Dunkirk Evacuated June 4, 1940

Dunkirk 3.2.4

• The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named

Operation Dynamo, also known as the

Miracle of Dunkirk, was the evacuation of

Allied soldiers from the beaches and

harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27

May and 4 June 1940.

• As a result the core of the British Army

remained intact to fight another day.

France Surrenders June, 1940

Now Britain Is All Alone!

Battle of Britain: The “Blitz”

July 1940

to

May 1941

Battle of Britain 3.2.4

• Defeat of France was a severe blow

• Continental western Europe was under

Nazi-Germany control

• Only Britain & Empire was left

• Hitler was convinced that Britain would

have no choice but to make peace

• Evacuation at Dunkirk & Prime Minister

Churchill’s leadership only strengthens

Britain’s resolve to fight on

Battle of Britain 3.2.4

• Hitler orders Operation Sea Lion

(invasion of Britain)

• But first German Luftwaffe (air force)

had to gain control of the air in order to

secure safe passage for a sea invasion

across the English channel

• July 10, 1940, the Luftwaffe began air

raids over Britain to prepare for the

invasion along England’s southern coast

Battle of Britain 3.2.4

• German targets were British airfields &

radar stations, British ships in the

English channel, & harbours in the south

of the country

Battle of Britain 3.2.4

Battle of Britain 3.2.4

• The air assault continued through the

summer and into the fall of 1940

• German air force outnumbered British

air force 4:1, however, the British shot

down 2 German planes for every 1

British plane shot down

Battle of Britain: The “Blitz”

Reasons why Britain was able to

survive the Battle Britain 3.2.3

• Radar allowed Britain to detect German

bombers as they took off from France &

allowed the Royal Air Force to ‘gang-up’

stop German air attacks

• The resolve of the British people was also a

reason why Germany lost as they refused

to surrender & went about their daily

activities in their destroyed cities

• The Germans began to bomb cities instead

of attacking airfields and radar stations

The Royal Air Force

Battle of Britain

• In Sept 1940, Hermann Goering, head of

Luftwaffe decides to change tactics

following a RAF air raid on Berlin

• Instead of bombing RAF bases, the

Luftwaffe began bombing cities & ports in

the hope of breaking British morale

• Cities like London & Coventry were

heavily bombed night after night with

huge casualties

• This only made the British people more

determined to resist defeat

The London “Tube”: Air Raid Shelters during the Blitz

Battle of Britain

• German losses were so heavy in Oct 1940

that the Luftwaffe changed tactics again,

switching to night bombing

• The scale of civilian destruction was

unprecedented

• Hitler realized that the Battle of Britain

was lost

• He postponed his invasion plans & decided

to attack Russia, a mistake that some

argue would cost him the war