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Lesson 7 – Evacuation of Dunkirk

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Lesson 7 – Evacuation of Dunkirk Read through the information and complete the tasks and questions directly on this sheet. There are three tasks to complete. Lesson title: Dunkirk Evacuation: Tragedy or Triumph? Lesson Objectives: ● Explain the effectiveness of Blitzkrieg ● Evaluate the evacuation of Dunkirk WOW WORDS • Blitzkrieg: – means “lightening war” and was a tactic used by the German army at the beginning of WWII. • Dunkirk: – A city in Northern France – the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940 • Operation Dynamo: – The code-named for the Dunkirk evacuation, Civilian • British Expeditionary Force [BEF] – the British force in Europe from 1939 to 1940 • Morale: – Confidence, enthusiasm, and discipline of a person or group at a particular time Task 1: Read through the information below and answer the questions underneath. WII was different from WWI; it was a war of movement rather than trenches. At the beginning of the war, nothing could stop Hitler’s Blitzkrieg advance. The Nazis conquered Poland in a month and in May 1940, Hitler turned his attention to the West. France had strong defences, so Germany simply went through Holland, then Belgium and on to France. They were so quick it took less than two months to push BEF and French back to the channel. The allied troops were trapped between the channel and the advancing Germany Army on the beaches of Dunkirk. The Blitzkrieg tactic was so successful because it meant that they could break through the lines quickly and attack key targets. Below are the 4 stages. Explain in your own words the 4 stages of the Blitzkrieg tactic: 1. Bombing….. 2. Paratroopers….. 3. Tanks….. 4. Infantry (soldiers).... Why was this so successful? Why was it going to be difficult for this tactic to work on any invasion of Britain? Task 2: Blitzkrieg pushed the BEF onto the beaches, but the British troops were trapped. The only escape route was by the sea. The British launched Operation Dynamo on the 26 May 1940 they set out to rescue troops from the beaches. By 29th May 300 boats, including many small fishing boats were involved. Between 26th May and 4th June 1940 British boats rescued British, French and Belgian soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation rescued 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops was reported in the news as a victory, but there is considerable debate about just how much of a victory it was. On the one hand many men were rescued, however many weapons and tanks were left behind and Hitler now had control of France! Read through the 8 sources below and using the highlighting tool, highlight evidence that shows that the evacuation was either a triumph or tragedy. ● The Dunkirk evacuation was a triumph ● The Dunkirk evacuation was a tragedy Source 1: A Daily Express headline at the time: Source 2: A painting by Charles Cundall, who was sent by the British government to make an official painting of events on the beaches of Dunkirk Source 3: An extract from a book published in England in 1940 ‘[At Dunkirk] a miracle was born. This land of Britain is rich in heroes. She had brave daring men in her Navy and Air Force as well as her army. She had heroes in jerseys and sweaters and old rubber boots in all the fishing ports of Britain, there was not a man or a boy who knew how to handle a boat who was not prepared to give up his own life to save some unknown son of his country who had faced, without flinching, the red hell of Flanders. For almost a week the epic went on. The little ships dodged their way up the waters and hauled over their sides the soldiers who waded waist deep to safety.’ Source 4: From the BBC six o’clock radio news bulletin on 31 May. This was the first report on Dunkirk. “All night and all day men of the undefeated British Expeditionary Force have been coming home. From interviews with the men it is clear they have come back in glory; that their morale is as high as ever, and that they are anxious to be back again ’To have a real crack at Jerry’ [the Germans]. Source 5: A first-hand account by a gunner officer, published in 1940 “There were lines of men waiting in queues until boats arrived to transport them, a score [20] or so at a time, to the steamers and warships. The queues stood there fixed and regular, no bunching, no pushing… Stepping over the bodies we marched onto the beach. A horrible stench of blood and mutilated flesh pervaded the place. There was no escape from it. We might have been walking through a slaughterhouse on a hot day.” Source 6: A photograph taken on the beaches at Dunkirk Source 7: Written by a German fighter pilot in a letter home in 1940. I hated Dunkirk. It was just cold –blooded killing. The beaches were jammed with soldiers. I went up and down spraying them with bullets. Source 8: A cartoon published in a British newspaper at the time of the evacuation. The name of the paddle steamer is the Brighton Belle Stretch: Which source is the most useful? Explain why? (Consider the NOP - Nature - type of source, Origin - who wrote it, when and Purpose - why was it created/said/written) Task 3: So was Dunkirk a triumph or tragedy? Write a PEEL paragraph below to explain what you think. Try to include knowledge and sources. Extra reading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ff2_dunkirk.shtml You could also watch the feature film Dunkirk Homework: In preparation for next lesson - have a think, talk to parents, google the answers to the following questions: What makes an event significant? How might we judge historical significance? What sort of things help one side to win a war? .
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