By the end of the lesson you will: Dunkirk: Triumph or disaster? 27th May 1940 What can sources tell you about the nature of the Dunkirk evacuation? ? Links with the changing fortunes of World War Two By the end of the lesson you will: All have sorted the sources in to positive and negative sources Most will have reached a conclusion as to the nature of the evacuation

What does this map tell you about the need for an evacuation in 1940? Source 1 What does this map tell you about the need for an evacuation in 1940?

Evidence suggesting the evacuation was a triumph Evidence suggesting the evacuation was a failure

A headline from the Daily Mirror newspaper, at the time. Source 2 “Bloody marvellous!” A headline from the Daily Mirror newspaper, at the time.

Source 3 A painting by Charles Cundall, who was sent by the British Government to make an official painting of events on the beaches of Dunkirk

[At Dunkirk] a miracle was born. This land of Britain Source 4 [At Dunkirk] a miracle was born. This land of Britain is rich in heroes. She had brave, daring men in her Navy and Air Force as well as in her army. She had heroes in jerseys and sweaters and old rubber boots in all the fishing ports of Britain.That night when the word went round in all the south-east ports of Britain, there was not a man or a boy who knew how to handle a boat who was not prepared to give his own life to save some unknown son of his country who had faced, without flinching,the red hell of Flanders. For almost a week the epic went on. The little ships dodged their way up the waters and hauled over their sides the soldiers who waded waist deep to safety. From a book published in England in July 1940

Source 5 All night and all day men of the undefeated British Expeditionary Force have been coming home. From interviews with the men it is clear they have come back in glory; that their morale is as high as ever, and that they are anxious to be back again “To have a real crack at Jerry” [the Germans]. From the BBC 6 O’clock radio news bulletin on 31st May. This was the first report about Dunkirk.

Source 6 There were lines of men waiting in queues until boats arrived to transport them, a score [20] or so at a time, to the steamers and war ships. The queues stood there fixed and regular, no bunching, no pushing … Stepping over the bodies we marched on to the beach. A horrible stench of blood and mutilated flesh pervaded the place. There was no escape from it. We might have been walking through a slaughter house on a hot day. A first hand account by a gunfighter, published in 1940

Source 10 The evacuation has been over-glamourised. Report of “merciless bombing” and “the hell of Dunkirk” were quite ridiculous. I walked along the beaches on several occasions and never saw a corpse, there was very little shelling. In every unit there are some men who have no stomach for a fight. There were instances of a few men embarking at Dunkirk when their battalions were still fighting near the canal. Written by General Sir Harold E. Franklyn, a divisional commander at Dunkirk, in 1962

Source 12 Before the secret was lifted most of the soldiers left from the beaches, mostly in craft manned by the Royal Navy, or by soldiers themselves. After the secret was lifted, when civilian volunteers began to come forward, 26,500 were rescued from the beaches. The contribution of civilian volunteers to the success of the Dunkirk evacuation was gallant; but it was not important in terms of numbers rescued.

Source 13 Even though the troops have been evacuated from Dunkirk, Hitler had scored a crushing victory. 10,252 Germans had been killed, 42, 523 wounded and 8467 were missing. However, Hitler announced that 1,212,000 Dutch, Belgian, French and British prisoners had been taken. In addition, he said that his armies had captured from the British 2100 field guns, 1250 anti-aircraft guns, 11,000 machine guns and 75,000 vehicles. From a book published in 1972, edited by a senior officer in the British army

Source 15 By 4 June, 338,226 men had been evacuated, two thirds British, the rest French. German pressure on Dunkirk was relentless, but was restrained by brave and fierce resistance by the RAF, which flew 2739 sorties [expeditions against the Germans]. At least Britain had the core of an army left with which to prepare the defence of the UK. From a book published in 1989.

So was the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 a triumph or a disaster? Possible sentence starters : Overall my conclusion is … In some ways the evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940 was a success. The sources show me this where they say ….. This affects my opinion of the evacuation because … The evacuation of Dunkirk happened in 1940 when … In some ways the evacuation of Dunkirk was a failure. The sources make me think this because …. Some sources are more reliable than others. For example …