Editing Dunkerque (section)

===<FONT COLOR="#FFCC00">'''Dunkerque in World War II'''</FONT>===

In May 1940 during the battle of France, the British Expeditionary Force in France aiding the French, '''were cut off from the rest of the French Army by the German advance'''. Encircled by the Germans they retreated to the area around the port of Dunkirk. The German land forces could have easily destroyed the British expeditionary force, especially when many of the British troops, in their haste to withdraw, had left behind their heavy equipment. For some unexplained and still unknown reason, Adolf Hitler ordered the German army to stop the attack, favouring bombardment by the Luftwaffe.  Some say it was because Hitler was still hopeful of establishing diplomatic peace with Britain before 1940 so the Germans could have a potential allied force against the Russians, while others contest that the unfavourable terrain (which was not suited to armoured vehicles) and a strategic German desire to retain strength for future operations was the real explanation.  This lull in the action gave the British a few days to evacuate by sea.  Winston Churchill ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to pick up the stranded soldiers, and 338,226 men (including 120,000 French soldiers) were evacuated - the ''miracle of Dunkirk'', as Churchill called it. It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the Allied forces. More than 40,000 vehicles as well as massive amounts of other military equipment and supplies were left behind; their value being less than that of trained fighting men. The British evacuation of Dunkirk through the English Channel was codenamed Operation Dynamo. <br/>

'''The city was again contested in 1944, and the Second Canadian Division attempted to liberate the city in September''', as Allied forces surged northeast after their victory in the Battle of Normandy.  German forces refused to relinquish their control of the city, which had been converted into a fortress, and the garrison there was "masked" by Allied troops, notably 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. The fortress under command of German Admiral Friedrich Frisius eventually  unconditionally surrendered to the commander of the Czechoslovak forces, Brigade General Alois Liška, on May 9 1945. <br/>

During the German occupation, '''Dunkirk was largely destroyed by allied bombings'''; the artillery siege of Dunkirk was directed on the final day of the war by pilots from No. 652 Squadron RAF, and No. 665 Squadron RCAF.