Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture

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Superbly written and drawn from richly original sources, Dünkirchen 1940 throws new light on what the British tend to regard as an heroic humiliation but for the Germans was a victorious sideshow. The sheer quantities is mind blowing and from reading this book you could argue that the men and women doing this side of the war are just as important as those having to do the fighting. On the second day they find a German convoy of captured Allied vehicles and tag themselves onto the end. Please note this is different to a voucher code or discount code as they are to be used when checking out.

Longden’s book sheds light on their harrowing experiences, their capture, and their subsequent struggles as prisoners of war. As Colonel-in-Chief of The Royal Lancers and the daughter of a 12th Royal Lancer, I am enormously proud of the Regiment’s long and illustrious history.Nearly 70 years have passed since October 1944 when Dick McCreery became the third and final Commander of the legendary Eighth Army in Italy – in succession to Monty and Oliver Leese. In May 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, beaten back by Hitler’s blitzkrieg, retreated to Dunkirk. In Sean Longden [the POWs] have found a sensitive and capable chronicler, and his sensitive book cannot fail to elicit sympathy for their suffering and admiration for their sacrifice. Then, when you are expecting racist antagonism from all quarters, you read of kind, humane characters who accept the Indian soldiers as equals and who treat them with great respect.

Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). In 1940, the Allies had been beaten back by the Nazis across France to the northern port of Dunkirk. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. In May 1940, the remnants of the French and British armies, broken by Hitler’s blitzkrieg, retreated to Dunkirk. What the historian, Walter Lord refers to in his classic study, THE MIRACLE OF DUNKIRK is a series of crises that allowed many components of British society to take part in the rescue of these men.If you don't know the name Lightoller you should (you would have if you had read Lord's A Night to Remember), as Lightoller was the 2nd officer aboard the Titanic, the only officer to keep his head and save a bunch of people. There are no direct links or sources indicated, however, making me initially question the accuracy of many of the descriptions and anecdotes. Based on interviews with hundreds of survivors and told by “a master narrator,” The Miracle of Dunkirk is a striking history of a week when the outcome of World War II hung in the balance (Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

He is content to let you know that the British army is trapped, and gets right into the business of showing you how they got un-trapped. Lord is not a cheerleader and doesn’t indulge (for the most part) in the romances of this great escape. As supreme military commander, Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium, but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk – the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape – they came to a shuddering stop. Lord also does a marvelous job detailing the intricate and frosty relationship between England and France, especially as the Germans began to turn their attention away from Dunkirk and moved their panzer divisions to conquer Paris. A German doctor amputated his arm and he was sent to the south of Vichy France, where prisoners only had to report in to the authorities once a week.Instead, as Lord makes clear, it was the mole – the long, narrow pier jutting into the channel – that allowed so many men to be evacuated. However, whilst previous books have focussed on the miraculous escape of over 300,000 men across the English channel, this book switches the attention to the 40,000 British soldiers who did not escape. For Lord, this is spiritless, unimaginative writing--and that's what finally makes the book routine. It was an opportunity for ordinary citizens to feel they had made a direct contribution to the war effort. In a world where the echoes of Dunkirk still resonate, I hope you enjoy these book picks and get lost in the stories, insights, and reflections offered by these remarkable accounts.