While nearly 40 Royal Navy destroyers carried the bulk of the troops, over 800 small civilian vessels —including fishing boats, yachts, and ferries—helped ferry soldiers from shallow beaches to larger ships or directly back to England.
It was reportedly named after the room at Dover Castle that contained the building’s electric dynamo . Dunkirk 1940: Operation Dynamo
The operation was launched after German "Blitzkrieg" tactics trapped the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and elements of the French and Belgian armies against the English Channel. While nearly 40 Royal Navy destroyers carried the
, often referred to as the "Miracle of Dunkirk," was the massive naval evacuation of over 338,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France, between May 26 and June 4, 1940 . Key Overview , often referred to as the "Miracle of
Churchill and his advisors originally hoped to save only 20,000 to 30,000 men . The Rescue Effort
Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay directed the mission from naval headquarters beneath Dover Castle .
Although the mission saved the core of the British Army, it was a major military defeat. The Allies abandoned nearly all their heavy equipment, including over and 2,400 field guns . In his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, Winston Churchill cautioned the public that "wars are not won by evacuations," but the successful rescue created a "Dunkirk Spirit" that galvanized British morale. Dunkirk Evacuation World War 2 - What You Need To Know