Hitler's Third Reich and World War II in the News is a daily edited review of WWII news, providing thought-provoking collection of hand-picked WW2 information.

WW2 category: Dunkirk - Battle and Evacuation - Operation Dynamo  -- See latest WWII news here. See also 'British Nazis: Royal Fascists', 'British Isles during World War II', 'The Blitz', 'WW2 Flags'.

Dunkirk: The Men They Left Behind by Sean Longden     scotsman :: 2008-05-18
It was a major moment of World War II in which 200,000 British troops were saved from death or capture after being defeated by the Germans. And now the story has came out of Scottish soldier David Mowatt who escaped, was recaptured and avoided execution by the SS after the intervention of a Wehrmacht officer. Amid the euphoria over saving the troops, few focused on the soldiers left behind who had fought with the French Army. In June 1940, the 51st Highland Division was encircled and forced to surrender. For Mowatt, who joined the local Territorial Army battalion 2 years before, captivity came as a shock.    

The Medway Queen could be sunk: The most famous of the Dunkirk 'Little Ships'     dailymail :: 2008-02-21
For 6 days and nights she defied Luftwaffe to save 7,000 servicemen from the beaches at Dunkirk. Her heroics made her the most famous of the "Little Ships" that plucked 330,000 men from the hands of the Germans in 1940. Her crew win 4 awards for gallantry after facing 20 attacks. But now the Medway Queen, one of the oldest paddle steamers and one of the most important vessels in Britain's maritime history, could be lost unless millions can be found to restore her. As the British Expeditionary Force was beaten back to the Dunkirk beaches, she was part of the flotilla of Little Ships which answered the call to go to the rescue of the troops.    

21 Royal Scots soldiers executed by SS Totenkopf Division at Dunkirk     theherald :: 2007-06-11
According to an officer's war diary 21 soldiers from the Royal Scots, were massacred after surrendering to SS troops in May 1940. The men were part of a rearguard trying to buy time for the evacuation of the British army at Dunkirk. It had been believed that 97 members of the Royal Norfolk Regiment were the only victims of the Waffen-SS Totenkopf Death's Head Division. Now Hugh Sebag-Montefiore has found evidence that civilians later dug up the Scottish troops, all shot through the neck. It verify a claim from a German dispatch rider, that he had been told that 17 British soldiers were captured, taken to the SS battle HQ, and that "they all had to bite the dust".    

Long-lost journal tells dramatic evacuation of Welsh troops from France     icnetwork :: 2007-05-24
A largely forgotten evacuation of Welsh troops from WW2 France has been revealed by the discovery of a wartime brigade diary - found by historian Hugh Sebag-Montefiore. It sheds light on how the Welsh Guards escaped by sea from Nazi forces advancing on Boulogne in May 1940, 48 hours before the evacuation of Dunkirk. 4,500 people, Welsh and Irish guards, were evacuated from Boulogne on British ships. The incident has been overshadowed by the escape of 338,000 Allied troops. The evacuation was ordered at 6pm on May 23 as German Panzer tanks approached nearby hills. The diary reveals that the ships and those waiting, were bombarded by shells, sniper fire and Luftwaffe.    

Sailors renact the Battle of Dunkirk on Melbourne beach     theage :: 2007-04-26
Hundreds of sailors are re-enacting the Battle of Dunkirk, described as the greatest seaborne rescue of all time, on Melbourne's beaches. Civilians set sail from Britain in a flotilla of 800 boats to rescue 338,000 Allied troops from the advancing Germans stranded at Dunkirk. The mammoth operation took place over 9 days in May 1940 and delivered the troops back home to help defend against a Nazi invasion. Flyovers by historic aircraft, a gunshot dinner and music by a Glenn Miller tribute band added to the atmosphere. George Shaw said as a "war baby", he had grown up with stories of Dunkirk and felt the re-enactment was a fitting way to mark Anzac Day.     [WWII Reenactment & Reenactors: Living History]

Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man - Debunking the myth of Dunkirk     haaretz :: 2007-04-15
The uniqueness of historian Hugh Sebag-Montefiore's book lies in the attempt it makes to tease out the core of the Dunkirk myth. The book does not try to refute the claim that the evacuation was an important act. Adolf Hitler's meddling in military matters, Sebag-Montefiore argues, may have compromised the fighting abilities of the German army; however, he does not believe that the decision to stop the battle tanks from storming Dunkirk offers any proof of this. The period of rest was imposed by the German generals. Hitler accepted their decision and issued the order, but only after the army had already halted without any such command from Berlin.     [Dunkirk - Battle and Evacuation - Operation Dynamo]

Tribute for Dunkirk hero - Admiral who saved thousands of soldiers     bbc :: 2007-01-26
Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay who saved thousands of soldiers at Dunkirk has received recognition in his own country - finally. He had already been honoured by the Russians, French and Germans for his efforts. A plaque has now been placed in St Paul's Cathedral in memory of his contribution during the war. His family have welcomed the recognition of his vital role in helping win World War II. As well as the evacuation at Dunkirk he also planned the Normandy landings later in the conflict. "After Dunkirk we asked Churchill for a medal but he said we couldn't have a medal - it wasn't a victory, it was a defeat."     [Generals of World War Two Commanders]

Dunkirk - Separating myth from miracle in WWII battle     seattletimes :: 2006-12-15
On May 10, 1940, Nazi Germany invaded France, ending the Phony War. France was cut in two, and the forces in the north (incl. British Expeditionary Force, BEF) were isolated from the French army and trapped by the Wehrmacht. On May 26, the British War Cabinet met. The only hope of repulsing an invasion was the RAF, much of which was with the BEF. Lord Halifax proposed accepting Germany's domination. Churchill opposed, preferring to fight it out until "each one of us lies choking in his own blood upon the ground." In "Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man " Hugh Sebag-Montefiore focuses the men ordered to hold the line and keep the pocket around Dunkirk from collapsing. [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR]     [Dunkirk - Battle and Evacuation - Operation Dynamo]

Dunkirk: Making a strategic withdrawal - escaping and deserting     peterboroughtoday :: 2006-11-11
We were making a strategic withdrawal from France, and I was trying to defend our position with an anti-tank rifle when our Territorial Army sergeant and two of his TA friends decided to escape, leaving 50% of their men behind. I saw the truck leaving, and managed to jump on the back. I never saw any of the men who were left behind again. We proceeded west to Gravelines when we came to a canal. We could hear the armoured division closing in, but there was nothing we could do but wait for daybreak. In the morning, we realised the driver and his TA friend had deserted during the night and we were on our own.    

The youngest Canadian to get the Distinguished Service Cross     cbc :: 2006-06-13
War hero Robert Timbrell was commander of Canada's last aircraft carrier, HMCS Bonaventure, rescued hundreds of British troops on the beaches of Dunkirk, and became a rear admiral and the head of Canada's navy. On his first trip across the Channel, his boat was strafed by Luftwaffe fighters. He was able to repair the boat, make two more trips and carry more than 300 men to safety. At one point, he was shipwrecked on the Dunkirk beach, and pulled to safety with the help of an army tank that drove as far into the water as it could before the engine quit. He later helped sink two German submarines.    

The forgotten heroes of Dunkirk - 51st Highland Division     aiipowmia :: 2006-06-12
The failed evacuation from St Valery in June 1940 impacted in Scotland like no other World War II battle. Over a few days in June, the 51st Highland Division, following a heroic rearguard action vanished, with 8,000 ending in pow camps, and there remains a bitterness that one of Scotland's greatest units was sacrificed by Winston Churchill. Following Dunkirk, between 4 and 12 June 1940, the 51st was forced by Rommel's panzer divisions to withdraw, along with the French 9th Army Corps, to St Valéry-en -Caux. Hampered by fog naval vessels grouped offshore. A German counter-attack placed the town under heavy fire, and the ships were unable to get in.    

Canadian Naval hero Robert Timbrell rescued British troops     cbc :: 2006-04-15
Robert Timbrell, who became the first decorated Canadian naval officer of the WW2 for his bravery in rescuing British troops in 1940, has died. He skippered a ship that was commandeered to evacuate as many troops as possible from a 16-kilometre stretch of beach at Dunkirk. Thousands of allied troops had been pushed back to the Channel by a powerful German army and were in danger of being captured. A call was made for all vessels that could float to make their way to the French coast. 800 private boats commandeered by the British navy with the help of 222 warships, rescued more than 338,000 Allied troops from the clutches of the German army.    

See also:
'British Nazis: Royal Fascists'
'British Isles during World War II'
'The Blitz'
'WW2 Flags'.

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