glasgow to participate in the rescue. The small vessels were guided by naval craft from the Thames Estuary and Dover. Their size made it possible for them to move closer as they shuttled back and forth from the bigger vessels, picking up the soldiers who were lined up, some of them waiting for hours, in the water, some of them in water up to their shoulders.
***

"The “Little Ships” might have been manned by civilians, but the German military didn’t distinguish between professionals and amateurs as it sent artillery, bombers, and fighter planes to attack. For the fishermen, longshoremen, cab drivers and yachtsmen, bankers, dentists, youths, engineers, and civil servants who were manning the boats, often only one man in a boat and never more than two, the enterprise was carried out beneath a sky illuminated by the flames over Dunkirk. The background of the sky remained red as the city burned. With no water to put out the fires and no men who could be scared to fight them, the flames blazed on.

"It was the light of the battle that helped the ships to steer and distinguish the ships that had loaded up with soldiers and were heading back to England. The light from the flames also made it easier to spot the shadows that were the motor torpedo boats of the Germans. As they got nearer to the port, the noise of the firing and bombing increased. One of the rescuers described the flames: “From a glow they rose up to enormous plumes of fire that roared high into the everlasting pall of smoke.” When an attack was in progress, the sky was bright with the bombs. The beach was crowded with men waiting to board the ships, but the thick clouds of smoke helped to conceal them from the German aircraft overhead.
***

"For the smaller boats, the peril of the voyage was increased when the destroyers went by, as the wash from their passage forced the small ships to try to head into the waves and hope for the best.

"One rescuer described the scene. “The picture will always remain sharp-etched in my memory . . . the lines of men wearily and sleepily staggering across the beach from the dunes to the shallows, falling into little boats . . . The foremost ranks were shoulder deep, moving forward under the command of young subalterns, themselves with their heads just above the little waves that rode in to the sand. As the front ranks were dragged aboard the boats, the rear ranks moved up, from ankle deep to knee deep, from knee deep to waist deep, until they, too, came to shoulder depth and their turn. I will remember, too, the astonishing discipline of the men. They had fought through three weeks of retreat, always falling back without orders, often without support. Transport had failed. They had gone sleepless. They had been without food and water. Yet they kept ranks as they came down the beaches, and they obeyed commands.”
***


"When it began on May 27, the hope was that Operation Dynamo would rescue at the most 50,000 troops. But this makeshift fleet of British civilians, known as the “Little Ships” ended up rescuing 340,000 British, French, and Belgian troops from Dunkirk by June 4, when the evacuation ended.

"The British were quick to see the evacuation as a triumph and the will of God. The Dean of St. Paul’s described the evacuation as “the miracle of Dunkirk.” The Archbishop of Canterbury had announced the Day of National Prayer which was regarded as proof that God had intervened in the form of calm waters which aided the rescuers and the mist which obstructed the German bombers from hitting more targets. The evacuation was seen in terms of the efforts of the ships that had taken the soldiers from Dunkirk back to Great Britain, but the Royal Air Force was also at work in the effort.
***


"Standing alone, its military resources depleted, Great Britain could hardly have been in worse shape for what was next. On July 16, Hitler outlined a plan for the invasion of Great Britain, an amphibious assault which depended upon the Luftwaffe gaining control of the air in order to nullify the strength of the British Navy. Göring, who had predicted that his Luftwaffe would easily defeat the British at Dunkirk, developed a plan for German aircraft to destroy the British Air Force so that the invasion could take place.

"Pragmatic Winston Churchill reminded his nation that wars are not won by evacuations. “We must be very careful,” he said in a speech before the House of Commons, “not to assign to this deliverance the attributes of a victory.” But, he went on, there had been a victory inside the deliverance, and that victory was gained by the air force.

"Aware that Hitler planned to invade Great Britain, Churchill’s scorn was stirring. “We are told that Herr Hitler has a plan for invading the British Isles. This has often been thought of before . . . We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”
***

"In 2015, veterans of the Dunkirk evacuation gathered to commemorate the 75 th anniversary of the miracle. A 94-year-old veteran recalled that period when he was a young soldier who had to march 120 miles to the beach where he found a rowboat that delivered him to a naval ship. He said: “I didn’t come here because I was feeling I had to come because of myself, it was for the chaps that I was with. It was fate. I don’t know how I escaped. It was a miracle, and today I really don’t believe I am here.”

" ... “Prior to Dunkirk, Britain remained a divided nation. Many Britons were unsure what to make of the Phoney War or ‘Sitzkrieg’ that endured from the fall of Warsaw in September 1939 until the invasion of France and the Low Countries in May of 1940. Dunkirk brought Britain together in much the same way that Pearl Harbor brought Americans together.” ... Although it’s the job of the military to protect the civilian population, the evacuation of Dunkirk spurred the ordinary people of Great Britain to risk danger in order to rescue their soldiers. ... "
***

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that this was my least favorite book by Hourly History, so far. Though I really appreciate the reading the history surrounding (before and after) the event-- little about Dunkirk and the rescues (evacuations) is revealed here. I know Hourly History tries to stick with facts and avoids emotional involvement but I wish that some individual stories had been included. At the very least more details regarding the timeline of the 'miracle of Dunkirk' that led to the 'Dunkirk-spirit' that helped many persevere through the difficult years of recovery after the war.

[Terri's Dangerous When Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a number of these 'One Hour Histories." Some I like and some not so much. This one is a keeper.
Quote:
"The British war office sent out notice to the British public that seafaring vessels were needed to rescue soldiers. And the Brits responded, crossing the English Channel in everything from ferries to fishing boats to yachts as the skies over Dunkirk were alight with flames from the bombing. While the Luftwaffe attacked from the skies, the "Little Ships" made their way to the beaches, picking up troops patiently waiting in water up to their shoulders. The War Office hoped that the civilian fleet would be able to rescue 50,000 soldiers, but in a heroic feat of daring and endurance, over 300,000 troops were brought safely to British shores."

[Timothy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I am not much of a history buff, I really appreciate the brief books by Hourly History. Although I had heard of the event, I didn't see how there was interest in the movie Dunkirk. A movie about a poorly planned retreat seemed ludicrous.
I didn't realize the event was much more than that. It is about over 6 times as many as expected soldiers being saved. It is about how thousands of civilians used their own boats to help return those soldiers to Britain because the beach didn't allow the large naval vessels to get close enough to work. It is about the spirit of unity that great nations feel when they are fighting to survive.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent

For a short book it details the events at Dunkirk very well. As someone with a military background, who has visited Dunkirk, this book was very well written and captures the scene brilliantly.

Starting from how the BEF, France and Belgium actually ended up in Dunkirk and then through the evacuation and beyond. Well worth a read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

World War II Dunkirk: A History From Beginning to End

The history of Dunkirk was relatively unknown to me other than it was an evacuation during World War II. This short book was written with the information needed to inform a reader with facts, no heroes, no dialogue, no photographs. It was excellent!

[Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Their Memory Survives

Well written, a good read, but essentially World War II Dunkirk offers an overview. The author fails to capture the humanity of the heroics of this moment in history. And perhaps this is all the author intended. But thank God that the British, French, Belgic and Poles who were there intended so much more. Slighted perhaps, but their memory lives on.

[Bruce K. Beyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indomitable Spirit

This book nicely summarizes the events leading up to the evacuation of Allied forces at Dunkirk in the early days of WWII. The participation of so many civilian vessels helped assure this miraculous outcome, allowing Great Britain time to recover and, ultimately, help defeat Nazi Germany.

[Yazir Paredes · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know this is a short book that woauld not cover to much detail but, there are very important errors and generalizations that make the book miss its marks. Hourly History generraly has good books the serve as entry points to different subjects, but this one is not one of them.

[Don Bartolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

WwII. dunkirk

This is a very well written synopsis
Of the military retreat to Dunkirk to escape from the advancing German army and aircraft. It reveals just how chaotic the retreat was and how close they (allies) came to not making it. Well written.

[coli james campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Britain

What a great book 🤣 this man has done his homework I have never read sutch a book he clearly know how to put pen to paper there was a lot I did not know I cannot speak to highly of him he has done us proud thank you hope to read more of his books

[Matthew Ewoldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows that the events surrounding the evacuation of British and French troops through Dunkirk can inspire any generation faced with a ruthless and powerful enemy.

[Martyn Waite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Great read told the story well don't know why there has to so many words to be able leave a review

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Really enjoyed the book and used “google earth “ to get a better perspective on the location of cities mentioned.

[George Polansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of WWII Dunkirk.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good account of the "Miracle at Dunkirk." I learned many new things about how the British managed to stave off disaster and rescue 350,000 troops.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great little book, interestingly written, due to the size it is obviously NOT exhaustive but it is succinct and somewhat satisfying. I plan to read all 12 volumes in the series.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very concise retelling of the miracle of Dunkirk. Where ordinary men did the extraordinary and helped save a country.