How did the evacuation at Dunkirk affect the course of WWII?

By mid-May 1940 the German Army had trapped about 400,000 British, French, Belgian, Polish and Dutch troops in a pocket surrounding the city of Dunkirk on France's north coast. read more

Meanwhile, the Churchill cabinet had agreed that they must fight on and attempt a massive evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and any other troops that they could manage. The German halt gave them a vital breathing space to organize the evacuation which took place between May 25 and June 4. read more

Dunkirk evacuation, (1940) in World War II, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and other Allied troops from the French seaport of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) to England. Naval vessels and hundreds of civilian boats were used in the evacuation, which began on May 26. read more

Commander of the BEF, General Viscount Gort, immediately saw evacuation across the Channel as the best course of action, and began planning a withdrawal to Dunkirk, the closest good port. Late on 23 May, a halt order was issued by Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt, commander of Army Group A. read more