Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk

Operation Dynamo, the evacuation from Dunkirk of 27 May-4 June 1940, is one of the most celebrated military events in British history, and yet it was the direct result of one of the most crushing defeats suffered by the British army. Over nine days nearly 300,000 men from the BEF were evacuated from Dunkirk, an action that allowed Britain to stay in the war.