Evacuation at

Dunkirk

“Operation Dynamo”

Skirting the Maginot

Evacuation at Dunkirk

• As Germany advanced into Belgium in 1940, French and British troops had to retreat to the beaches of Dunkirk

Evacuation at Dunkirk

• They found themselves trapped on the shore

Evacuation at Dunkirk

• May 26, 1940 – Evacuation begins

• 900 ships sailed from England, rescuing 340 000 soldiers

IMPORTANCE OF DUNKIRK: The Northern Allied army was trapped on the French beach; for 9 says, boats ferried across the English Channel from England to bring troops to safety; it remains the most successful military evacuation in history; many of Britain’s top military officials were rescued and they would fight another day

Evacuation at Dunkirk• A few weeks after the evacuation, France

surrendered to Germany

• June 22, 1940 – France does what it does best.

Want to learn German and Italian very quickly?• June 10th: Mussolini declares

war on France

• June 14th: Nazis enter Paris

Vichy France• Town in southern France where

Marshall Petain, the Prime Minister governed

• It was a puppet regime of Nazi Germany, in which French officials cooperated and took direction from Hitler;

• It ended up sparing the south of France from becoming a devastated war zone.

Marshall Petain and Hitler

CHARLES DE GAULLE• leader of the French forces evacuated to

England in the Dunkirk evacuation. He would go on to assist at Normandy and later become President of France.

Collaboration• Members of the

French government who cooperated with the Nazi’s, hence southern France was unoccupied by the Nazis.