The Miracle of Dunkirk: The True Story of Operation Dynamo

The evacuation of Dunkirk after the Nazi blitzkreig of 1940 has always amazed me. This is a period and event that don't figure too prominently into most textbooks, even though it was one of the most crucial times in World War II (just because Pearl Harbor wasn't bombed yet, after all, doesn't mean there wasn't a war on).I was quite pleased with the way Walter Lord was able to pull together all of the information about the evacuation and the events leading up to it. The story is complex. Columns of refugees heading to the coast, the British plan for evacuation, the Belgian surrender nearly dooming the effort, resistance to keep a pocket around Dunkirk and the beaches, weather conditions and how they affected air battles, the use of the mole...Lord has managed to fit it all in and more.The book is very good in presenting a general account of how events occurred. Lord has also managed to find several personal stories and tidbits, from the acts of officers in helping the evacuation to the unsuccessful attempt to use kites as barrage balloons at the harbor.

I've read several histories of the Dunkirk campaign and evacuation, this one is by far the clearest and most interesting of them. Lord tells the story so that you can see what happened, in every part of the field, to all sorts of folks. There may be accounts by military historians that give more detail on troop movements, but for sheer readability this has them all beat. Read Lord's account first, then use academic accounts to fill out the fine print if you feel you need to.

The book shows you not just the human courage of the evacuation itself but it also sets the scene admirably and explains why the British Army did what it did and how the Admiralty rose to the challenge that it was handed. The work of the Royal Navy (and indeed the civilian volunteers int he little ships) is absolutely astounding. Dunkirk was obviously a place of contrasts. Some units show an amazing level of discipline and initiative. Others appear to be a rabble, and the book captures this in a way that is very plausible and understandable. It paints a very good protriat of the BEF in May and June 1940. It also gives an interesting insight into the French High Command problems. The book is very readable and should appeal to the casual reader as well as the scholar, especially since the notes on sources are pretty comprehensive which is just what the academic is looking for, no matter how readable.

My father who died 2 years ago was at Dunkirk serving in an RN minesweeper. Of those 5/6 days tied up at the eastern mole he always said they were the most frightening days of the whole War but of which he was most proud (he later survived both Anzio and the Pacific war ) . I now understand those sentiments. Walter Lord encapsulates a thousand individual stories and forms them into an impressive whole.

This book has great insight to the Dunkirk evacuation. Well researched and well written. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject. For WWII history buffs, this book is must reading.