IMAGE SOURCE: http://www.nme.com/news/watch-new-trailer-christopher-nolans-dunkirk-2067364 So I’m sure most of you have seen Christopher Nolan's cinematic masterpiece by now—if you haven't yet, you should, and if you have—there’s a possibility you’re wondering what happened. The movie only covers a very short time frame (really the course of just one day) so if you’re not a history major, you’re probably wondering how Dunkirk even happened. “Didn’t we win the war?” Some of you are asking. Well, if Dunkirk was the only film you ever saw about WW2 you’d actually probably think we got smashed. Thankfully this was not the case, however Dunkirk does cover a very important moment in history—That is, in 1940, when the evacuation of Dunkirk happened—it really didn’t look like we were going to win the war at all. Hitler had already moved his forces into Austria, invaded Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway—and by the time Britain started loading troops off the French shoreline—Hitler’s armies had taken the Netherlands, Belgium, and overrun France. The German invasion of Belgium and France in May 1940 proved an embarrassing blow for the Allies at the outset of the war, and though Dunkirk was painted as a sort of victory by the British government (to be fair saving your entire army from being decimated/imprisoned is worthy of celebration), it was at its core a frantic retreat from one of the worst defeats in European history. With a single sweeping manoeuvre, Hitler had managed to completely disembowel the French military and send the British bobbing back across the Channel for the white Cliffs of Dover. The subsequent German annexation of France shocked the world, and Britain, as a result, would be one of the very few European nations left physically untouched by the expansion of the Nazi regime. So thank God there was a sea between Britain and Continental Europe. Although that same sea that has historically provided Britain with a giant moat would suddenly prove itself to be a massive barrier to the British forces. The question is though: how did the British end up stranded at Dunkirk anyway? What sort of monstrous miscalculation could have left hundreds of thousands of Allied troops backed into the English Channel and stranded in such a tiny area? Allow me to explain. So, background and context: The German invasion of France in May of 1940 fundamentally shaped the future of the Second World War. Its success led to the annexation of all of France, which gave the Germans a massive natural defence in France’s western coastline and an excellent place to forward naval operations from as well. If you know your WW2 history—you would know they would hold this coast soundly until 1944. Moreover, the successful defeat of the British & French allowed Hitler to consolidate the western European continent and focus on the east. That’s another story. In essence, the reason the evacuation of Dunkirk had to happen is because the Allies were forced into a place they didn’t want to be, and this was all because for starters—they were not in the right place at the right time. Let’s break it down. So once the Allies realised Germany was coming for Belgium and France, preparation for the German advance resulted in most of the French regular divisions being concentrated in the northern part of Belgium, alongside the British Expeditionary Force and the RAF. What the British and French didn’t know however, was that while most of their troops were stationed up north, Germany would be focusing the brunt of its attack on the southern part of Belgium, near the River Meuse. Long story short—the Germans encircled the Allies, resulting in masses of casualties and imprisonment, which in turn left France with a dismal defence force and the British making a run for it. Now in theory, the repulsion of German forces from Belgium and France might have been easy. (Perhaps the Allies should have known not to concentrate their forces so far north of the French border.) However, they did not expect Hitler to send his armies trekking through the thickly wooded and mountainous region of the Ardennes forest (for two reasons).
A very similar tactic to that of the Schlieffen Plan then was originally intended for the 1940 German invasion of Belgium and France. Luckily for the Allies, they were expecting just this sort of plan from Germany. So they were totally ready to crush the German forces as soon as they crossed into northern Belgium. The Allied plan was to counteract this northern invasion with the majority of their forces (and eventually punch into Germany and secure peace terms), so the French stationed their best army divisions up there along with the BEF, and just for good measure, the British also had planes stationed up there for air cover. So recap: originally the Germans were planning to stick to the Schlieffen plan. SPOILER: they didn’t. Germany had two Army Groups which were to engage the Allies in Belgium, Group A and Group B. Group B was to be concentrated in the northern part of Belgium, whilst Group A (a much smaller force), would be focused in the south near the River Meuse. Army Group B was initially intended to carry the biggest blow of German effort and would also be a highly mobile army Group, complete with multiple Panzer divisions. It would be tasked with sweeping into Belgium from the east and cutting south toward France—in a fashion almost identical to the Schlieffen Plan. Fortunately for the Allies, such an attack could be countered, as they were well prepared for such an assault in the north. However, General Brundstedt, commander of German Army Group A, and his chief of staff General Manstein had devised a new plan, unbeknownst to the Allies. Manstein’s new strategy suggested concentrating the main thrust of Hitler’s forces in the south, where the majority of German troops and tanks could cross the Meuse and sweep west across lower Belgium. This would cut off the Allied supply lines and prevent them from bringing in reinforcements. In the meantime, Army Group B would basically act like a matador’s cloak for the Allies in the north, convincing Britain and France that the German assault which they had anticipated was indeed arriving right where they expected it. The plan would come to be known as the sichelschnitt or ‘Sickle Cut' movement. The Sickle Cut was somewhat of a risky plan, as it meant manoeuvring thousands of vehicles and personnel over the mountainous and thickly wooded terrain of the Ardennes. This route would not only significantly slow the German advance, but it would also leave them utterly exposed to aerial bombardment if they were detected. As a result, Manstein’s Plan actually faced a great deal of backlash in Germany among Hitler’s generals…however, the Führer was convinced of the strategy’s feasibility and it was subsequently implemented. The Sickle Cut was really bad news for Britain and France. Unfortunately, the Allies had no way of knowing that the Germans had changed tack and now planned on concentrating the brunt of their assault where they the least amount of their troops stationed. In the days and weeks leading up to the battle, Allied intelligence had not been able to successfully decode German communications. Meanwhile, to the detriment of the Allies, their own signals were being decoded and exploited by the Germans. The British and French then were completely unaware of the fact that Runstedt’s army Group A (now the more powerful German force), would concentrate its’ assault far to the south of their position, and eventually encircle them, culminating in utter disaster. Technically, the Allies should have still been able to defend against Army Group A heading through the Ardennes, however the only units stationed near the River Meuse were reserve units—and true story here—some of them became so afraid when the Germans showed up unexpectedly that they thought German tanks had already crossed the River (when in fact, they hadn’t) and they fled their posts. What about the exposure from an attack from the air though? While it’s true that the Germans were utterly exposed as they trucked along through the Ardennes Forest—remember that the RAF planes were up north, with the bulk of the Allied force. And France’s air power was focussed mostly in the south of France (they were concerned about an Italian offensive). To top all of this unpreparedness off—the few reports that came through to the Allied High Command that the Germans were actually coming through the Ardennes in force weren’t taken seriously. The forest was deemed “impenetrable”, so instead of shoring up their defences by the Meuse—the Allies relied on hills, rocks, and trees to stop the Nazis. So. To sum up and make a long story really short, the German’s shifted from the Schlieffen Plan 2.0 to the Manstein “Sickle Cut” Plan and came through the Ardennes. This left the Allies completely trapped by two German army groups. The German panzer divisions were quick and the Allies were basically encircled before they knew what hit them. The area they could continue to occupy what with all of the incoming Germans eventually got smaller and smaller…and smaller—until Dunkirk became the last holdout, and the only place where the British might have a hope of retreating. So that’s how we ended up at Dunkirk—with hundreds of little ships captained by Navy officers and civilians darting across the English Channel to the rescue of Britain’s (and a few of France’s) fighting men. This is cool:IMAGE SOURCE: Kimberly Anderson, http://slideplayer.com/slide/9718280/ Additional Reading:"The War in the West, 1939-1940" by Karl Heinz-Frieser. Trans. Harvey L. Mendelsohn from The Cambridge History of the Second World War
To Lose a Battle: France 1940 by Alistair Horne The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 by Julian Jackson The Battle of France, 1940 by Philip Warner The Second World War by John Keegan
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AuthorMy name is Danny Randell. I am an undergraduate student of history, and have also been privileged to work in various capacities at two provincially recognised museums in Alberta, Canada. ArchivesCategories |