Dunkirk

The museum in Dunkirk commemorating Operation Dynamo.

Dunkirk is famous for the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force at the beginning of WWII, when German forces had swept across Europe and trapped the British and French army with their backs to the English Channel.

Operation Dynamo was the attempt to rescue over 500,000 troops from capture of death at the hands of the German army.

Inside the museum/bunker.

This bunker along the coast, built between the wars, has been preserved as a museum and is filled with maps, newspapers, equipment, and salvaged relics of that great attempt by Britain to rescue her men at arms.

Tank turret on display.

One of the guides to the museum is an 86 year old French gentleman that answered many of our questions and gave us an excellent feel for the times in 1940 when things seemed so desperate and unsure.

The city of Dunkirk was bombed and ravaged as the Germans kept the pressure up on the British and French troops awaiting rescue.

Dunkirk city hall today.

Dunkirk harbor after its fall to German invaders.

The harbor today.

Two hundred ships were lost to mines and attacks by the Luftwaffe during the rescue. The Sirocco was attacked at night by two German torpedo boats. Although struck by two torpedoes it did not sink. The next day the crippled destroyer is attacked by a German bomber and three bombs hit the Sirocco causing the ammunition stores to explode. The ship soon capsized. Out of the 930 soldiers on board and the 90 crew members, only 270 were saved. Most of the men were in the 92nd Infantry Regiment stationed in Clermont-Ferrand. Sirocco St. is named after the lost ship.

Ship's wheel salvaged by divers. The Mona's Queen still sits on the bottom of the English Channel.

RMS Mona's Queen.

Some of the ship wrecks are still visible today.

Monument to the Battle of Dunkirk, or Dunkerque as the French call it.

Dinner at Le Corsaire, overlooking the harbor. Alice and I both look forward to visiting Dunkirk again. There is so much more to see.