Described as a ‘miracle of Deliverance’ by the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the escape from Dunkirk was the largest military evacuation in history. But whilst it is rightly remembered as a heroic effort against all the odds, it was also a catastrophic early defeat, which – had it not achieved its purpose – could have put an end to the Second World War less than a year after it had begun. Now, the rare images featured in a new book shed light on the cost of the evacuation in material terms. Stephen Wynn’s book Dunkirk and the Aftermath – Rare Photos from Wartime Archives, is set to be published by Pen & Sword this month. Click through to see the stunning photographs…
In this photo, Squadron Leader Geoffrey Dalton Stephenson’s Supermarine Spitfire MK1 N3200 is inspected by German soldiers after it was shot down on a beach at Sangatte, near Calais, while covering the evacuation of the Dunkirk beaches.
Among the equipment lost by the British Expeditionary Force were 2,472 field guns or artillery pieces. Pictured: A French woman sits on the beach at Dunkirk as a Bofors anti-aircraft gun lies abandoned behind her.
Codenamed Operation Dynamo, an estimated 338,000 Allied troops were rescued from northern France between May 27 and June 4, 1940, after German forces had swept through Europe. Pictured: Ships full of soldiers at Dunkirk.
German soldiers are seen here examining British military vehicles that have been arranged side-by-side to make a pier for Allied soldiers to get to the larger rescue vessels that were unable to get too close to the beach. Overall, the British Expeditionary Force were forced to abandon approximately 64,000 vehicles.
The vehicles abandoned by Allied forces also included tanks and motorbikes. Pictured: Dozens of motorbikes are seen in Dunkirk after the evacuation. They appear to have been sabotaged to make them as of little use as possible to German forces.
An inquisitive young French child, who has suddenly found a brand new playground, sits behind the wheel of an abandoned British Bedford truck on Dunkirk beach. The person who took the photograph was more than likely a German soldier.
As well as rifles and other weapons, bullets were also left behind. Pictured: Boxes of bullets and gun magazines are seen after spilling their contents on the beach at Dunkirk. Historian Mr Wynn says the bullets were primarily used with Lee Enfield rifles – the British soldier’s main weapon in the Second World War. British forces left behind a staggering 76,097 tons of ammunition.
A bizarre sight: After the evacuation, locals in Dunkirk would have seen some unusual sights around the town. One particularly peculiar one was that of a French naval coastal patrol vessel, oddly sat on the sand, as if someone had picked it up and placed it there.
Three German soldiers are seen in conversation on the beach at Dunkirk. Behind them is an abandoned British six-wheel Morris CDSW artillery tractor. The vehicle was used by the British Army to tow its field guns. The letters CDSW stood for its class of model (C), a double rear axle (D), its six-cylinder engine (S), and its winch capacity (W).
This image, taken from one of the top floors of a seafront hotel, shows German soldiers milling around on the beach at Dunkirk shortly after Allied troops had escaped. Whilst the vehicles parked on the promenade appear to be German ones, British ones are seen on the beach itself.
Abandoned trucks are seen on the streets of Dunkirk, with the bandstand in the background. Mr Wynn explains in his book: ‘The bandstand would have been a central point of identification for the men of the BEF in directing others where to go or where vehicles needed to be placed for such purposes as building a pier. It was so much easier and less confusing when giving a soldier an exact location to say, “in front of” or “east or west of the bandstand.”‘
This image shows how wooden boards were laid out across abandoned equipment and vehicles to make it easier for escaping troops to get to the waiting rescue ships.
The lengths that the BEF went to to get troops off beaches is seen in the above image, which shows just how far the makeshift piers stretched from the beach. The two German soldiers visible in the foreground are no doubt amazed at the feat.
A German soldier inspects a vehicle that appears to have had its engine removed by retreating British troops. Repaired British tanks that had been captured at Dunkirk were then used in Operation Barbarossa. As for the British anti-aircraft guns that were seized, the Germans manufactured their own ammunition for them when the captured rounds had run out.
Pictured: An abandoned car on the beach at Dunkirk that has at least one of its rear tires removed, and its engine also appears to be missing.
Pictured: German soldiers inspect British vehicles that have been left behind by the retreating troops. At the time, German forces were still relying partly on horse power for military transport.
Due to their ongoing reliance on horses to carry equipment, the Germans welcomed the sight of the scores of trucks that were left on the beach at Dunkirk. Mr Wynn argues that, without the great ‘infusion’ of motor transport gifted by the Allies, it is ‘questionable’ whether the German invasion of Russia would have lasted as long as it did.
Here, a German soldier leisurely takes photographs of the abandoned vehicles and equipment on the beach at Dunkirk. Immediately behind him are piles of ammunition boxes.
What a waste: A German soldier is seen examining a cache of abandoned British weapons as a colleague patrols in front of him. Among the equipment are four Vickers machine guns lined up next to one another.
A Bedford truck that was among those abandoned by the BEF at Dunkirk is seen with German soldiers in it and with a German license plate. Although the British forces deliberately damaged their vehicles before retreating, many were repaired by the Germans.
On May 26, 1940, a Spitfire N3200 with the coded initials ‘QV’ flew out of RAF Duxford tasked with covering the evacuation of the beaches at Dunkirk. It was hit by enemy fire and was crash-landed by its pilot on Dunkirk beach. This must have been many miles away from where evacuations were occurring, as German soldiers arrived at the scene almost immediately and captured the pilot, Squadron Leader Geoffrey Dalton Stephenson, 30. He was held as a POW at Oflag lV-C, better known as Colditz Castle.
Stephen Wynn’s book Dunkirk and the Aftermath – Rare Photos from Wartime Archives, is published by Pen & Sword this month.