Still evoked as proof of a nation's innate resilience and ability to come together in a crisis, the evacuation of more than 338,000 troops from Dunkirk by a ragtag fleet that included car ferries, lifeboats and pleasure cruisers seems as unlikely as it was miraculous. This book draws on the first-hand accounts of veterans, both soldiers and civilians, to recount how the army came to be stranded, how the unlikely extraction was achieved and how the subsequent myth was established.
From the author of the Sunday Times bestseller The Secret Life of Bletchley Park When Churchill made one of the most inspiring speeches of the 20th century - 'we will fight them on the beaches' - he was giving thanks for the miracle of deliverance, the harrowing and breathless evacuation of over 338,000 troops from the beaches and harbour at Dunkirk. Churchill was determined it shouldn't be labelled a victory. He was already too late. Hours later, broadcaster JB Priestley was to call it 'an absurd English epic'. Those days of Dunkirk are still invoked now whenever the nation finds itself in any kind of crisis. But there is a wider story too that involves a very large number of civilians - from nurses to racing enthusiasts, trades union leaders to dance hall managers, novelists to seaside cafe owners. And even wider yet, a story that starts in September 1939: of young civilian men being trained for a war that was already 25 years out of date; and the increasing suspense - and occasional surrealism - of the Phoney War.
The 'absurd epic' of Dunkirk - told here through fresh interviews with veterans, plus unseen letters and archival material - is the story of how an old-fashioned island was brutally forced into the modernity of World War Two.
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https://www.psbooks.co.uk/dunkirk-9781781312933222429Dunkirkhttps://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/2/2/222429_21b323ce42bc9d15496953e0d4fcfda7.jpg8.998.99GBPInStock/History/History/Military History/History/Military History/Categories/Battles, Campaigns & Operations/History/Military History/Categories/World War Two/History/Military History/Almost GoneStill evoked as proof of a nation's innate resilience and ability to come together in a crisis, the evacuation of more than 338,000 troops from Dunkirk by a ragtag fleet that included car ferries, lifeboats and pleasure cruisers seems as unlikely as it was miraculous. This book draws on the first-hand accounts of veterans, both soldiers and civilians, to recount how the army came to be stranded, how the unlikely extraction was achieved and how the subsequent myth was established.Hardback00https://www.psbooks.co.uk/media/catalog/product/2/2/222429_media-0_1.jpgadd-to-cartrrp_info:£20.00productId:35875bic_code:HBJD, HBLW, HBWQ, JWLHBJD, HBLW, HBWQ, JWL£20.00Sinclair McKayGeneralAurumNoHardbackEuropean
