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Dunkirk evacuation
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Dunkirk evacuation Learn more about the evacuation from Dunkirk to England during World War II Battle of France
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Dunkirk evacuation: Facts & Related Content

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Facts

Also Known As Operation Dynamo
Date May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940
Location Dunkirk • France
Participants British Expeditionary Force • Allied powers
Context World War II

Did You Know?

  • During the evacuation, 126 civilian sailors were killed.
  • The Luftwaffe bombed the beach throughout the evacuation, significantly slowing down the process.
  • More than 930 ships took part in the evacuation.
  • Dunkirk has been the site of many European battles because of its location near the sea.

Photos and Videos

Dunkirk evacuation
Learn more about the evacuation from Dunkirk to England during World War II
Battle of France
World War II
Heinz Guderian
Reichenau, Walther von
Dunkirk evacuation
Dunkirk evacuation
Dunkirk evacuation
How the halt command saved British troops in Dunkirk
Learn how Nazi panzers wedged between French and British troops and trapped the latter at Dunkirk
See All Videos and Images →

Related Topics and References

Topics
Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Timeline

Samuel Bak: Smoke
Holocaust
1933 - 1945
Invasion of Poland
Invasion of Poland
September 1, 1939 - October 5, 1939
Learn how the Third Reich utilized U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic to destroy Allied supply convoys
Battle of the Atlantic
September 3, 1939 - May 8, 1945
Dunkirk evacuation
Dunkirk evacuation
May 26, 1940 - June 4, 1940
North Africa campaigns of World War II
North Africa campaigns
June 1940 - May 13, 1943
the Blitz
Battle of Britain
July 1940 - September 1940
Vichy: Battle of France
Vichy France
July 1940 - September 1944
German bombing of London during the Blitz
the Blitz
September 7, 1940 - May 11, 1941
aftermath of the Battle of Crete
Battle of Crete
May 20, 1941 - June 1, 1941
German soldiers during Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
June 22, 1941
German troops at the Battle of Moscow, 1941–1942
Battle of Moscow
September 30, 1941 - January 7, 1942
Pearl Harbor attack
Pearl Harbor attack
December 7, 1941
Wake Island
Battle of Wake Island
December 8, 1941 - December 23, 1941
U.S. troops advancing on Tarawa, Gilbert Islands, in 1943
Pacific War
December 8, 1941 - September 2, 1945
Bataan Death March
Bataan Death March
April 9, 1942
eastern New Guinea, from the 10th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, c. 1902
Kokoda Track Campaign
July 1942 - January 1943
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
August 22, 1942 - February 2, 1943
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
April 19, 1943 - May 16, 1943
Allied decoy tank
Operation Fortitude
1944
Normandy Invasion
Normandy Invasion
June 6, 1944 - July 9, 1944
U.S. Marines on Saipan, Mariana Islands, 1944
Battle of Saipan
June 15, 1944 - July 9, 1944
Operation Bagration
June 23, 1944 - August 19, 1944
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia
Cowra breakout
August 5, 1944
Operation Market Garden
September 17, 1944 - September 27, 1944
Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944 - January 16, 1945
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
February 4, 1945 - February 11, 1945
Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945
Battle for Castle Itter
May 5, 1945
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 6, 1945 - August 9, 1945

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
British soldiers captured by the Germans marching up a hill, June 1940, Dunkirk, France. (World War II, prisoners of war)
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Germany invades Poland, September 1, 1939, using 45 German divisions and aerial attack. By September 20, only Warsaw held out, but final surrender came on September 29.
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U.S. marines raising the American flag over Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, in February 1945
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Louis IX of France (St. Louis), stained glass window of Louis IX during the Crusades. (Unknown location.)
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