Battle of Dunkirk & Evacuation Timeline 1940

German troops invaded Poland. Polish forces fought back but were no match for Hitler’s Blitzkrieg attack.

At 9 am an ultimatum was issued to Germany demanding they withdraw troops from Poland by 11 am. Germany did not comply and Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany beginning World War Two.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were sent to France to help defend against a possible German invasion.

Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in a Blitzkrieg attack.

The BEF crossed the Belgian border and engaged with the German Army Group B.

The German army invaded France moving through the Ardennes Forest and then turned north pushing Allied troops back towards the coast.

Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Britain after Neville Chamberlain resigned. Chamberlain had been facing strong criticism for his handling of the war, particularly his policy of appeasement.

Germany invaded France taking a route through the Ardennes region of Belgium/Luxembourg. The Allies had mistakenly thought that Germany would cross the German French border.

The BEF were forced to retreat when the Germans pushed forward into France.

The Netherlands surrendered to Germany.

Commander of the BEF, General Gort, realised that the best escape for his troops was to be evacuated to Britain across the Channel.

Winston Churchill that all available vessels be made ready to go to Dunkirk. The operation was code-named Operation Dynamo.

Allied armies tried to block the German invasion but were unsuccessful. The BEF, Belgian forces and three French armies were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk.

Churchill sent orders that the BEF should attack German forces to the south and re-join the main French forces. This was code-named the Weygand Plan.

The Weygand Plan was abandoned as its objectives were impossible to achieve.

The German army took Boulogne and surrounded Calais. They decided against an attack on Dunkirk on the grounds that the marshland around the town could result in the loss of tanks, artillery and men needed for the push through France.

Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to attack the stranded troops and make any escape an impossibility.

BEF forces were unable to withstand the attack on Calais and surrendered.

Churchill approved an order for the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk to begin.

The German Luftwaffe began bombing Dunkirk. The Royal Airforce (RAF) were ordered to the Channel to protect the evacuation ships.

The evacuation of troops from the docks at Dunkirk harbour began. The plan was for 45,000 men to be returned to Britain over two days. 7669 men were evacuated on this day and it became clear that the evacuation was slower than anticipated. A call was put out for all owners of seaworthy craft to help in the evacuation.

Belgium surrendered to Germany. The Belgian army had been stationed to the east of Dunkirk. The surrender left this area unprotected.

Following the Belgian surrender, the Luftwaffe were diverted to Ostend and Nieuwpoort. 17804 soldiers were evacuated on this day.

47,310 men were evacuated on this day. The Luftwaffe continued to bomb the beach and the ships. The HMS Grenade, HMS Crested Eagle, SS Lorina, SS Normannia and the SS Fenella were sunk.

Evacuation of men from the docks was becoming increasingly difficult due to the continual Luftwaffe attacks. An attempt to evacuate men from the beach also proved too slow. It was decided to use two stone breakwaters nicknamed east and west moles. This proved a much more efficient way of evacuating the waiting troops. 53,823 men were evacuated on this day, including a number of French soldiers.

68,014 men were rescued from Dunkirk on this day.

64,429 men were rescued from Dunkirk on this day.

The Luftwaffe stepped up their attacks on Dunkirk making daytime evacuations impossible. The 4,000 British rear-guard plus 22,256 French troops were evacuated under the cover of darkness on this day.

26,746 mostly French troops were evacuated under the cover of darkness on this day.

26,175 French troops were evacuated on this last day of Operation Dynamo.

The French rear-guard of around 40,000 surrendered.

France surrendered to Germany.