Rescue at Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) Timeline

By this time, the heroic effort on the part of the Allies to defend against the tide of encroaching German armor was all but over. Poland and Holland had already fallen with Belgium soon to join them. French and British forces began congregating at the French port city of Dunkirk. Sensing total annihilation of his forces, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered up a flotilla of civilian ships to help shuttle troops to awaiting transports.

The Belgium defense had now fallen, though German resources were partially tied to this effort. The additional time allowed more Allied forces to make it to Dunkirk and safety. In the end, over 338,000 Allied troops were rescued from certain death or imprisonment in what became known as the "Miracle at Dunkirk". Despite this effort, a generation of British and French children would grow up without fathers.

A final French Army stand at Dunkirk would net 40,000 French soldiers as Prisoners of War for the Germans - who would eventually take the city under their control.