100 Historical Stories That Unlock Teenage Wisdom

Chapter 22 11 The Dunkirk Evacuation

Chapter 211 The Dunkirk Evacuation
——Potential is like the water in a sponge. Facing difficulties, sometimes we think that we have reached the limit we can bear, but many times the difficulties are compounded and we can still survive, because our own potential is working.

Dunkirk is an ancient castle with a long history of more than 1000 years. It is located on the French side of the Strait of Dover. It is an excellent port and has always been a battleground for military strategists.

In May 1940, Germany conquered the Netherlands and Belgium in 5 days and 5 days respectively with a rapid offensive, then bypassed the Maginot Line on the French-German border and entered France from the weakly defended French-Belgian border.French Prime Minister Renault called British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, asking for assistance.Churchill flew to Paris to meet with him.However, the two countries have their own plans and do not trust each other.

When the conflict between Britain and France intensified, the German offensive became more and more fierce. The forward approached the coast and cut off the north-south line of communication north of the Somme. The British army in France was suddenly in a dilemma. On May 5, the British army called for help in London, and the British government immediately ordered the Admiralty to formulate an emergency retreat plan, which was later named "Dynamo".

At this time, the British and French armies were divided into north and south.Surrounded on three sides, the only hope for the Allied forces in the north was to turn to the southwest and break through the German front along the Channel to join the French army north of the Somme.However, due to the incompetence of the commanders, the opportunity was missed, and it was impossible to rendezvous again.

On May 5, the German troops advancing along the English Channel to the North Dover Strait captured Buren, surrounded Calais, and approached Gravelin, which is only more than 24 kilometers away from Dunkirk.The hundreds of thousands of allied troops forced to surround Dunkirk were crowded into a small triangular area.Their only way of life is to retreat across the Strait of Dover to the opposite British Isles via the port of Dunkirk.

Dunkirk is about 100 kilometers away from the closest point to the UK.There were 22 British troops and 20 French troops besieged here.It is not easy to transport such a large number of troops across the strait in a short period of time, and the British government has suffered a lot from this.There were only 36 ships that could be used to carry troops when they were pieced together initially, and it was difficult to solve the urgent need.In the end, Churchill had no choice but to ask shipping officials to register all applicable ships in British ports, even yachts, in order to meet "special needs."

At this time, the German tanks had already seen Dunkirk, and the development of the battle put the fate of the British and French troops at stake.But at this critical juncture, Hitler suddenly ordered the tank troops to stop the pursuit. It turned out that his deputy Goering boasted that the air force in his hand could solve the enemy in trouble.The Allies were given a respite and strengthened their defenses around Dunkirk. Two days later, Hitler secretly sighed for his mistake and hurriedly resumed his offensive, but it was too late. The German army was blocked in the Port of Calais, and the Allied forces temporarily blocked the enemy's tanks by flooding.

On the day when the German army resumed its offensive, Dunkirk was also busy. On the evening of the 26th, the British Admiralty ordered the implementation of the "Generator" retreat plan. A fleet of more than 850 ships flocked to Dunkirk one after another, ranging from cruisers and destroyers to inland tugboats, fishing boats, barges and passenger ships, and even lifeboats, motorboats and various yachts on London docks. together.

The withdrawn British army formed an "escape corridor" and fought fiercely with the German army, forcing the enemy to retreat temporarily.The British Royal Air Force also put all available fighter jets into the battle over Dunkirk, controlling the air supremacy, so that German planes did not dare to bomb the ships crossing the sea without any scruples.

In order to retreat as soon as possible, the British Navy put together more than 30 ships, all of which were overloaded, and the small destroyer had to carry 800 people.There was not enough room, and soldiers were placed on deck as the ship wobbled and zigzagged for balance, braving waves, bombardment, and sometimes German torpedo boats.

After 8 days and 8 nights of hard work, a total of more than 33 British and French soldiers withdrew to the British Isles, and more than 4 French troops who were abandoned in Dunkirk were all captured and lost a large amount of weapons and ammunition.

Wisdom Interpretation:

Often when the ability is about to be exhausted and things are about to fail, the potential is like a star suddenly blooming in the dark, gushing out in our bodies, and many seemingly "impossible" things have been achieved. succeeded.It turns out that potential is like water in a sponge, as long as you dig it out with your heart, you will definitely be able to experience the full potential when it erupts...

(End of this chapter)