Had it not been for the brave defence by the RAF, who flew around 3,500 sorties in support of Operation Dynamo, losses would have been much heavier and the war might have gone very differently on the Western Front. During the evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk, more than 100 ships were sunk by aerial attacks. The German Luftwaffe was tasked with destroying the Allied forces in the area and managed to inflict heavy damage. An evacuation named Operation Dynamo was decided upon in order to save these troops. During the Battle of France, large numbers of Allied troops were cut off and surrounded by the German army. Its ‘big ships’ – mainly destroyers, minesweepers and requisitioned merchant vessels with naval crews – crossed to Dunkirk time and time again, without rest, and suffered terrible losses.This week, we are looking back at the Battle of Dunkirk, which took place from the 26th of May until the 4th of June in 1940. And the role of the Royal Navy, especially its destroyers, was paramount in the operation. In fact, over two-thirds (239,465) reached safety via the mole, while 98,761 were rescued from the beaches. Many also took troops back across the Channel themselves.īut it’s a common misconception that the little ships evacuated most of the men. By 31 May, hundreds of civilian vessels – from fishing smacks and cockle boats to lifeboats and sailing barges – had answered the Royal Navy’s call for help and crossed the English Channel to Dunkirk.Ĭrewed mainly by volunteers, these tiny vessels bravely and repeatedly picked up soldiers queuing patiently on the beaches and in the water, and ferried them out to the waiting larger ships, under severe attack from German aircraft and artillery. Ramsay and his team quickly realised that small boats would be able to get close to the beach and ferry the troops out to larger ships. The little ships played an important part in the evacuation. What did the ‘Little Ships’ do during the evacuation from Dunkirk?
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