battle of dunkirk
Soldiers at Dunkirk (left), Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain (right)
The French were under the impression that another long, drawn out war will happen. Therefore, they set up a strong defense system between Germany and France; this came to be known as the Maginot Line (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010). While the French were at the Maginot Line, Axis forces were attacking from the side through Belgium and the forest of Ardennes (World History Project, n.d.). The Allies were not expecting this and quickly retreated to an English Channel called Dunkirk. There, the Allied forces were pinned down and unable to escape.
Next, Adolf Hitler made a significant mistake by hesitating on finishing the attack by land or by air. This gave the Allies enough time to assemble an armada of ships to rescue the soldiers stuck at Dunkirk. The British gathered ships, four of them were Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, and headed for Dunkirk. These ships were able to pick up the troops and take them to safety across the English Channel (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during World War II, referred to this rescue mission as “a miracle of deliverance” (1940). This battle provided a morale boost for the Allied armies and provided hope for the soldiers.
Next, Adolf Hitler made a significant mistake by hesitating on finishing the attack by land or by air. This gave the Allies enough time to assemble an armada of ships to rescue the soldiers stuck at Dunkirk. The British gathered ships, four of them were Royal Canadian Navy destroyers, and headed for Dunkirk. These ships were able to pick up the troops and take them to safety across the English Channel (Colyer, Cecillon, Draper & Hoogeveen, 2010).
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain during World War II, referred to this rescue mission as “a miracle of deliverance” (1940). This battle provided a morale boost for the Allied armies and provided hope for the soldiers.
Images from:
http://fineartamerica.com/products/d-day-soldiers-in-a-higgins-boat-war-is-hell-store-poster.html
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/history/ww2.htm
http://www.logomaker.com/blog/2012/11/05/11-quotes-on-small-business-success-from-winston-churchill/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg
http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/cms/1/1-a_eng.asp
http://dave-d.hubpages.com/hub/dunkirk
http://fineartamerica.com/products/d-day-soldiers-in-a-higgins-boat-war-is-hell-store-poster.html
http://gwydir.demon.co.uk/jo/history/ww2.htm
http://www.logomaker.com/blog/2012/11/05/11-quotes-on-small-business-success-from-winston-churchill/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maginot_Line_ln-en.jpg
http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/cms/1/1-a_eng.asp
http://dave-d.hubpages.com/hub/dunkirk